BLACK MONEY OF INDIA

BLACK MONEY OF INDIA

$1.4 Trillion India’s Black Money Stashed in Swiss Banks

According to the data provided by the Swiss bank, India has more black money than rest of the world combined. India topping the list with almost $1500 Billion black money in swiss banks, followed by Russia $470 Billion, UK $390 Billion, Ukraine $100 Billion and China with $96 Billion.

It’s embarrassing for any country to top the list of black money holders. The money which belongs to the nation and it’s citizens, is stashed in the illegal personal accounts of corrupt politicians, IRS, IPS officers and industrialists. An amount which is 13 times larger than the nations foreign debt. Every year this amount is increasing at a rapid speed but the Indian government seem to be silent over this matter from a very long time. The total black money accounts for 40% of GDP of India, if all the money comes back to India then that could result in huge growth burst for India.

A nation where more than 450 million live below the poverty line, which means they make less than $1.25/day and could probably use an easy cash advances from somebody. By bringing back the black money back to the country there is so much which can be done for the development of the nation and the people who live below poverty line. India will also be able to clear all their foreign debts in 24Hrs. Even if all the taxes are abolished, the government can maintain the country easily for 30 years.

It’s been found that about 80 thousand people travel to Switzerland every year of whom around 25 thousand travel frequently. Those travelling on regular basis must be doing it for some reason.

The Indian government needs to take some serious steps to get the money back to India which is stashed in Swiss banks. They should work to find out the names of account holders in Swiss banks and also pressurize Swiss bank to get the black money back to the country. This has also become a matter of pride of nation and if the government still keeps silence about this issue then they will only be making themselves a laughing stock for the entire world.

Coldest populated place on Earth

The frozen village

While extreme winter weather in parts of Asia, Europe and the US has brought normal life to a virtual standstill for millions of people, many other inhabited places manage to function where such sub-zero temperatures are routine. In the north-eastern Russian Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), the village of Oymyakon is commonly called the coldest populated place on Earth. Situated in an area of Siberia nicknamed 'Stalin's Death Ring' (a former destination for political exiles), Oymyakon boasts an average winter temperature of -45C 

It's minus 61.2 degrees Celsius here!

Air temperatures of minus 61.2 degrees Celsius were reported last week. Daytime temperatures here rose to minus 53.9 degree Celsius. An intense spell of cold weather will stay in Omyakon with a population of 500 for several days more, according to weather forecasts. A temperature of -71.2C was recorded in Oymyakon on January 26, 1926. This is the lowest recorded temperature for any permanently inhabited location on Earth. It is also the lowest temperature recorded in the Northern hemisphere.

Life in extreme cold

Most homes in Oymyakon still burn coal and wood for heat and enjoy few modern conveniences - mobile phones, even if a service was available in the area, would not work in such extreme cold. Nothing grows there, a single shop provides the town's provisions and with jobs in short supply most locals resort to reindeer-breeding, hunting and ice-fishing for their livelihoods. Ironically, Oymyakon means 'non-freezing water', situated as it is to a nearby hot spring.

Nearest population centre, Yakutsk

Oymyakon is a three-day drive away from the nearest population centre, Yakutsk, the capital of Sakha and, perhaps the coldest city in the world. More than 210,000 people live there, despite a constant state of permafrost, and temperatures in the winter which average about -40C. The city still manages to run, however. It is served by two airports and is home to a university and several schools, theatres and museums. Residents reportedly leave their vehicles running all day and warn visitors against wearing glasses outside, as they will freeze to a person's face.

Oymyakon means 'non-freezing water'

Heavy frosts were reported in neighbouring settlements as well. Thus, air temperatures in the settlement of Ust-Nera, the Oimyakov district administrative centre, were minus 54.7 degrees Celsius. Ust-Nera's population is 8,500 people. The city of Yakutsk is 'lucky' to have much 'warmer' air temperatures of 35.7 degrees below zero. In the 21st century, the lowest recorded temperature in Oymyakon has been 64.5 degrees below zero. It was registered in 2002.

Japan's crippled coastline

Japan shaken to the core

Four days ago, Otsuchi was just another Japanese coastal town, a destination for surfers and lovers of remote beaches. Now, only a supermarket and a Buddhist temple remain standing amid a sea of devastation. Like most of Japan's northeast, Otsuchi was rattled by massive earthquake and then flattened by the ensuing tsunami. Officials fear more than half the town's population of about 19,000 is buried under the rubble. "Otsuchi reminds me of Osaka and Tokyo after World War Two," Tadateru Konoe, president of Japan's Red Cross, said.

The extent of devastation

Fires burned in the hills overlooking Otsuchi, complicating rescue efforts. Near-freezing temperatures, and the extent of the devastation, made chances for surviving this disaster slim. "It really doesn't get any worse than this - I've never seen anything so bad," said Patrick Fuller of the Red Cross. "I don't think you will find anywhere worse on the coastline." All along the ravaged northeastern Pacific coast, there were similar scenes of destruction. The wall of water transported homes inland, swept ships into fields, upended cars and, in one instance, lifted a sailing boat onto the roof of a house. 

Worse than 2004 tsunami?

In Minami Sanriku, Pulitzer Prize-winning Reuters photographer Adrees Latif said the whole town had been wiped out by the waves. More than 10,000 people were unaccounted for, but some families who lived in the surrounding hillside survived and could be seen scrambling across the rubble to get to what once was the centre of town. "I have seen similar disasters - I covered the (2004 Indian Ocean) tsunami from Thailand - but I have never seen anything like this in my life," Latif said. "I stopped shooting for a while to look out on to the town, and I just stood there in disbelief." 

The misery continues

Many spent another freezing night huddled in blankets around heaters in shelters along the coast. Almost two million households were without power, the government said. There were about 1.4 million without running water. Prime Minister Naoto Kan said food, water and other necessities such as blankets were being delivered by vehicles but because of damage to roads, authorities were considering air and sea transport. The Red Cross's Fuller said the priority must be on providing relief for the living. 

Unbelievable, but true!

In the town of Kuji, the Kita Nihon Zosen ship-parts factory was reduced to matchwood, but some staff turned up for work anyway and waited at the front gate, smoking cigarettes. One young worker at the ship parts factory explained why he was there. "Because it's a work day," he said. When the earthquake hit, factory boss Teruo Nakano sent a few workers to look at the sea level. "Just after the quake, the water level was already a meter lower, so we thought 'this is bad' and escaped immediately to higher ground," he said. All the workers survived.