Gold to Silver Price Ratio- A trivia

I was reading an article where in it was mentioned that 'gold/silver price ratio' is going to touch 60. I got little curious, as i had heard this term for the first time.

Tried to google on this but unfortunately not too much was found. Sharing my search with you.

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When the first coins were made over 2,500 years ago in ancient Greece, the ratio of gold to silver was generally between 10:1 and 13.5:1, depending on the relative proximity of gold or silver mines. In the 1930's and 1940's the ratio reached 90:1 or higher, and in 1991 it peaked at about 98:1, although we have seen one source which claims over 100:1 peak.

Such a waste..

Everyday i jog in a park next to my house. There is an 'Ayyapaswami' temple just beside the park. A water pipe runs through the park and is connected to the temple.

Three days back i observed the park to be quite swampy. I found that the water pipe has got crushed and a huge amount of water is getting leaked thereby not only making the jogging track slippery but also a waste in itself. I thought since its too early in the morning, may be the temple staff might call a plumber to replace the pipe.

Two days back: I found that the water is still getting leaked. I called one of the temple staff and told him about the broken pipe. He said he shall surely get this fixed.

Yesterday: Water is still getting leaked and i have to jog with the conscience in mine that i should not get slipped anywhere.
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Let me share few facts with you.In 2002

• A city like Delhi lost nearly 40% of its water supply in distribution. To me thats criminal!.
• Unchecked leakages contributed nearly 50% of the total losses in water distribution.
• Delhi used to get 650 MGD of water but it needed about 800 MGD every day and the lost amount would have not only easily bridged the gap but also provided a surplus.

I dont think it would be a bad idea to privatise the monitoring and maintenance of public water distribution system. Government can fix pre-defined KPIs to measure the perfomance of these private players. I feel this can reduce the distribution losses for sure subject to monitory incentives for these private agencies.

The other 'India'

Its always painful to post a blog like this. But i feel each of us should read this and understand the gravity of the situation. At most we all can contribute by educating someone who is heading to take a wrong step.

Source of this Post: "No girls, please, we're Indian", an article on 'The Hindu' dated Aug 24th,2007 by Kalpana Sharma. The article throws light on the decreasing 'sex ratio' in India.

Let me share the spark points of the article.
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The 2001 census figures of the 0-6 years sex ratio are a stark illustration of this reality.

1. Apart from the declining adult sex ratio, the sharp decline in the child sex ratio in the last decade from 945 to 927 is a devastating indictment of our society.
2. Imagine maps graded in different colours according to the 0-6 sex ratio. The growing number of districts where the 0-6 sex ratio has fallen below the 800 mark was deep red. And the reds were popping up in every State, in ever greater numbers.
3. Punjab and Haryana have the worst sex ratio in the country with 'Fathegarh Sahib' in Punjab having the worst child sex ratio of just 766.
4. In 1991, not a single district in India had been recorded with a child sex ratio of less than 800. In 2001, there were 14.
5. In 1991, only one district recorded a child sex ratio of between 800-849. In 2001, this number had risen to 31.
6. At the other end of the spectrum in 1991, 21 districts had a child sex ratio of over 1,000. In 2001, only five districts were in this range.
7. In Punjab, even if baby girls are born, they are abandoned at the hospital door steps.

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Now comes 3 points which is a shame to all of us. Especially the 3rd one as it is rampant in the educated youth demographic segment like ours.

1. In Punjab and Haryana,some women genuinely believed that if their numbers decline, their value would increase because men will not find brides.
2. In Haryana, men are buying brides from other States for as little as Rs. 5,000 (While a buffalo costs Rs. 40,000).
3. In certain instances, even highly educated women have resorted to as many as eight abortions to ensure that they only give birth to a son thereby pointing that in India, education and economic progress seem to make no dent on our attitudes. On the contrary, these are getting more embedded.