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Consider this - You are going for an interview. You need to produce your original certificates at the time of interview. Now, if the venue of interview happens to be out of your town, there is this problem of safety of your original certificates. When I went for my interview to Delhi, I was unable to sleep properly during the journey as I was worried about my certificates. Now, digilock attempts to solve this. 1. Its a dedicated personal storage space, linked to each resident’s Aadhaar number. DigiLocker can be used to securely store e-documents as well as store Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) link of e-documents issued by various issuer departments. The e-Sign facility provided as part of DigiLocker system can be used to digitally sign e-documents.2. Digilocker would form a link between the certificate issuer, citizens( you and me) and the department (requester) asking for certificates. 3. It will minimize the use of physical documents and will provide authenticity of the e-documents It will provide secure access to Govt. issued documents. It will also reduce administrative overhead of Govt. departments and agencies and make it easy for the residents to receive services4. So you can sign up using your Aadhar card and the mobile number registered with the card. This is not limited to just certificates, but any e-documents can be uploaded. Nevertheless, just like other online solutions, it also has its share of problems -1. Issue of privacy 2. Theft by online chors.

I think there are two ways to answer this question — what’s likely, and what’s possible.I think what is likely, is that Don Jr. was not set up for anything except failure — meaning that there was no malicious plan to screw him over, he just did it to himself by lacking competence in what he was trying to do.But that’s not the only possibility.There is an argument that can be made that Jared Kushner set him up. Bear with me for a minute while I present it.It basically goes like this — Jared Kushner and Don Jr. were both present at the meeting with the Russians, thus having first-hand knowledge of its content and participants.[1] They also both knew about the intent of the meeting (collusion with the Russian government to support Trump and undermine Clinton) because it’s explicitly stated in the emails they both received. [2]Kushner failed to disclose that meeting — or literally any other foreign contact — on his SF-86 form (this is the form that federal government employees submit for their security clearances). [3] He later amended his SF-86 form two times to disclose that meeting and over 100 foreign contacts.[4]His explanation for why he initially omitted these meetings — from a document that includes a sworn statement under penalty of felony criminal charges that the information within is complete to the best of your knowledge — is that a member of his staff “prematurely” submitted the form in error. [5] As I can personally verify, having gone through the SF-86 process for my own clearance, that’s not really a possibility unless you accidentally clicked the wrong button 28 times in a row, accidentally e-signed it, and accidentally gave your legal medical release as well. (It’s a VERY long form, with a lot of confirmations).[6] So as anyone whose ever gotten a security clearance can tell you, that explanation is bogus. Now, if you forget to disclose a meeting or two on that form, or you got a date or name wrong — not unusual for very experienced applicants, or people in senior positions in certain fields — you can amend the form to include the names you missed. It’s unusual to do that more than once, or as widely as Kushner did.Now, here’s where it gets really interesting. Look at the timeline —June 9, 2016, is the meeting with the Russians.January 18, 2017: Kushner files his initial SF-86 which fails to disclose the foreign contacts. Kushner allegedly notifies the FBI “the next day” that he would fill in the missing information later. [7]April 6, 2017: New York Times reports that Kushner failed to disclose numerous meetings, including with Russian Amb. Sergei Kisylak. [8]May 11, 2017: Kushner files a first revision to his SF-86, and receives what is believed to be standard questioning from the FBI some time in mid-May.[9]“Third week of June, 2017” (exact date unknown) Marc Kasowitz, Trump’s personal attorney; and Alan Garten, chief legal officer for the Trump Organization, are informed of the existence of the emails, by Kushner’s attorneys (who had “discovered” the emails). [10]June 21, 2017: Kushner files his second revision to the SF-86. This discloses the Russian meeting to the FBI. [11]June 23, 2017: The FBI questions Kushner again over the second revision.[12] This is NOT standard.July 9–11: NY Times breaks the story of the Russian meeting, and the emails. After being contacted by the Times, Don Jr. chooses to release the emails via his twitter, before the Times can publish their story. During this time Don Jr.’s characterization of the meeting is first that it was about adoptions; then that it was about opposition research but they didn’t get any so it ended up being about adoptions; and finally admitting (with the release of the emails) that it was about the damaging information provided from the Russians, as explained clearly in the emails. At least one of these statements was drafted with the consultation of the White House legal team, and was “signed off” on by Trump himself. [13]July 12: Trump says “I only heard of it two or three days ago” (referring to the meeting). [14] In order for that to be true, it would require that two of Trump’s children, his campaign manager, his personal lawyer, the lawyers for his children, and the chief legal officer intentionally kept that information from Trump for at least two to three weeks (or in the case of Kushner/Jr./Manafort, for over a year.)So it begs the question — since Kushner knew of the meetings, had already disclosed them to the FBI (quietly, through the second SF-86 amendment, without trying to draw attention to it), and knew how damaging the information would be to their credibility on the Russia collusion question— why was Don Jr. allowed to make statements that Kushner and others knew weeks in advance were false?The answer is of course up to interpretation, but “what is possible” is that Kushner and Trump, knowing that the contents of the Russian meeting email would be going public sooner rather than later (since the media already had learned of the meeting), are attempting to set up Don Jr. to take the fall. By directing the media’s attention to Jr., who can be laughed off as an incompetent idiot who didn’t know what he was doing, Kushner buys more time for himself, taking some of the heat away from himself and his father-in-law, during the critical days ahead of the Trumpcare healthcare vote. Incidentally, Don Jr. makes for a great fall-guy, because even though he unofficially “advises” his father, he’s technically still an uncleared, private civilian who is subject to far fewer rules on disclosure, transparency, and honesty as Kushner is. And we know that the Trump organization places a high premium on protecting Kushner, who (along with Ivanka) is probably the single most influential person on Trump inside or outside the entire administration. [15]It’s also been speculated that the source of the leaks may not actually be Kushner, but could be Steve Bannon — who dislikes Kushner intensely and has been in a political power struggle with him since the transition.[16] If that’s true, then Jr. isn’t so much being “set up” so much as he’s “collateral damage.”Again, I think the most likely explanation is that Don Jr. is simply an incompetent idiot. But we know Jared Kushner, while he may not be “competent” in the traditional Washington sense, is not an idiot. He’s the one to keep an eye on here, not Don Jr.Footnotes[1] Trump Tower Russia meeting: At least eight people in the room[2] Kushner Omitted Meeting With Russians on Security Clearance Forms[3] Details revealed about Jared Kushner's security clearance forms[4] Details revealed about Jared Kushner's security clearance forms[5] Kushner’s lawyers say he mistakenly left meetings with the Russians off his security forms twice[6] https://nbib.opm.gov/record-prov...[7] People aren't buying Kushner's lawyers' explanation for security clearance form omissions[8] Kushner Omitted Meeting With Russians on Security Clearance Forms[9] Sources: Trump lawyers knew of Russia emails three weeks ago[10] Sources: Trump lawyers knew of Russia emails three weeks ago[11] Sources: Trump lawyers knew of Russia emails three weeks ago[12] Sources: Trump lawyers knew of Russia emails three weeks ago[13] Rancor at White House as Russia Story Refuses to Let the Page Turn[14] Trump says he learned ‘couple of days ago’ of son’s meeting with Russian lawyer[15] Did Jared leak the Donald Trump Jr meeting emails?[16] The Inside Story of the Kushner-Bannon Civil War

Is local government required to enroll in e-verify?This varies by location. Different states have different requirements. You can see where you state stands at Map of States with Mandatory E-Verify Laws. As you can see, there are 10 different sets of rules for the 50 states!You only talk about California. In October, 2011, California Gov. Jerry Brown signed AB1236 into law. The law prohibits state municipalities from passing mandatoy E-Verify ordinances. Some Cities, such as Los Angeles and San Francisco, consider themselves Sanctuary Cities, so in order to be illegal immigrant friendly, they don’t use e-verify. Other agencies do use it in order to verify that all employees are legal workers.U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Web site states “U.S. law requires companies to employ only individuals who may legally work in the United States — either U.S. citizens, or foreign citizens who have the necessary authorization.” According to Federal Law, all U.S. employers must ensure proper completion of Form I-9 for each individual they hire for employment in the United States (E-Verify — Am I Required to Use It? | Labor & Employment Law Perspectives) so these Cities are legally required to complete an I-9 form for every employee. Some Cities have chosen not to do so and this requirement has been largely ignored for them by the Obama administration. Now that Trump is President, this may change.

VITEEE 2018 Application Form is now available online as well as offline mode. There is a common application form for VIT Vellore Campus, Chennai Campus, VIT-Bhopal and VIT-AP and you can complete the application process from 1 November 2017 to 28 February 2018. You can get complete details on how to obtain VITEEE application form, the procedure to fill and submit the online application form below:The process to obtain the offline application form:Post Office/ Banks: You can obtain the application form from designated post offices on cash payment of Rs. 1200.Offline through Vellore Campus or Administration office: You can also obtain the VITEEE application form along with information Brochure and a printed self-addressed envelope can be obtained in person from given campus by handing over a Demand Draft for Rs. 1200 drawn in favour of ‘VIT University’.Offline through post: You can also obtain the VITEEE Application Form 2018 through post by sending a Demand Draft for Rs. 1200 drawn in favour of ‘VIT University’, payable at Vellore.Steps to fill Online Application Form:You can fill the VITEEE Application form online through Internet from any place of your convenience. To fill and submit the application form, you have to follow the steps given below:Step 1: New User RegistrationStep 2: Confirmation of passwordStep 3: Filling online application formStep 4: Mode of paymentStep 5: Photo & Sign UploadThe candidates should have a valid personal mobile phone number and or a personal E-Mail id.Photograph: Candidates have to affix a recent passport size colour photographs with the given specifications (For Online Application Only).Signature: Candidates should have a clear scanned image of their signature as per the given specifications (For Online Application Only)Things to be kept ready before filling Online Application FormThe candidates should have a valid personal mobile phone number and or a personal E-Mail id.Photograph: Candidates have to affix a recent passport size colour photographs with the given specifications (For Online Application Only).Signature: Candidates should have a clear scanned image of their signature as per the given specifications (For Online Application Only)The process to fill Online Application Form:You can also opt the option to fill the VITEEE Application form in offline mode. I’ve already mentioned above how to get an offline application form. You have to follow the following guideline to fill the offline application:Application form should be filled in English onlyYou can use only black ball-point pen and CAPITAL letters to fill the required information in the application form.Paste a recent passport size colour photograph of good quality and sign in the space given in the application form.For more details on VITEEE 2018, and VITEEE 2018 application form, you can click both links given below:VITEE 2018VITEEE 2018 Application Form

Consider you are investing lump-sum or SIP into mutual fund regular plans.What are you missing out on?You forgot to track the most important thing, Expense Ratio. Here is the Wikipedia definition "The expense ratio of an asset fund is the total percentage of fund assets used for administrative, management, advertising and all other expenses. An expense ratio of 1% per annum means that each year 1% of the fund's total assets will be used to cover expenses."When you invest via regular plan, the Mutual Fund house needs to factor in the trail commission it must pay to the the distributor or the agent for getting them the business. And this commission is earned by transferring a lower return to a regular fund investor vs a direct fund investor. Let's see how this works?Here is a snapshot of Kotak Select Focus Fund on 10th May, 2018. The change in NAV was -0.48% with respect to previous day value.Now let's look at the regular plan of the same fund, it fell 0.01% more. This is how, the commission is collected slowly & steadily to be paid to the distributor.Some of you would be thinking, ahh 1% yearly -who cares?If you had to choose a home loan & had two options, one offering 8.75% & other 9.75%, who would you choose? Obviously the one offering lower interest rates. Then why do you ignore the same criteria in mutual funds?If you invest Rs. 10,000 in a monthly SIP with an average return of 14% in direct plans, the return at the end of 20 years would be 1.3 crore. And if you invest in regular plans, considering an additional 1% as the expense ration, the investment at the end of 20 years will be 1.1 crore. Now, consider the difference if you invest even more, you'll get your answer.Where do i buy Direct Mutual Fund Plans?With the ease in KYC norms & e-KYC, investing into mutual funds is quite a simple process. Here are some platforms you can consider to invest into direct plans -Directly through Mutual Fund Website - Investors can choose to register on the AMC (Asset Management Company) website. You can directly fill the form to select your mutual fund plan, investment amount, frequency and other details. You need to select the mode of investment as DIRECT instead of specifying the distributor code. It is advisable to always diversify your investments across different fund houses & for the same reason you will need to maintain multiple accounts across websites to manage your investments. Although, it is an ideal way to invest but getting a 360 degree view of your investments is a difficult task.Mutual Fund Utility - All fund houses have come together to create a direct mutual fund investment platform called as MFU. You need to create a Common Account Number (CAN), which can be used for investment across all fund house to invest into Direct Mutual Funds. There is no additional fee levied on the investments made through this portal. New investors can find the portal quite confusing & not much investment insights are available as part of portfolio analysis. Here is the link - https://www.mfuindia.com/Karvy or myCams - Both these mechanisms provide direct mutual fund plans. The limitation of both these platforms is they provide investment options only for selected fund houses. In case your asset management company is not listed on either of the portals, you will again need to split your investments across multiple platforms - which destroys the entire purpose.MoneyFront - Moneyfront has almost all direct mutual funds available on it's platform. The drawback lies in it's pricing strategy. Currently they charge INR 100 per month which is billed annually. Umm..We understand not many investors will like this, specially the ones who invest periodically by analyzing the market conditions & the ones who don't put a huge amount into SIP's. The sole reason for investing in direct mutual funds is to save money, then why do you want to pay to the platform? If you wish to explore further, here is the link https://www.moneyfront.in/Zerodha Coin - You could choose to invest into both regular and direct plans through the Coin platform. If you wish to invest into direct plans, you will be charged a monthly fee of Rs. 50 post first INR 25000 investment. Again going back to the same point, if i'm starting an SIP of Rs. 500, will i be happy to pay Rs. 50 monthly. NO!! Here is the link - https://coin.zerodha.com/KUVERA - A GAME CHANGER! Yes believe it or not, you can invest into direct mutual fund plans at zero cost. The sign up process seems pretty easy & the verification process is as fast as it can get. The direct plans of all fund houses are available on their platform. You could also import your existing portfolio by uploading Karvy's Combined Account Statement. The dashboard provides meaningful insights on the portfolio performance. I have personally switched all my existing SIP's to this platform & this is my RECOMMENDATION. Here is the link - https://kuvera.in/With gaining popularity, many other platforms have opened up which offer direct plans. EvenPayTm has announced a new mutual fund investment platform to be launched soon. Read - Will Paytm's foray into mutual funds shake up the industry?Unless you need an agent or distributor to guide you, Go DIRECT!!Follow our website Mutual Funds Wiki or Facebook/Twitter page to get regular updates on best long term investment strategies -Facebook - Mutual Funds WikiTwitter - Mutual Funds WikiHappy Investing!!

There is one “legendary treasure” in Vietnam that many people might not be aware of.Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Laos, Myanmar, and the Philippines don’t have this treasure.China has it. The USA has it. Western and Northern Europe has it.What characteristics do the above three have in common?They are all economically powerful. This “treasure” is one of the reasons that could help them quickly developing manufacturing industries and reducing operating costs. Therefore, this “legendary treasure” is a secret weapon for “modern” economic prosperity.Unfortunately, India, the Middle East, and Australia don’t have this treasure.Now I am telling you that Vietnam has this treasure. If Vietnam uses it well, they could achieve double-digit economic growth.Can you guess what is this “treasure”? Please pause for a minute and think about it.Let me give you a hint for this puzzle: “Balloons”.I know it is a very difficult puzzle. If you wish to know the answer, please continue to read this extremely long post. I’m sure you can learn something new about Vietnam.First, we need to use China as a reference to understand Vietnam. Here is the satellite image of the Yangtze River Delta in China.If you zoom in and traverse along the bank of Yangtze from the coast to inland for around 1000km, you will find thousands of ships sailing along the river. This is a sign of a booming economy.Ships sailing east in Yangtze River, Nanjing, China 32°10'10.4"N 118°57'19.9"EIn Vietnam, there is a similar river called Mekong River or the Nine Dragons River. The Mekong river is very similar to the Yangtze River in China. Both of them are long, wide and steady. The Mekong river is also an international river. It runs through China's Yunnan Province, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and signNowes the sea in Vietnam.Mekong river delta in Vietnam, a dense mesh of canal networks can be seenIf you zoom in and traverse along the Mekong River from the coast and move upstream, you can find numerous vessels sailing along the river, either big and small.Thành Phố Châu Đốc 朱笃市 10°42'20.9"N 105°08'03.0"EBut wait, this is not the “treasure” I am talking about. There are a lot of other great river deltas around the world. What’s special about Vietnam?To understand what’s special about Vietnam, let’s look at the Ganges-Brahmaputra River Delta in Bangladesh and India for comparison. They obviously have a much bigger and wider river originating from the Himalayas.Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta in India and BangladeshHowever, if we zoom in and have a closer look at the Brahmaputra river, we can see that the Brahmaputra is actually not “one” river but many small rivers intertwined together.The Brahmaputra river streams intertwine like “roots”, 25°50'01.2"N 89°50'34.4"EDuring the monsoon season, it becomes “one” river. The heavy rainfall during monsoon pours a huge amount of water into this river. These streams would form into one river and flood all the fields along the bank. In the dry season, there is not enough water to fill the whole width of the river, leaving a few streams intertwined on the river bed.Since the river flow volume fluctuates so much, it is impossible for big ships to travel along the river. That’s why India and Bangladesh can’t develop large inland river commodity shipment.So how do we address this river problem? Now it is time to reveal the treasure: “balloon lakes” (吞吐型湖泊).A balloon lake is a kind of fresh-water lake that is connected to a river. In a rainy season or monsoon season, balloon lakes take in an extra amount of water from the river to avoid excessive floods. In the dry season, balloon lakes spit out water into the river to keep the river flowing smoothly.China‘s Yangtze River is connected with five balloon lakes: Changhu Lake, Dongting Lake, Poyang Lake, Chaohu Lake, and Hong Tse Lake. In the monsoon season, these lakes are like a sponge, absorbing a huge amounts of water and expanding several times its original size. In the dry season, these lakes supply a huge amount of water back to Yangtze River.From the following satellite image, we can see that the Poyang Lake is spitting water to the Yangtze River. (Satellite image usually shows a dry season image in China. They can not be taken during the monsoon season due to the heavy clouds.)Poyang Lake, a balloon lake in China 29°43'36.0"N 116°11'02.2"ESimilarly, the USA has its Great Lakes serving as balloon lakes. Some questioned it is not. But we can’t deny the fact that the Mississippi River is steady and calm so that cargo ships can sail from the ocean and signNow deeply inland.So enough about China and the USA, what about Vietnam?Of course, the Mekong River in South East Asia is also blessed with a huge balloon lake. And only Vietnam and Cambodia can enjoy the benefits.This is the Tonlé Sap Lake Tonlé Sap - Wikipedia in Cambodia, the largest lake of South East Asia. This lake is also a typical balloon lake.The Mekong River is connected to the lake at Phnom Penh in Cambodia. During the monsoon season, Mekong river can pump extra water into the lake. During the dry season, water from Tonlé Sap flows into the Mekong river, boosting the flow volume downstream.Balloon lakes do have their side effects. Because they expand several times over during the monsoon season, people living around these regions suffer a lot from flooding. However, only Cambodia carries the burden of expanding balloon lakes. It is so lucky for Vietnam to just enjoy its benefits. Vietnam, you should be really grateful for Cambodians taking the side effects.Now we understand what are the balloon lakes. Next, let me explain why the balloon lake is the secret legendary weapon for Vietnam to boost its economy (and same for China, USA, and Europe).A legendary weapon has its “special effects”Weapon effect 1: -80% flooding damageRivers with large or many balloon lakes would get more flooding-tolerant. During the monsoon season, extra water would be buffered in the balloon lake and flooding in the downstream would become less severe. This signNowly benefits the massive amount of Vietnamese people living in the delta.Without balloon lakes, for example, India has suffered from the monsoon floods for thousands of years. People are reluctant to put efforts into building their villages and improvement.“If my farmland and home get destroyed every year by flooding, why do I need to keep working on it?”And therefore during monsoon season, those Indian farmers who live by the river would normally do less farm-work and this seems to have influenced their culture over the thousands of years.Flooding in India during the monsoon season.In contrast, let’s look at Vietnam in the Mekong river delta region. The Vietnamese named this delta the “Nine Dragon Rivers Delta”. This delta region is the most productive region in Vietnam. Its rice production accounts for almost half of the total Vietnam rice production.Nine Dragon Rivers are filled with a dense mesh of canals 10°05'31.4"N 105°25'29.7"EThe Vietnamese people spent hundreds of years digging canals for irrigation, growing rice and cultivating their fish ponds. Thanks to the balloon lakes upstream, those canals and rice fields don’t get destroyed by flooding. They might still get light flooding occasionally but not to the devastating extent of their farms and homes, which get destroyed every year.For the past hundreds of years, Emperor Gia Long of the Nguyen Dynasty (嘉隆帝) has led his people to construct massive canal networks over the delta. With this dense canal network, the Mekong Delta is less prone to flooding.These cultivation and hard working styles have also been embedded in Vietnamese cultures too.Weapon effect 2: +Constant River Flow EffectOn the other hand, balloon lakes provide a constant flow of water all over the years. The constant flow could drive rivers to deepen their river bed. The river surface becomes calm too. So the river would never become fragmented and intertwined like the Brahmaputra river in India.Now you might understand why the Vietnamese love to travel by boats and why their rivers are so calm and steady. Normal families can carry their produce using their own boats and sell products on the market set on the flat river. This becomes a part of their unique culture too. This kind of transportation is extremely cost-effective and convenient.River market around Can Tho, fourth largest city in VietnamCai Rang Floating Market around Can ThoWhat is the proof claiming that balloon lakes have such effects?Based on the description of the Mekong River from The Use of Rivers for Transportation in Vietnam:Upstream from Phnom Penh, navigation along the Mekong River is impaired by natural obstructions so that vessel transport is confined to relatively short river segmentsPhnom Penh is exactly where the balloon lake Tonlé Sap is connected to the Mekong River. Without the supplements from Tonlé Sap, upstream Mekong River gets less water during the dry season and therefore it is unnavigable. It is not due to the Chinese dams built along the upstream Mekong river as some people claim.Weapon unique effect I: -400% inland logistics costsA steady river surface and deep river bed provide an ideal environment for inland cargo shipping. This kind of transportation is very cost-effective and efficient. People in Vietnam use it for carrying sand, stones, coal, and other construction materials to build their homes and factories. It might look rustic to you, but it is actually much cheaper to carry it by boat compared to a truck. This happens in China, USA, and Europe as well.Now the Vietnamese have also realized their huge potential in large scale commodity shipping in the Nine Dragon River. A 7000 tonnage commodity ship can now sail deep into Mekong river and signNow the Vietnam and Cambodia border. And, in theory, the ship can signNow all the way to Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia.Why is large tonnage shipping so essential on the manufacturing industry? Let me use a very simple example:Suppose the city of Can Tho (芹苴市), the fourth largest city of Vietnam, wants to manufacture car components for Hyundai. The city needs to import 5000 tons of oil and coal to generate power. It also needs to import 5000 tons of raw materials including steel and other smaller components from other parts of Vietnam or the rest of the world. After manufacturing, it needs to export the 5000 tons of car components to the rest of the world.Imagine what would be the cost if you transport them using trucks? using trains? or using ships? Of course, we know that ships are the cheapest. But even for shipping, it is much cheaper to use one 5000 tonnage ship instead of 50 100-tonnage small ships. These costs would be reflected in the final price of “Made-in-Vietnam” and their competitiveness in attracting foreign investments.A 5000-ton container ship sails along with the Mekong riverWeapon unique effect II: Riverbank has the same effect as CoastlinesInland rivers with balloon lakes naturally have deeper river bed, which can support large-tonnage commodity shipping. Therefore, it actually has the same effects as the coastlines. Moreover, it is much better than coastlines because you have double land exposure on both sides of the river bank; the land price by the river is much cheaper than the land price by the coast.Look at the rest of South East Asia, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, they all have great ports along their coast. Why do I believe Vietnam has better potential than them? They have fewer flatlands along the coast. Those lands are typically very expensive.Now let’s go back to China and see how China efficiently uses this “legendary weapon” to make its Made-in-China products “cheap” despite the higher labour costs. The following satellite image shows a section of Yangtze River in Jiangsu, which is around 300km upstream from the coast.Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, China 32°12'39.1"N 119°40'27.4"EIf we zoom in, we can find a typical Chinese factory that manufactures cheap electronics. What’s interesting about this factory is that they have their own ports by the river.An example of a standalone Chinese manufacturing factory by the Yangtze river. 32°12'39.1"N 119°40'27.4"EContainer ships can offload the factory import containers and take aboard the export containers. Moreover, the container ships can serve all the other factories along the river in one go. Now do you realise the amazing efficiency in both logistics and factories revealed here?It is much cheaper to set up factories deeply inland than the coastal area by seaports. If you are an investor, would you place your factory here? Of course, you will consider if the logistic cost reduction overweights the labour cost increase.This is one of the factors that contribute to why China can make “made-in-China” goods so cheap. It is not due to the cheap labour, but cheap logistic, its scale and land costs. If you have time, please use your Google Earth to have a look at the bank of all the river networks in China, and you will find countless factories along the rivers. That also explains why Southern China is relatively more economically prosperous than Northern China.Hopefully, from the explanation above, you can also understand why it is very difficult for India to develop cheap logistic networks. It is because of their lack of navigable river networks.Now let’s go back to Vietnam.What’s amazing for Vietnam is that it has two river deltas: the Mekong River Delta (21 million people) and the Red River Delta (17 million people). Both are destined to become megalopolis of over 20 million people in the next 50 years of urbanisation.For the Red River Delta in the north, the Vietnamese government also accidentally made two artificial “ballon lakes”: Thac Ba Lake and Hoa Binh Lake. Both lakes are connected to the red river, making the red river easy to navigate.Thac Ba Lake 21°47'59.2"N 104°58'33.9"EWhat’s more amazing is that Vietnam is blessed with a long coastal line as well as dense river networks. Look at the river and coastal map of Vietnam:With proper port infrastructure developments, cargo ships in Vietnam have the potential to navigate any part of the country cheaply through seas and rivers. Its exposure to navigable waters is higher than in other ASEAN countries. That’s why Vietnam has a brighter future than any other ASEAN country.Besides its geographic potential, let’s look at Vietnam’s climate potential.Based on the German climate classification, Köppen climate classification - Wikipedia, we can find that Northern Vietnam is the only region of South East Asia that has “temperate climate”. A temperate climate is especially beneficial in developing the economy. The world’s most developed regions are normally correlated with regions of temperate climate but not tropical climate.Fortunately, Northern Vietnam has a similar climate as in the Canton region of China including Hong Kong and Shenzhen. It means that Northern Vietnam has the same climate potential to develop its economy as Canton.Why is the tropical climate not as beneficial in developing the economy? One possible explanation is that people in tropical regions with hot and humid climate are normally reluctant to work. You get tired easily when working at a hot temperature. The climate affects their psychology and becomes less hard-working. And it has been embedded in their cultures over thousands of years. Moreover, hot and humid weather causes more diseases, deadly bugs and disasters, making it more expensive to install basic welfare for the whole society.So Southern Vietnam is not so lucky in terms of its climate. Its potential and labour efficiency might take a hit due to its hot and humid weather. However, there is a way around this. The Vietnamese government needs to learn from Singapore to focus more on the health system, pest control, and basic education in the tropical area. There is no other tropical country in the world that does better than Singapore.And actually, hot and climate weather is not a problem when it comes to air conditioning. Even in a temperate climate, most cities in China are actually much hotter than Vietnam during the summer. That’s why the Chinese government promotes its domestic air conditioning industry and signNowly lowers the air conditioning costs and electricity costs. As a result, normal Chinese household can at least afford an air conditioner.Therefore it is essential for the Vietnamese government to focus on promoting its air conditioning penetration. At least ensure an air-conditioned environment in every school, hospital and public transport hub.Yes, Vietnam is currently on its correct track. It surpasses Thailand in term of air conditioner sales and soared to the same level as India and Indonesia, despite having fewer people of around 100 million. The Vietnamese government should try their best to attract air conditioning industry and foster domestic AC brands.Vietnam a really cool market for air-conditioner makers - VnExpress InternationalNow we understand Vietnam has its geographic potential and climate conditions to become a manufacturing hub. But the next question is: Does the Vietnam government fully exploit its geographic potential?We all know the Vietnamese Communist Party has learned from China and open up its economy through a series of political and economic reforms (Đổi mới). They are fully aware that developing infrastructure is the key to unleash their geographic potentials and economic growth. That’s why we are currently seeing so much on-going infrastructure construction in Vietnam.When normal Chinese people look at these infrastructure developments in Vietnam, they would be confused. Huge bridges, huge electricity grid over rivers, rice fields and fish ponds, etc. Is it in China or in Vietnam? Why are they so similar?I’m telling you they are in Vietnam.Cầu Phước Khánh, Phước Khánh, Nhơn Trạch, Đồng Nai, VietnamMost of the projects are funded by Japanese, Korean and Chinese companies.Mega bridges constructed over Saigon River 10°39'32.1"N 106°44'24.9"ENhật Tân Bridge in HanoiVietnamese Communist Party vs Chinese Communist PartyHowever, despite the good will of developing infrastructure projects, developments in Vietnam seem to be slower than the Chinese. In 2008, when China has a similar GDP per capita as Vietnam in 2018 (around $2800), China still managed to complete a lot of infrastructure projects (per capita). One example is that in 2008, numerous Chinese cities already has several lines of metros.In contrast, in 2019, Ho Chi Minh City has yet to deliver its first metro line Ho Chi Minh City Metro - Wikipedia, despite the fact that it was first proposed in 2001.For Hanoi, two metro lines are on construction. However, progress is also signNowly slower if you compare with the Chinese speed.Due to the lack of efficient public transport, Vietnamese people still have to use scooters for commuting. Yes, it is efficient for individuals but it is not so efficient in terms of the whole urban transportation network and development.Why are infrastructure developments in Vietnam so slow? Some of my Vietnamese friends said it was due to the corruptions. But I would say, I didn’t see too much difference between the Chinese and Vietnamese in terms of corruption. But why could the Chinese get things done quickly despite corruption?Let’s look at the fundamental difference between the Vietnamese Communist Party (VCP) and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to understand why.Difference 1: Lack of strong leadership and meritocracyThe two populous river deltas in Vietnam is a blessing but also a curse. Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are over 1000 km apart and they do have difference culturally and politically. As a result, the VCP has to compromise and balance the interests between the two regions.That’s why we can see VCP normally picks a Northern Vietnamese as their General Secretary of VCP, a Central Vietnamese to be the President of Vietnam, and a Southern Vietnamese to be their prime minister (or rotation). The three leaders have approximately similar power and they can check and balance with each other. We typically call it the “Troika” of Vietnam. There is no apparent top leadership among them.They are efficient if the three leaders are heading for the same direction but not so efficient if they are heading for different directions. In China, there are a lot of debates in whether a strong capable leader is better for a nation or seven strong capable leaders are great for a nation. It remains to be seen.But what is true is that the three leaders in Vietnam will form their own circles of power and interest groups. It breaks the meritocracy promotion and circulations because you always have a leader from the North and a leader from the South. As there is no higher leadership that oversees them, it is more difficult to crack down corruptions top-down in the pyramid power grid.To know more about this pyramid power theory on to reducing corruption, please check my answer in:Janus Dongye Qimeng's answer to How much corruption is there in PR China? How does it differ on the different levels of the administration, and what is its history?Recently Vietnam seems to learn from China and broke this “Troika” relation. Now Vietnam has two leaders. Is there a possibility they might eventually have one leader? That remains to be seen.What if Vietnam becomes a democratic country? There would be a north-friendly party and south-friendly party. Democracy would only further polarise their political divide and destabilise the country. And of course, it would never prevent corruption problems just like India.Difference 2: Private ownership of the land in VietnamThe second fundamental difference between Vietnam and China is that VCP allows its people to own their land, whereas all the lands in China are owned by the government and the Chinese government only leases its land to the people.Again, I am not saying that one is necessarily better than the other. Both have advantages and disadvantages. But the most notable effect is that it is easier for China to acquire land for its infrastructure projects. Those Chinese people who own the right to use the land would hurry to extend their current floor plan just hoping the government might acquire their land for better compensation. You might not see this trend in other parts of the world.The second effect is that Vietnam local governments are too weak in terms of finance and power. Without the power of selling lands to real estate developers (because they don’t have enough land), the Vietnamese government is normally weak in their income.As a result, they would:propose fewer constructions compared to Chinaspark more instances of government-level corruption in other parts of the process because “it is not lucrative enough”.have to seek financial assistance from foreign countries including Japan, Korea, and China. It is likely to fall into a debt trap.Difference 3: Military doing business in VietnamAgain, this is also a controversial topic. Vietnam has its “military complex” just like the USA because it has been at war for several decades. Interest groups in the military have become so large that they now control politics and over 10% of the domestic economy of Vietnam. While Vietnam has their own state enterprises, some of them have become de facto military enterprises.Normally, a country can collect taxes and feed its military, so that its military has to listen to the state and asks for military budgets. But if the military can sustain itself through doing business, why do they need to listen to the state? If there are no checks and balances for the military, Vietnam runs the risk of being intervened and controlled by interest groups from the military. Without checks and balances, it would foster even more corruption in the military.Difference 4: Vietnam is more “democratic” than ChinaAlthough VCP learned from CCP to open up its economy through a series of political and economic reforms (Đổi mới), they actually took a more “free” approach in their political reforms. For example, the Vietnamese “congress” or the National Assembly of Vietnam is allocated with more power compared to the National People's Congress in China. The detailed difference is worth another dedicated answer. But specifically for infrastructure development, Vietnam Congress can reject development projects such as high-speed railway projects based on the representatives’ votes, which are represented by different interest groups.North–South express railway (Vietnam) - WikipediaAgain, I am not saying which approach is better. But having a different system would provide us a perfect political system experiment for us to study and compare in the next few decades. It would be extremely helpful for China’s own political reforms too.Finally, after reading about the geographic, climate and political potentials of Vietnam, I hope you can have a comprehensive view of Vietnam. Vietnam has its geographic potentials and it remains to be seen whether the Vietnam government can fully exploit its potential. But its fast-growing economy tells that its potential is being explored.Recently, many of my fellow Chinese, perhaps including me, have been bragging about the rapid development of China. The most representative picture we typically use is:This is the city of Shanghai. From 1999 to 2019, in just two decades, Shanghai witnessed an unimaginable transformation, especially on the bank in Pudong.The land of future, 10°46'16.6"N 106°42'59.5"EFrom Google Earth, if we look at the historical satellite image around 2000, we can see that the river bank (the Bund) is almost grassland. Who knows that skyscrapers arise like bamboos in the future!What if I tell you that the satellite image above is not Shanghai, but Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) in Vietnam? What if I tell you that Ho Chi Minh City is experiencing a similar growth path like Shanghai? What if I tell you that skyscrapers are already rising like bamboo in Ho Chi Minh City?Sunset of Ho Chi Minh CityAlong the bank of Saigon river, new skyscrapers are erected every year. You can easily spot the tallest building in Vietnam: landmark 81, which was completed in 2018.However, this title will be overtaken by another skyscraper, the empire city tower, an 86-story building. The tower would become a new landmark of Vietnam, just like Taipei 101 in Taiwan and Twin towers in Malaysia. And the tower would bring more investors and more skyscrapers along.Besides skyscrapers, you might also spot construction of many massive business parks in Vietnam. And you can see that these industrial zones are quickly expanding and taking over the adjacent rice fields.Industrial zone 2, Ho Chi Minh City 10°43'06.7"N 106°55'35.5"EIt is estimated that there are around 300k factories located in the city. Many of them are invested by foreign companies from Korea, China, Japan, and the USA. The most representative investments are in the electronics sector, Samsung invested 6.5 billion dollars here to manufacture its OLED monitors. Intel invested 1.5 billion dollars and built a fabrication factory here to produce their CPUs. The AirPods from Apple would also be manufactured here. The same happens in Hanoi and the rest of Vietnam as well.And also Vietnam is so lucky to become a member of each free trade agreement network led by the USA, China, and ASEAN. It gains huge benefits by being in the middle between China and USA. Foreign investments found Vietnam could be a safe spot to avoid the damage from the trade war between the USA and China.Some of my fellow Chinese fear that foreign investments leaving China for Vietnam would be bad for the Chinese economy. But from what I can see, these investments are not a zero-sum game. China can still maintain most of the foreign direct investments it has due to its massive market and excellent infrastructure. And Vietnam has just around 100 million people and it lacks the capacity to consume all the investment. For manufacturing in the downstream value chain, China should join Japan and South Korea to actively invest in Vietnam to develop its economy and get a share of its economic growth.As a Chinese, I think Vietnam will have a bright future because of its amazing geographic potential. What matters now for Vietnam is how to attract investments based on its efficient logistic networks, infrastructure and supply chain. This would be the key to overcome a potential middle-income trap in the future.Thanks for taking the time to read this extremely long post, I hope you learned something new about Vietnam and China.

Although there have been many policy changes, many ways to stop corruptions, many arrests in case of corruption, this question seeks certain innovative decisions, not particularly related to better administration, but out of the box initiatives.Hence I would skip the usual stuff and come to the one which blew my mind, and has the potential to change the health sector across the country:1. The Aam Aadmi ClinicUsually a dispensary is built by Rs 20 Million / 2 Crore. However, these Aam Aadmi Clinics are being built in a frugal budget of Rs 1.5 Million / 15 Lakh.One thing apart from the frugal budget and the nice output that I like about this particular clinic is that ramp at the left. Most health facilities in India miss that.A view from inside: 1,000 such clinics are planned all over Delhi and 500 such clinics are planned in current fiscal year. The plan is to reduce the load and on bigger hospitals. There is a waiting room, a doctor's room and a pharmacy as well, which distributes free medicines. It is also equipped with state-of-the-art blood testing facility. A gynaecologist and paediatrician will visit the clinic once every week, besides regular doctors posted at these clinics. Ambulance services will be arranged so that if any patient is referred from these clinics to hospitals there is a facility to take him or her there.As of now, 180-200 patients visit this particular facility every day.More discussion on these clinics has taken place on Quora at  What are the pros and cons of the Neighbourhood Clinics launched by the AAP government in Delhi? 2. Crowd-Sourcing the Yearly BudgetThis year, Mohalla Sabhas (community discussions) were done in 11 constituencies in Delhi. Not only that, people from industry were also consulted. The end result, the final budget impressed everyone, and shut the mouths of the cynics and the critics. The accolades came from CII - CII CEOs on Delhi BudgetThe members also appreciated the Government for incorporating many of recommendations and suggestions submitted by CII Nobel Laurette Kailash Satyarthi - Kailash Satyarthi on Twitter From industry to child activists, eveyone loved the budget. Not only was the budget for Education and Health sector hiked, the cash strapped MCD was also given adequate money to fix itself (I think this is the last chance for MCD).Read Ten Highlights From Aam Aadmi Party's First Delhi Budget 3. Redesigning Delhi RoadsDelhi already has a huge road network and the width of the roads is also decent enough. Still it continues to battle with the traffic issues. To counter that, it has been decided that a better use of available road space would be done, instead of building new flyovers.1,260km of Delhi roads to be redesignedThe target is ZERO fatalities on the road as well.The BRTS was also scrapped, which was only adding to more chaos in the city and it is being planned from scratch now. AAP is focussing more on better design, rather than taking up a haphazard approach. The new BRTS is being planned at Rs 20-30 Crore per KM, against the older one which was built at Rs 50 Crore per KM.The height of the foothpath would also be reduced to 6 inches, when the current foothpaths are much higher. The plan is to add the cycle tracks as well, widen the footpaths and ensure that the public transport is given the priority.4. Bus MarshalsMuch has been talked about the women's security, or a lack of it in Delhi. An initiative to make at least the bus ride safe for women of the city is done by deploying bus marshals in DTC buses. Delhi government to deploy 4,000 marshals in city busesAlso, CCTV cameras have already been installed in 200 buses as of now and more buses would be covered as well in the future. 5. Power from unconventional sourcesDelhi doesn't generate power and has to buy from other states. In order to counter this, the AAP government is taking initiative in few areas.Solar Power: There have been few developments in this area:AAP Government Plans to Install Solar Panel on Roofs of Bus Shelters: A target to generate 1000 MW from Bus Shelters in next 5 years has been set.Delhi: Discoms buy solar power from rooftop units: Not directly under the Delhi government, with Delhi government being a stakeholder at 49%, the DISCOMs are now going to buy solar power from rooftop units. The two BSES on Monday said they had already started net-metering at six locations in the city — four residential and one commercial building in south Delhi and a school in the east. It would save them Rs 3,000 to Rs 32,000 a month. Delhi Jal Board commissions first hydropower plant - Think about power being generated out of the effluent coming out of the sewage treatment plants! And it produces produce 20,000 kWh of electricity per year! That's how innovative this AAM government in Delhi is.“It is a pilot project which has been set up free-of-cost. We are also exploring the possibility of replication of this ‘Green Power Generation’ at other installations as well”Also, there are plans to create many garbage to electricity plants across Delhi, however a feasibility study is going on, if it should be done on a large scale.6. Toilet to Tap WaterNot that it is being done for the first time anywhere, however what the catch in this news is that the water to the Delhi Secretariat would now be supplied from the Toilet-To-Tap water treatment plans.         CM Kejriwal drinks treated  raw sewage water“Similar plants in every colony would do away with the need to have sewer pipelines and water pipelines to transport them to big plants. Water can be produced from raw sewage at the local level at small plants such as this”The plan is to build a large number of such small plants across the city, perhaps in every colony, so that there would not be any need to have sewer pipelines and water pipelines to transport them to big plants.The idea is very ambitious, however if it is implemented successfully, it can change the face of the city.7. Delhi to be the first e-StateCome 2016, and there won't be any paper work being done inside the Delhi Government ministries. The government has approved the e-office plan and it would be implemented by December. This would streamline the processes better, introduce transparency, remove corruption and expedite the processesDelhi to be first state to go paperless in all govt departments“Delhi will be the first state to implement e-office in all its departments. In the first phase, it will be implemented in 15 departments. Simultaneously, all other departments and their attached offices will also start necessary preparations for its implementation. In these 15 departments, there will be no physical movement of files from December 1,” an official said. Wait, there is more to it. Remember that every MLA (and MP) gets certain amount of funds for local area development? Do you know what happens to them? Most of us don't.All this information would be soon available online as well - Now monitor Delhi MLA projects onlineThe online application, hosted at Welcome to the MLALAD, has been developed by the 'Delhi e- Governance Society' and will be coordinated by the newly- formed body Delhi Urban Development Authority (DUDA)Also, now acquiring government certification for marriage, income, domicile, caste, nationality, birth and death will soon be replaced by a virtual experience on the e-district platform in Delhi - Govt papers now just a click awayMore on the e-State initiative, the Delhiites get e-locker for papersCitizens can now digitally store revenue department certificates as well as identification documents including Aadhaar, voter ID and driving licence. The portal is accessible on smartphone and a mobile app is also on the way. Users may upload documents and place digitally-signed certificates in the locker. Once a file is processed and certificate generated, the locker is the space where it goes to by default. The user can access his document through the unique password issued at the time of registration Of course, all this would be very handy with the free WiFi coming up at various schools, colleges and 1000 select places soon, but that is already a given.Delhi would soon be the first state to fulfill the Indian dream of Digital India!8. EducationSchools, colleges, argh!! We all have been through the abysmal condition of the public schools in the country. I was lucky enough to study in a Central school, but it was not all that rosy as well. I remember seeing the roof of my school blown away after heavy rains and winds once. My wife still laughs her heart out listening to it.We don't want to send our kids to government schools. Municipality schools are a strict no-no for us. I don't have to mention that the government schools in much of Europe are awesome. However, I was surprised to know that even in case of USA, people prefer government schools than private schools.AAP, unlike all other parties, steeply hiked the education budget by 106%, as I mentioned above. Apart from that, there have been other developments as well:The Education department has decided that it will now monitor all nursery schools and playschools running on private land as well - Playschools on private land to be monitored Education dept has introduced skills training in high school. Besides Academic degree, student will pass out with skills degree47-50 new schools were planned to be built this fiscal year, however recently CM Arvind Kejriwal announced that the work for 236 schools have already startedNSIT has been upgraded to a university now - Cabinet approves varsity status for NSIT - The Times of IndiaCCTV cameras are being installed in the schools of Delhi. That would improve both discipline in the government schools and the quality of education as well - Install CCTV cameras, schools toldThere cannot be any illegal demands from the parents from the schools and the Delhi Government has been very strict on this - School donation: Parents get help to report illegal demand. Not just that, Action Against Delhi Schools if Parents Not Allowed Mobiles   Education dept has introduced skills training in high school. Besides Academic degree, student will pass out with skills degree.AAP govt offers higher education loans to studentsThe scheme is being introduced to help students who wish to pursue higher education. A loan of up to Rs. 10 lakh will be given by the bank with the government as a guarantor. The student will get a gap year after completing his/her education, after which the repayment period of the loan has been earmarked at 15 years. The interest rate will be 2% in addition to the base rate offered by the bank. The scheme also has a mandatory insurance with a varying premium.In order to help the kids of construction workers with better education, the Delhi Government gave Rs 15 Crore to the Education ministry to help with the education of children of 26,451 registered construction labourers, who are studying in 266 schools of the city. Also a database of these kids is being prepared for the last fiscal. - Delhi Government Announces Increase in Aid for Construction Workers I just couldn't stop myself when it came to education. There are many good initiatives to make education not only affordable but also of a better quality. Investing in our kids is supposedly the best investment indeed.9. Employment GenerationFor all the schemes, life is miserable if you don't have a job to do. There have been many initiatives by AAP government, which sadly other governments are not taking, to provide employment to the youth:Apart from the initial plan of backlog of 20k posts to be cleared by year-end, the Delhi government has been holding job summit as well - Delhi government to hold a large-scale job summit. After the job summit in the first two weeks of August, which gave jobs to 2000 people - 2000 people get offer letters, Delhi govt to organise 2nd job summit soon.  However a true boost to employment generation can only come from private sector, and for that there have been many tax reliefs, plus a boost to women entrepreneurs - Kejriwal assures help to women entrepreneurs. Also, VAT procedures have been simplified - VAT made trader-friendly, tax form deadline extended.10. Fight against Drugs MenaceLet's face it. Only AAP MLAs have been the ones which have been mercilessly bashed for their fight agains the drug menace that has occupied many parts of Delhi. In 2014 it was Somnath Bharti, in 2015 it is Alka Lamba. Local friends tell me that drug peddlers have fled the Malviya Nagar area, and the fight against drugs by AAP carries on. They can be abused as drama-queens, but the truth is that they are sincere. Read Delhi, Drugs And Alka Lamba - Time To Defame AAP! to know more about the Alka Lamba case.11. Curbing PricesI thought of writing 5 points, then thought of writing 10, now this is the 11th one. I promise this is the last as of now.When the whole country was crying over the onions, the AAP government at Delhi was the only one which was able to first provide some relief, and then substantial relief by its sincere efforts.Although the initial 250 or so government outlets for onions were inadequate, later, by getting more onions, it was able to control the price of onion below 50 - Delhi govt starts mobile vans to ease onion prices.When the onion was cheap, the AAP government had bought in bulk (I think at Rs 19/-) and later it sold at a price of 30 via its 250 outlets. Hence the onion was not really subsidised as well.That's it for now! Phew ... I would add if anything new comes across.

Many people across India are curious about the Gorkhaland issue, but most of them do not know about the issue very well and are of the false impression that Gorkhaland is a demand by the Gorkhas for separation from India.Hence, the following paragraphs below would help those, who are not familiar with the Gorkhaland issue. As one will read the story, they can view that the demand for Gorkhaland is a just and moral demand for the creation of the state of Gorkhaland within the geographical and constitutional contours of India.To make it for an easy read, I have made a list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ), which has been answered, thus acting as a guide to Gorkhaland issue.Q. Who are Gorkhas in the Indian context?A.The 'Gorkhas' in the Indian context are Indian citizens of Nepali ethnicity, who live across the length and breadth of India. The term 'Gorkha' in the Indian context is used to differentiate the Indian citizens of Nepali ethnicity from the citizens of Nepal, who prefer to be called 'Nepalese.'Many a time, people mistake the Indian 'Gorkhas' with Nepalese 'Gorkhali'. It is to be noted that in terms of Nepal, 'Gorkhali' refers to the people from the 'Gorkha' region. However, the use of the term 'Gorkha' in the Indian context is very different than in Nepal's context. Therefore, the term 'Gorkha' refers to different groups of people depending on the country they are being used in reference to.Q. Did the Gorkhas immigrate to India?A. Majority of the people who identify themselves as 'Gorkhas' in India are sons and daughters of the soil, and their forefathers 'came with the land.' They did not immigrate to India. However, it is well recognized that there are many immigrants from Nepal, who have also settled in India, post-independence.Q. What do you mean by 'came with the land'?A.The Nepali kingdom in the 17th and 18th Century was spread all over the Himalayas. In the year 1777, Nepal had appropriated the Kingdom of Sikkim (that included most of the present day Darjeeling district) in the east and had also successfully invaded and conquered the Kingdoms of Kumaon, Garhwal and Kangra in the west. The Nepali Kingdom was spread from the east of rivers Teesta to the west of river Sutlej.However, following the Anglo-Nepal war of 1814-1816, Nepal agreed to cede most of the Terai region, the lands of Sikkim, Kumaon, Garhwal and Kangra to the British through the Treaty of Sugauli (Sugauli Sandhi), which was signed on 4 March 1816. After the Anglo-British war of 1865, the British appropriated the lands that are today known as Kalimpong and Dooars. Therefore, all the people of Nepali, Sikkimese and Bhutanese origin, who were living in these tracts automatically came under the British and subsequently under India (after the British left), hence the term – 'came with the land.'Q. Were there Gorkhas in Darjeeling region prior to the British coming to India?A.Recorded history shows that the region was inhabited as early as the 9th century. When Guru Padmasambhava had passed through this region in the 9th century, he had established Buddhism in the region – which indicates the presence of people living in the area way, before the British ever landed in Asia.In the Indian context, the word 'Gorkha' is an umbrella term used to identify a varied group of people, as one unified entity, in terms of Darjeeling, communities such as the Róng – Lepchas, the Tsong – Limbus, the Kirat – Rai, the Dukpas and the Magars are the aboriginal/ethnic/native people of the region, who constitute a large chunk of the 'Gorkha' people living in the Darjeeling region. Hence, it can be safely said that the majority of the 'Gorkhas,' who belong to these communities and are living in Darjeeling, ethnic to the region.In addition, other groups of people such as the Gurungs, Thapas, Chettris, Newars, Sunwars, Bahuns, Kamis, Damais, Sarkis, Bhutias, Thamis etc., came to the region following subsequent wars. For instance, the establishment of the Kingdom of Sikkim in 1642 brought in a large Bhutia population from Tibet and Bhutan into the region. Similarly, the Nepali incursions starting from as early as 1700s brought many present day Nepalis to the region. Hence, it can be safely concurred that the 'Gorkha' presence far supersedes the British arrival in the region.Q. What historical claims does West Bengal have over the Darjeeling-Dooars region?A.Ironically None! There is no shared history between the Darjeeling-Dooars region, and the rest of West Bengal till the year 1935. The only common thread that connects Darjeeling and the rest of Bengal prior to 1935 is that they shared a common Governor (for administrative ease).It is interesting to note that following the partition of Bengal in 1905, the administration of Darjeeling was handed over to the Bhagalpur Division in Bihar Presidency between 1905-1907, following which a demand for a separate administrative unit for the Darjeeling-Dooars region (a la Separate State in today's term) was first raised by the Hillmen's Association in 1907, making the demand for a separate state constituting the hills, Terai and Dooars region the oldest demand for statehood in India.The only reason as to why such a demand was not entertained by the British Government, is because the Darjeeling and Dooars region were already declared a "non-regulated area", which meant that the rules and laws developed for the rest of India would not be automatically applicable to the region.Q. Why is Darjeeling a part of West Bengal?A.The Darjeeling region only became a part of West Bengal Presidency in the year 1935, when it was required to send an elected member to the Bengal Legislative Assembly. It was done purely for the then administrative ease, as the British could control the Darjeeling region better from Bengal than from Bhagalpur in Bihar.Q. Why are people in Darjeeling demanding Gorkhaland?A.The demand for a separate administrative unit (separate state in today's term) for the Darjeeling region had started as early as 1907. However, the influx of Bangladeshi refugees starting in 1965 and later state sponsored illegal immigrants from Bangladesh post-1971 for vote bank by subsequent West Bengal governments led to marginalization of the ethnic Gorkha, Kamtapuri and the Rajbanshi communities of the region. The demand for Gorkhaland is a demand to protect the identity, culture, history, traditions and the rich bond of people from Darjeeling region, which they share with their land.Furthermore, the Gorkhas from the Darjeeling region have continued to be labeled by the fascist and state sponsored Bengali organizations such as Bangla O Bangla Bhasa Bachao Samity, Amra Bangali, Jan Jagaran Morcha, Jan Chetna Morcha as illegal immigrants and the demand for Gorkhaland illegal. They have rendered the ethnic Gorkha people as an intruder in his/her own ancestral lands. This has caused widespread socio-economic and political marginalization of the Gorkhas. All these factors have resulted in the Gorkhas being under-represented, stereotyped and communally discriminated in almost all sectors.Moreover, Bengal has always been colonial in its approach to this region. The large revenues collected from Darjeeling region have been used to develop other parts of Bengal, while neglecting even the basic infrastructure in the region.Case in point: the National Highway 55, which used to be the artery connecting the hills of Darjeeling to the rest of India, has been closed due to land slide since 2009 and the West Bengal government has done nothing to rebuild it. Last year alone, there were over 20 malnutrition related death (death due to starvation) reported from the Dooars region and yet the West Bengal government did nothing to alleviate the sufferings of the people in the region.Q. Is the proposed Gorkhaland region economically viable?A.The proposed Gorkhaland region is rich in bio-diversity, scenic views, hydro potentials, tourism, NTFP, Tea and numerous other resources. Darjeeling Tea has been accorded the Geographical Indicator status recently by the WTO, which has caused the price of Darjeeling Tea to double in the world market. The demand for tea from the Dooars region is also at an all time high. Even the most conservative estimates put the revenue potential from tea, tourism and hydro from the proposed Gorkhaland area at over 1600 Crores per annum. It is estimated that the revenues from Tea and Tourism alone will make the proposed Gorkhaland region a revenue surplus state. The revenues collected from hydro development, NTFP, cross-border trades and other resources will make the proposed state of Gorkhaland as one of the most economically vibrant states in India.Q. Is the demand for Gorkhaland illegal?A. No, to demand for a separate state is the democratic right of every Indian citizen, and the formation of new states is enshrined in our constitution.Article 3 of the Indian constitution specifically deals with the issues regarding the formation of new states:Article 3. Formation of new States and alteration of areas, boundaries or names of existing States—Parliament may by law—(a) form a new State by separation of territory from any State or by uniting two or more States or parts of States or by uniting any territory to a part of any State;(b) increase the area of any State;(c) diminish the area of any State;(d) alter the boundaries of any State;(e) alter the name of any State:Hence, the demand for Gorkhaland is a legitimate demand.Q. Why is West Bengal opposed to the formation of Gorkhaland?A. The state of West Bengal is one of the most economically backward states in India. Even though, it is the 5th largest in terms of its size, but due to the high debt burden of over Rs. 2.5 lakh Crores, West Bengal is practically bankrupt and is highly dependent on the Central Government and the revenues generated from the proposed Gorkhaland region for its sustenance and economic survival. A conservative estimate indicated that if the proposed Gorkhaland state is formed, West Bengal is expected to lose over 40% of its revenue stream.So despite all the rhetoric stating, "Darjeeling is Bengal's Abhinno Aanga," Bengal is scared of loosing its hen, which is currently laying the golden eggs. It is scared of losing the cash cow that has continued to discount the development of Bengal's other regions over and over since independence.Further, Bengal has always held a parochial, colonial and discriminatory attitude towards the proposed Gorkhaland region and continues to do so. Late. Subash Chakraborty a Minister in the CPI(M) Government had said to the Gorkhas "khetey diyechi, sutey chai?" [Meaning: "we have given you food to eat, now you want a space to sleep?"] Hinting that the Bengalis have been benevolent towards the Gorkhas in allowing the Gorkhas to live in Bengal, while ungraciously ignoring the fact that the Gorkhas are ethnic to the land. Similarly, many Bengali scholars [such as Sumanta Sen of The Telegraph] and politicians [such as Dr. Mukund Majumdar and Mr. Ashok Bhattacharjee] continue to call the ethnic Gorkhas foreigners and intruders, which gives a sense of insecurity amongst the ethnic Gorkhas – thus, the demand for Gorkhaland.Compiled by Upendra Mani Pradhan, Meri News

The “Awful Bullflap” memos were a satirical, anonymous Apple internal publication made in a “press release” or “internal memo” format similar to the official “Apple Bulletin” memos. The name even fit into the same number of letters as the Bulletin’s distinctive banner.In the imaginary world of the memos, the “Awful Bullflap” reports on the activities of “Awful Computer” on “Badly Drive” in “Cuspiduro, CA” in a way that ‘coincidentally’ corresponds to what the “Apple Bulletin” might report about “Apple Computer” on “Bandley Drive” in “Cupertino, CA.” “Awful” stands for “Apple” and “Bullflap” euphemistically stands in for “Bullshit.” The slang term “flap” also means “agitation, panic, or fluster,” adding an additional layer of meaning.The Apple archives at Stanford have three specimens of “Awful Bullflap” from April 1981. It is not clear if these were the only three memos or if more were made.The first memo is styled as a press release and describes a fictional testing facility being opened at Sing Sing prison, presumably a protest against setting up a low-cost 3rd party facility in place of Apple Employees.The second memo describes a “Proposed Sacrificial Offering” of shareholders, probably mocking stock offering memos of the era.The third memo is of the form of an internal memo (which is how companies communicated before e-mail, you younglings) from “C. A. Drakkula” (Probably a mashup of Count Dracula and Mike Markkula) making fun of an internal reorganization. As in all the Bullflap memos, the thinly veiled “changed” names are pretty indicative of the names they represent.MAKING OF THIS ANSWERI first saw this question two years ago, and I was intrigued. I followed it. When I searched for “Awful Bullflap” I found that Stanford University housed the original Apple Computer, Inc. records, 1977-1998 in the Special Collections & University Archives.When I looked further, I found that members of the public could request access to these archives and read them in the Field Reading Room. Since the special collections live in offsite storage and not in the library itself, Stanford requires at least 48 hours advance notice to transport the materials to the reading room.I posted this information in the comments of the question and said, “hey, someone local should do this!”Crickets.In September 2017, I knew I would have an afternoon appointment near Stanford, and I knew with enough advance notice to request the material. So I did! I blocked the two hours on my calendar before my meeting to park, go to the Green Library at Stanford, and see this mysterious material that is not available in digital form, and then get to my other appointment.Thankfully, Stanford is generous in allowing public access to a lot of rare archives, and they have a straightforward, well documented process that I successfully used to access this rare and unique collection.First, I requested the material through Access to Apple Collections on Tuesday, setting an appointment to view on Friday. After a painless on-line registration process. I got an email which let me track the progress of the material from an offsite location to the Field Reading Room. Before I left for Stanford, I could check that it had made it to the reading room.On Friday afternoon I departed for the labyrinthine alternate universe of Stanford. I meandered among an alphabet soup of vaguely threatening permit parking signs that festoon the campus and reflect the rigorous hierarchy of privilege there. I finally found a visitor lot and paid for parking. The clock began ticking!Using Google Maps to navigate my walk, I found my way to the Green Library where a gentleman pointed me to a computer that registered my existence by scanning my drivers license and ingesting my vital information. Once the computer acknowledged my existence, I checked in to the library and printed an adhesive name tag granting me admission to the hallowed halls.I found my way to the Field Reading Room on the second floor of the Bing Wing and identified myself there. On a separate computer system tracking users of archival material, I registered myself and signed in. They gave me a locker key in return for my ID so that I could leave everything I brought in a secure locker. I was permitted only a laptop and phone, and free Wi-Fi access. I locked up my stuff, washed my hands and headed in.Now that I had cleared all of the administrative hurdles, they gave me this:Then I sat down at their posh, academic-looking desk with a wide, comfy chairAnd found the object in question:This is what research looked like before Google, kids! (EDIT: as Sean Owczarek points out, much modern research looks this way, too, especially for history! Contrary to popular belief, not everything is on Google.)It was fun to research this answer. I hope the question followers enjoy it. There were additional questions in the comments. If they turn into actual questions, I can probably answer them.