Hindustan Times
How safe is your car in the garage?
On Thursday, three Tata Safaris including one belonging to the Central Excise Superindent in Noida were stolen in a single day with the Superintendent’s car being lifted from his own home. On the same day, UP police recovered a Toyota Qualis and a Fortuner, which were stolen from a company dealership in Bangalore a year ago, from Lucknow.
Such incidents are so commonplace in India and occupy so much newsprint, that we do not even take note of them anymore. But what these do underline is the fact that a car, a man’s second most expensive expenditure in life in India, is a highly unsafe commodity anywhere — your house, office, a parking lot, or even when it is waiting to be picked up at a company dealership. And the thieves, when they do strike, do not differentiate between a minister or a high ranking law enforcement officer or a rank commoner like you and me.
In India, the stolen vehicle market is estimated at a whopping Rs 4,000 crore and is a bustling industry, one that is the biggest of its kind in the world. In 2009, 20,914 cars were officially reported to have been stolen, a number that swells to 1,10,982 if motorcycles and scooters are also taken into account. As is often the case in India, our lax law and order paraphernalia ensures that the recovery rate is a low 21% for cars and only a slightly more respectable 26% for two wheelers. Not without reason then, that once a car is stolen, the best one can do is claim insurance and move on. Getting your car back is likely as spotting a tiger in a forest. The mathematics of stolen vehicle
Delhi the scariest, Jabalpur the safest
It may not come as a surprise to many, but like women our cars are the most vulnerable right within our national capital Delhi. A total of almost 4,400 cars were lifted from Delhi streets in 2009 of which only 580 could be recovered, a poor appraisal for a force that promises to be “with you, for you, always.” Our national capital’s rate of recovery is thus, way below the national average of 20.8% for cars.
And Delhi has consistently topped this list for over 10 years now. Again not surprising considering that it also has the largest number of vehicles on the roads. Back in 1999 too, almost the same number of cars used to be stolen from Delhi and the number had peaked to 5800 in 2007. The only solace could be that the numbers have not swelled in line with the rise in sale of cars in the city but maybe the credit for this should go to the manufactrers who are making more secure vehicles these days.
Delhi is followed by its arch rival Mumbai, which is the only other city with over 1000 car thefts in a year. Its recovery rate also is not enviable but at 19%, much better than Delhi.
In stark contrast, and what may come as a real surprise. Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh reported that not even a single four wheeler was stolen in 2009 and only 172 two wheelers were stolen of which 80 were recovered, a healthy recovery rate of 46.5%, way more than the national average of 26%.
The southern city of Vizag presents another curious case. Only 6 cars were stolen in 2009, but it boasts of the distinction of 100% rate of recovery as all 6 of them were recovered. Other safe cities for cars include Madurai, Asansol and Dhanbad. Not one north Indian town figures high in this list.
UP, Maharashtra : haven for auto lifters
We have already talked about Delhi, which tops the most unsafe states list too. But its effect is felt in the neighbouring states of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan as well. All the 3 states, with Maharashtra, make up the most unsafe states in the country with only Haryana boasting of an above average recovery record.
Next to Delhi, UP reported 2,718 cars being stolen in 2009 and it also has a pathetic 11.8% recovery rate. It only means, that the owners of the three cars that were lifted in Noida on Thursday, may reconcile themselves and move on relinquishing all thoughts of driving those cars ever again.
Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand : safety mascots, and Bihar is not bad either
The south of India often prides itself for being more cultured, educated and even better policed and figures back that claim. Though Uttarakhand reported fewer cases of car thefts, Tamil Nadu has by far the best recovery rate of 72%, more than three times the national average. For the sake of comparison, the North Eastern states due to their very low vehicle density have been discounted from this compilation. But hill states figure high nevertheless.
Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh score low on thefts, but naxal infested Chhattisgarh and UP’s partner in crime Bihar make surprise appearances. Both states witness a similar number of around 250 car thefts every year and while Bihar lives upto its name of having a corrupt police force, Chhattisgarh does itself proud with a better than national average recovery record.
And the best way to make your car theft proof
Neither is this industry that thrives on stealing vehicles going to ride into the sunset soon, nor is the police force likely to get its act together in the near future. So what is it that one can do to prevent getting one’s car stolen?
While there are no fool proof measures, the market place does offer technological solutions like alarm systems and automotive locks. There was a time not long ago when audible alarms were a rage in new age cars and the market seemed to simply love them. Over a period of time though. not only were they found to be grossly ineffective with thieves finding a way to deactivate them rather easily. they also became a cause for nuisance when the alarm would simply go off even at the slightest provocation.
So while an audible alarm still does work in preventing a car theft, it is no longer a preferable option. The other type of alarm systems are the inaudible ones that send a message to you on your mobile every time somebody tries to fiddle with your car. Though very effective, it does not give a complete solution, as you maybe far away from your car or busy in a meeting when you get that message. And even when you do get it in time, it exposes you to the risk of confronting the thief, which may have dramatic consequences.
There are also some age old devices like the gear locks and steering locks that help prevent a theft. Both these systems have however long lost theri charm, partly because they look dated as also because thieves are now smarter. Even then, because these are manual devices breaching them often means breaking the lock, which at the worst will gve the owner a buffer of atleast 30 minutes.
The ones that are the most widely used these days are the engine immobilisers, which are also offered as a factory fitment by carmakers today. All Maruti cars for example come fitted with engine immobilisers. A car engine immobiliser is an electronic device fitted to the engine of a car that prevents it starting unless the correct token or key is used. It can be fitted as standard to a car, or as an aftermarket add on fitted later. Immobilisers work by disabling at least two of three main systems — the ignition, starter motor or the fuel system.
Its working for the techno geek is rather simple. A microcircuit within the key activates a binary code that is then relayed to the car’s Electronic Control Unit (ECU), which then ‘recognises’ the correct code and allows all three systems above to be activated. Thereby making it next to impossible for somebody to start the car without the right key.
While an immobiliser is supremely effective, there have been cases where its security has been breached as well. The best solution could be an immobiliser combined with a steering or a gear lock. The two of them together would pose multiple challenges to a thief who would have to not only apply himself manually but also use his brains to break generate a key with a code suitable enough to start the car.
(7 votes, average: 4.57 out of 5)
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reminds me of… ‘guys and girls can never be friends’….. i think it’s true
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Modi do not want to be called PM in waiting.
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Modi is champion
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All said and done, despite the power struggle looming large in BJP circles where highly ambitious Narendra Modi who is still keeping his cards close to his chest is itching to be the next PM of the country, to the dismay of Lk Advani who is following the policy of ‘try, try again.’! Arun Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj and Ananth Kumar are insgnificant at the moment.
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Minority would not have voted for BJP anyway, with or without so-called “misdemeanor” of Varun. To this point, your otherwise fine essay sound like biased indian media.
Election reform, that would include mandatory voting would go a long way in breaking this “en-block minority voting”. Untill then, BJP should stick to what it is doing at present. An all out assault on congress, and may be a more balanced media would change some hearts in India as well.
Bottom line is – Like it or not, Modi is going to be defecto charismatic leader that India will eventually have as its PM. Against all odds, he has enough personality and glamour to seriously challange italian-gandhi family pop-image.
Jaitely is very good, but he does not match this “X” factor that Modi has. A certain section of media, and mostly muslims are always going to whine and cry, no matter what. But then, experiments of Gujarat will be played out on national level, as we inch closer into the future.
It is good thing for India, certainly a good thing for nationalism in this country !
Twitter @amdas108
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As you have correctly said, Modi has, if not brought the minorities rushing into the BJP camp, at least sown the seeds of doubt in their collective mind and soul. In the coming years, it would be logical to assume that he would do a lot to rid the minority psyche of the Hindu fear and abhorrence. And then his march to Delhi would be free of pot holes.
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I totally agree wth ur views, allies can be a prblm..Shiv sena,,wl go BJP’s way…yes JD(U)..wl mke sme ruckus..bt..no one wnts to leave th side of a wnning team..its jst tht Nitish kumar, dosnt wnt to gve Lalu any chance fr whch he is waiting to grab..An inside pact mst hve been made..tht thy wl criticize Modi..jst to appeal minorities..bt by th end of day, whn required ground is coverd thy wl go fr a kill..
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Now Modi’s future is same as Advani. waiting for PM seat whole life
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FDI in retail is great for the country. Farmers would get a better price for their produce; there will be more investment in the cold store chain – this means that would bring in a logistics revolution in the country. More freezer trucks, cold trucks and thereby fresh agro and agro-industrial produce would be available as those freezer / cold trucks would be able to travel long distance while keeping their load farm-fresh. Agro industries would receive a boost when cold stores are made available in their vicinity. That would mean more jobs in villages as well as in cities. Despite the presence of big stores all over the big cities, no neighbourhood Kirana shop has downed shutter. The population is so huge, there will always be room for the humblest and the most glittering store to operate successfully.
As a huge country, we must rescue the EU businessmen and provide them an opportunity to invest in our country.
And lastly, if we do not allow FDI, the CIA/FBI would allow another 26/11 to happen somewhere else in the country – they have several Headleys up their sleeve, you see, and they need employment too.
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A very good article, lets sit and analyze the pros and cons of allowing FDI in multi-brand retail and you will see that the +ive far outweighs the -ive.
Politicians are opposing it only because they fear loss of influence if poor farmers get empowered as result of greater prosperity.
Their resistance is nothing but a naked attempt to guard their captive vote banks.
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Jamarexx Reply:
November 27th, 2011 at 8:16 pm
what
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this iIdiot think that only mMarwaris-bBania run shops. the fact being, in bBengal, the bBengalis also own small business and shops as well.
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We can allow uni-brand shops from china in India from manufacturers. Why allow multi-brand owned by videshi and desi brokers to become middle-person.
it is should be desis who should be the middle-person.
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BJP was always the most unpatriotic party in India, remember their parent org RSS kept out of independence struggle while INC battled the brits bravely.
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Has any of the opposers of the FDI bothered to check the price a farmer gets for his produce. I belong to a that background and can tell you that even today vegetables are bought by aadhti (middleman in Haryana, Punjab and Western UP) at rates like Rs 4-6/kg. And we all know what we pay for all these in our local markets – Rs 40-60 kg. Who benefits here – the 10 odd middlemen between the farmer and the end consumers in cities. Why are the idiots in the opposition trying to protect these middlemen when millions of farmers and the consumer middle class form a bigger vote bank any given day ?
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“wrong fact” – India is now the second-fastest growing big economy”
India is now the fastest growing MAJOR economy in 2010 with a growth rate of 10.4% and China 10.1%. source: CIA WORLD FACT BOOK, WORLD BANK AND INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND.
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Advantages of FDI in Retail
1. Definitely lowers prices due to high competition and other reasons like stock for high price and sell for low prices. Walmart style.
2. Cuts down greedy and corrupt middle men. Supply chain would get regulated and farmers will definitely benefit by selling their stuff for correct prices
3. High quality products, especially Fruits and vegetables, Walmart would have its own transportation system, cold storage facilities
4. Variety of products go up. Indian manufactured goods will definitely dominate unlike claims saying that Walmart would import everything from China. There are restrictions.
5. Employment. 10 (initially) to 50 million jobs (eventually) get created. More pay, more hours, safe work environment, secure job.
6. Puts food on plate for lower middle class people (300 million)
7. Millions of people can save money on food and invest somewhere else, since Indians spend most of their salary on food and rent
8. GDP goes up and more foreign investment with better deals can start to come in after seeing the success of Walmart and stores like that.
Even though there are some risks initially like small businesses losing business and even Walmart might find it difficult initially, during initial transition phase but we have to go by the saying “If Benefits outweigh risks” then go for it. It is the case with Pregnancy categories, when it comes to harmful drugs.
Walmart have lot of money and they would invest 100 million dollars in each city with a population around 2 million. Eventually Walmart would dominate and reap in the benefits. Nobody can deny that.
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This opinion piece is written with a flawed logic comparing it with computers and IT industry. The FDI in retail will definitely kill the mom & pop stores which actually sell merchandise slightly lower than the MSRP, thereby benefiting the most common middle class people. Perhaps they may not have noticed it in the flashy cities or the suburbs.
And then on the pretext of providing better deal to the consumer, these bi name stores will bring cheap goods from China, in essence, killing the local industry and sending the local money overseas to procure these goods. We have seen this happening in the developed world, and now India is being targeted.
And why the author of this article blaming just the BJP. The Congress Allies and many in CONgress itself are opposed to the FDI in retail. Looks like beating on BJP and RSS was a fashion and now it has become necessity to drive the point home.
In my opinion, only the Patriotic will oppose this move.
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I cannot understand the hue and cry over FDI in retail or any sector. Indians have to learn to be pragmatic and go by economic sense rather then emotions. The fact of the matter is that we are not a export oriented economy now as compared to China which was quick to adopt and assimilate foreign technology and capital. Just compare India (1.75 trillion $ GDP, 1.2 billion population) and South Korea (1.4 trillion GDP, 50 million population). The best way forward for India is to garner as much foreign capital and continue to boost its economy till we attain a reasonable developed country status.
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Let the customer decide what they want and let india have investment in logistics and supply chain and customer front infrastructure…it will be best boon india could have when we look back 10 years from now in both manpower work force it will create and also the modern techology it will bring from Farm to the customer !!! The naysayers will always be naysayers….who have their own vested interests to keep the same old hoaders and middle man traders who are pinching money from farmers and the Consumers and at the same time causing 40 to 50 % of wastage in perishable agri products !! All upcoming countries – China, S africa, Mexico, Brazil etc.. have 100% FDI investment opening in their countries..
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Walmart would be here to save our farmers and consumers like us. Are you serious?
When our democratically elected govt. can’t/won’t do the same, why do you expect that Walmart would do it for us?
In fact, I have a sense that Sonia G was in the USof A couple months back finalising this deal with Walmart and making sure the huge commission earned was safely put somewhere before she returned. That’s why the cabinet rushed through the decision without a debate in the parliament. If the Congress is so sure that it is good for everyone, why shy away from a debate?
The debates are necessary only for a Jan Lokpal bill???????
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