Reflections... The Term It Was

Essence of Strategy

The first chapter of my journey at IIMB EPGP is just about to get over. It is probably some tiny monsters called exams which we will be fighting off next week, barring those the term is as good as over. Today was pretty hectic(?) day with most of us in race against time to submit projects before the deadline. In the end we made it and 'Nothing else matters'. We have finally got a two-day weekend with Saturday a holiday, but it is a far fetched dream to enjoy over the weekend when we have our first terms EXAMS starting from Monday. 



e-chaupal

I was wondering what exactly this term was and what has been my takeaway from this. Consider this, for a person who is used to sleep at least 8-9 hours a day, a 5 hour sleep is now a luxury, discounting the thoughtful process thinking during lectures. The good part is that I have learnt the nuance of power naps. I was used to eating 5-course meal at Amdocs with dollies being dished out during the day and  here I am paying Rs 300 for rasam. I felt gratified with the sight of so many books in my shelf considering that last time I read any sort of book was 8 years back and I left even that halfway. 


Anusmaran 2013

I guess these are just few steps which I took towards attaining 'nirvana' during this term. But the real enlightenment was something else. Before this, I never realized that it is an art to understand the structure of an organization and it has to be carefully designed considering lot of factors. Earlier I used to invest in equities just by sixth sense, which explains the losses I have incurred over the years. I hope to use grey cells efficiently after the understanding I have gained to interpret financial report. Probability of my understanding has always been zero and regression interpretation have always been at lower end of the curve. Hopefully it should not be the same. Besides these, the case discussions made me ponder on how some companies have been successful while others have failed. I still have my doubts open but it is immaterial. Of course learned lot of facets of business law and hoping to cash on it. I would add that Eco had been an uncertain identity.


entrepreneurs in making

Apart from these sometime-interesting-sometime-exciting(?) courses, there have been number of seminars and leadership sessions happening around. Getting a chance to sit with likes of CEO of Himalaya, Mr Philip, or with Bally's Gaming Czar, Mr Srinivasan has made this EPGP journey even more exciting. In addition, the tips from speakers with as diversified profile as a Hindi literature professor or from IIMB alumni entrepreneurs, will be helpful in some point of time. Nonetheless I am enjoying the time here. On a regular day the time I get outside this course is inexplicable, but I have managed to squeak in some of the things. Be it swimming or swinging the baddy racket or burning the accumulated layers of fat at gym, I am giving shot to everything. One does not get another opportunity to be back at the college and the time here should count. The only regret so far, I have not been able to take out time to enjoy this lovely city of Bangalore, but I hope I can try something out in next term.

It was a deliberate act on my part to omit any references to the socializing activities over the weekend, but that's what MBA is all about. Some things are better explained unanswered.

Infosys - Dilema still exist

Having worked at Infosys for a considerable portion of my career, I have always felt attached to the the "family" even after 5 years or so. During my tenure, Infosys restructured itself into verticals and at that time it was difficult for me to understand the reasoning behind it. Besides it did not mattered much as it seemed insignificant other than some changes at top level. Today when I look at it, it was one of the many strategic decision Infosys has taken to adapt to exponential growth it was experiencing and to remain competitive. During discussions with clients and managers, I got to understand that Infosys is a premium player and charges well above the competitors. It was something which used to make me feel proud.

It is now a known fact that Infosys is lagging behind its competitors and rivals like Cognizant are catching up. Four years back, the gap between TCS and Infosys revenue was around 7000 crores. Come 2013 and the gap has more than trebled. So what exactly is going wrong at Infosys? Why it is not able to grow at a pace which its competitors have managed? Of course I am not a gyaan guru who will go ahead and provide any quick fix solution. There must be already many of consulting firms spending huge amount of money to come at a solution. Infosys itself is searching for a direction and for sure there are many brains at work there.

But one thing is certain that Infosys need to find a quick solution. Having moved back to Bangalore, I have met some of my old friends and have many fellow ex-infosions in my batch. The biggest strength of IT company is its people. They should remain committed and motivated. One of the biggest fallback of lack of leadership and direction is that the employees are not seeing themselves growing. I feel the employees are missing direction towards a common vision. Earlier there were differentiating factors at Infosys which kept me going. In a process to streamline itself with the industry, it has moved away from the position of leader it once held (despite lagging behind TCS in terms of revenues). Indian IT industry has to move up the value chain to fight competition from Eastern Asia and visa restrictions. For this to be done, there has to be more than 100% engagement by employees which seems to be on decline.

Another important cog in the wheel is its customers. Since the house is not in order, what can happen is that customer might not feel connected to it in longer run. I have seen customers feeling delighted in associating with Infosys. It worked like a partnership helping them in growing their business. With Infosys loosing the way forward, client will not have any hesitation in moving to any other IT service provider. Beside there seems to be no differentiating factor as competition has caught up on those. And once customer base starts to wean, Infosys will not have much time to recover.

In a nutshell, it is imperative that Infosys has to buckle up and find a strong leadership. If not within the company, it has to look outside. It has to let loose its tightly coupled decision making to allow an open view. Even after close to 4 years since Nandan left, they still seem to be searching for an answer and they better find it soon. Otherwise, this fast moving IT industry does not give much time to recover and Infosys will relegate itself to case studies in business schools. It does not bode well for Indian IT industry and economy as a whole.

C&S Discussion

Many a times I have wondered how does experience matter in a classroom. What difference does it makes to the discussion. Today this experience dynamics was in full force in C-21. As more and more cases are being disposed off in competition and strategy class, e-yumbiez are becoming more and more intellectuals. The best part is that each one of us have started to question established theories. What it means is that we are analyzing deep into any aspect we are being taught and would not accept anything easily.

Had Mr Porter would have been in our classroom today, he would have had a really tough time. e-yumbiez are challenging his panchtatva theory and contesting that it does not have any weight in today's world. During the case discussions too, the claims are being contested and disputed amongst peers. At times these do turn into heated arguments (thank god we are not allowed to carry guns or missiles in the class), but it is expected. All of this is part of steep learning curve of our course.

On a side note, couple of results are out from mid-term and class dynamics is taking a turn. While we are still waiting for QAM and ME results hoping for Gods to smile on us, there is added weight to dispose off pile of projects and assignments we have in our basket. And by the time we submit these, we will be right at the doorstep of first term exams. May we be able to survive this. Amen!!!

Essence of Mid-term exams

It was not even a month into the course and we found ourselves in a midst of a storm called 'Examination'. This is something which have frightened even Einsteins and Newtons since the start of civilization on this planet. Some of us have been in fact giving 'gyan' to their children to tackle this, but to give motivational talks is one thing while to tread on that path is other. None of us would have ever sat for exams in last few years except probably for the GMAT.

First and foremost of the task was to find out from where to start. Then with tons of material at our disposal, we had to figure out what to study and what not to. For many years, late nights has been synonymous with parties or booze and studying till late nights was a abnormal deviation from this mean. The clan culture which has developed at Ajmera was not able to save us as from this expected uncertainty. We essentially tried hard to devise strategies to grapple with wave of countless yawns and power naps during the lectures in the morning. But it seemed that all fundamental rights were violated during this past one week.

Fortunately, we had managed to scrape through this unhurt and in the end everyone was happy go lucky. Though some will be anxiously waiting for results, though it is trivial those who have attained absolute enlightenment. During the exams, couple of folks had a debit of one year to their age account and we innovated a new way of celebration to save costs.

Immediately after the exams, we had a alumni meet 'Anusmaran 2013' at IIMB and it added a new dimension to learning curve. Motivational talk by keynote speaker and former Microsoft India head - Ravi Venkatesan - on leadership was great and then there were series of interesting experiences shared by successful entrepreneurs from our institute. These expereiences makes one rethink about the career choice which he/she should make. Of course it goes without saying that we had a long night as well, but it is nobody's guess on what would have transpired.

journey is getting interesting

Contrary to what I mentioned
in my earlier post, the time is now flying at EPGP program. It looked like that we joined the program just the other day and we are staring at the mid-terms next week. This little mind of mine is being challenged to maximum by the grinding schedule. They say that Rome was not build in one day, but it seems this is true only for lesser mortals. We are actually being trained to challenge this perception. So much has been covered in wide range of topics. Beside there is so much load of project work and assignments to be completed. Either we will adapt to it or I will become insulated or immune (whatever you call it). It will be fun either ways.

In addition to study or work, wide range of activities are happening on and off campus. CR election has been very interesting. It was a conscious decision by me to withdraw from election process despite protests by my numerous fans ;). There have been few photo shoots in last couple of weeks in preparation for the D-day November onwards. It was also required to be in formals with strict dress code. It has been ages I have been in 'formal' wear. Except for
probably couple of interviews or to solicit my presence at marriage ceremonies, there was never any need. But it also gave us chance to capture the beauty of the campus. Luckily I got a breather from formals for the next shoot with some strategic planning.

Then there have been quite a few celebrations already at Ajmera. This Saturday was my anniversary and first time I was away from my 'biwi' on this day. Just so that I do not miss her, she sent a cake directly at my residence. A small celebration followed it at my place. Then there have been birthday celebrations of Prem and Poornima with belated B'day of Chirag on both occasions. Few new members added to the EPGP already -  birth of twins at Sampath's and lil' one at Martand's.

Inside EPGP - The plot is unfolding

So most of the intellectuals already know what goes inside management programs. Especially with these one year program where a 2-year schedule and material is cramped inside a single year, there is no breathing space. We have got lectures starting at 8:00 in the morning which means I have to wake up at 6:00 because of our accommodation a little away from college campus. I am still struggling to cope with this adverse change in my daily schedule. It is not deniable that accommodation at Ajmera is eating up some of my sweet sleep time. And the lectures are slowly moving towards interesting.

In fact, the first week looked like eternity and in eon years I had a busy schedule on Saturday. During the week got to learn about the nuances of different managerial aspects and it is not even tip of iceberg. The professors are highly rated and amongst the best in the country and there is huge learning curve available to be picked. Slowly coming to terms of it, and comparatively 2nd week is coming to an end faster. Yes, it has not been even 2 weeks into the course yet. The irony is that we have been assigned seats by the EPGP office and because my name starts with 'A', I am seated in front row. A far cry from my last row seat which could have made life much easier for me :(.

I think the regular group study sessions at Au Bu Pain is making it easier to learn. My fellow batch mates and 'partners-in-crime' Rahul and Martand have helped a big deal in picking up the basics in Financials and Data Modelling. Besides these sessions, there is hell lot of project work to be completed. Be it analysis of financial reports or looking at strategies which corporates employ these days, the plate is already full. But as it is said ' Hum honge kamyaab'.

Though it would have been a added advantage if we would have been staying at IIMB campus, but Ajmera is not bad. The gym is good which allows me to devote some time towards shedding excess fab accumulated over years. The icing on cake is swimming pool inside the complex and I can relax and freshen up after a hard day. I still have to utilize the other club facilities and hopefully I will be successful in coming few days.

Is this the society our future generations will inherit?

Just the other day, I have mentioned that when awakening starts, the common man can change the world. But it seems that we are still helpless when it comes to stopping crime against the opposite gender. There have been widespread protests against the brutality of crime happened on 16 Dec and it seemed that finally there will be fear in the minds of people and they will think twice before committing such crime. But the way the case has progressed in the fast track court, it seemed the perpetrators of such crime feel more secured.

I really do not have any words to describe the heinousness of the crime which happened couple of days back in Delhi. How sick the person is to commit such dastardly act with a 5-yr old girl? There is no place for such a person in this world. On top of it, the response by our police is unpardonable. Why is it that any action is being taken by our law enforcement agencies only when people are coming on to streets? It is the responsibility of our Delhi Police to protect the people and make people feel safe in their own city. Why do we have to run down the streets every time a crime takes place?

And it is surprising that such crimes are not being committed by high profile individuals but by folks who are even having difficulties in meeting their daily needs. One can imagine what would have happened if their was a big personality involved. Or rather it is also possible that those incidents are not even making it to headlines. It is high time that these criminals are brought to justice at a very fast pace. It is imperative that judgement in 16 Dec case is delivered soon.

Currently the only hope lies in the action taken by society. Like disowning the individuals or their families by their community or isolation of criminals by even the fellow inmates in jail. May the social stigma which such crimes are bringing becomes enough deterrent otherwise we will be ashamed to look into the eyes of our next generations for the world they would be inheriting. The crime might not stop immediately but only if we try, we could make this world better day by day.

Time to tighten belt

So the honeymoon period ended after Pegasus camp and its time to get down to do some serious business. Its been only three days the classes has actually started, and looking at the way it is going, this is going to be a really long one year. I wonder how is the notion that you blink and miss, and that time flies in this one year course. After being away from regular lectures for more than 10 years and to think of it that I had dozed off in almost every  training sessions at office, it is going to be an uphill task to sit for classes from morning to evening.

Nonetheless, the professors are highly qualified and have full faith in the batch's quality. That is why everything is moving like a Chinese bullet train where the train is not in direct contact with the tracks. Hopefully, soon there will be a transitional phase where we will converge with this bullet train.

There have been three different subjects which have been started in these three days and from tomorrow, will have to make some space in this highly congested brain for 3 more subjects. The added incentive of heavy study material is that we will be physically fit by the time this first term ends, with all the pot bellies crushed as part of collateral damage.

Dozing off now to catch some sleep to get recharged for another long day tomorrow.


 

EPGP - The journey commences

So finally here I was at IIMB campus on the afternoon of 9th April 2013. A dream come true for me to become part of this prestigious program at one of the best institutes in India. To be honest, there were more reasons for me to not join the program rather than for joining the program. EPGP is still in nascent stage of establishing itself and yet to reach a stage where it can challenge the world's best programs. But if the intent is to work in India after one year, this program is amongst the best.

As I started interacting with my fellow batch mates, the fears started to disperse.  A chance to challenge existing theories and principles with brilliant minds from this country is unparalleled. People from across the length and breadth of this country and lot of different experiences. It is an interesting experience to learn from people from backgrounds as diverse as Defense to Entrepreneurs to Marketing and sales.

First day went in registration for the program and second and third were for orientation. An orientation for settling in at Ajmera (the residential apartments) would have been better but hopefully everything at Ajmera would fall in place in couple of weeks. This reminded me of my earlier days in Bangalore.

IIMB has come up with a very innovative concept to ensure that all the students of this program are comfortable within few days of joining this program. We went to a 2-nights stay at Pegasus for some ice-breaking sessions. Pegasus is not a resort but functions more like a camp where we were involved in team activities (and activities were physically tiring :)). I have been a regular at office project events but this was totally different. There was no inhibitions and no restrictions as everyone was equal at this camp.

Initially it felt like these physical activities will take toll on each of us as I am sure, pretty much most of the batch would have indulged in such activities in long long time. It was physically tiring but was completely fun-filled. And then the urge to try things which we would have done long back. This camp brought back the memories of college life and the feel that we are joining the college back. Unfortunately, there was an injury too. I hope Pegasus takes measures to avoid such incident in future.

We all grouped together in the night and cracked jokes. Most of those were meaningless but brought much cheer. It was like everyone seemed to have come out of shell of monotonous work they have been doing. I am sure everyone had a time of lifetime at this camp.

On the last day of camp, we went for a trek to a nearby hill at 5 in the morning. It was the coolest thing to do. The trek was treacherous, but we managed to reach the top. It was just at stroke of that moment, that sun was rising and it came up from behind the mountains just as we reached to the top - a lifetime moment indeed.

The camp has ended but for each of us a different college life has started. Each one has huge aspirations and expectations from this program and surely no one has extra bucks to burn. Pretty sure, there will be good leaders who will come out of this program and make difference to this country's economy.
 

Joined IIMB as a EPGP Student

I was probably satisfied with whatever I had achieved in my life. Good salary, international trips, air conditioned office, staying with my family etc, I was having a totally laid back and relaxed life. It was after few 'patialas', I was enlightened by the discussion my colleagues were having about benefits of MBA. Prepared for GMAT and with luck on my side, got a decent score to apply to good universities around the world.

Came up with a list of 4-5 colleges who would have been proud to have me as a student. Applied to INSEAD, IIM A, B, C, and ISB was in pipeline. The application to SP Jain was just match practice.  A great saint once said, learn from your mistakes, and after INSEAD did not deemed fit at application stage, IIM A, B, C got lucky to have my interview scheduled. But it was destined that I become a student of IIMB.

Bangalore has called me back albeit in a different role as a student of 1 year full time residential programe (titled EPGP). I knew that life has now taken a different course and there will be some fresh breath and new chapters in my lifebook. Interesting but full of hurdles. The biggest one to go back to college life and develop the habit of learning reading books and attending long lectures.

Lets find out what is in store in this MBA programe in coming days :).

The Power Of People

Normally we underestimate the power which each of us possess. The context is always that what change a single person can bring to a system. We have a habit of downplaying the impact which we can cause by our actions. But I think this is changing now. We are slowly being made aware of the power we have and how we can influence the decisions in a society. Recently a shameful incident happened on the streets of Delhi and it has lead to huge public outcry.

It was not that rapes have never happened in India or it has stopped after this incident. Even the brutality is not something new to Indian society. But the widespread protests have made the democratic institution realized that people are fed up of the way it is functioning. The 'by the people' system is now answerable 'to the people'. The awakening of the people had also reached foreign shores. Never before any Indian crime was mentioned even as a footnote, but this incident is part of headlines. The trial is being followed by people across the world.

Last month I went to Canada and the first thing the immigration official asked me was about this incident. When I was in taxi, or anywhere else, people were enquiring on the trial of this case. This was not something for which I can feel proud. Everyone around the world is looking at the way Indian judiciary system. It is time for the Indian judiciary system to deliver fast track judgement on this case. As the crime has been proved, the only pending matter before the court is to decide on the judgement where most of the Indian public is demanding death penalty.

But I am afraid that because of the opposition to death penalty by judiciary and since every accused has a right to fair trial, the system will take long to deliver justice.There are widely diverse opinions on whether the crime is rarest of rare or not. And the way our system works, it can be years as we have shown that we will not settle for anything less than death penalty for accused. Till that happens, 'Amanat''s family will not be able to rest in peace and will be harassed with this ongoing court proceedings.

If justice is not delivered, it means that the system is of no use and it can be taken for granted. It will result in further downgrading of our reputation on global scene. I think the first step by fast track court should be to decide on the minimum punishment and ask the accused to serve the sentences till the final judgement is pronounced. With the crime being proved, this is the least we expect. If such a judgement is announced, that will act as a deterrent and will prevent many crimes from happening. That will also mean that the power of people is not being ignored and we help in restoring some confidence on our system and the government.

I just got lucky

My career has been quite stable with high paying job but the growth had slowed down. The attempt to switch jobs failed as the rise in compensation was not worthy for a change. So it appeared that I am glued to my job and there is no way out unless I see a light out out of the blue or I attempt something silly. That was when i decided to have a go at management education and took the first attempt at giving GMAT. That was the target with which I entered the year of 2012.

Bought the Official GMAT study guide and started preparation. It seemed silly to brush up my elementary mathematics and English skills at this age. Having prepared for CAT, the standard of questions seemed quiet easy and had me pondering on why it is difficult to score 700 in this test.

Grammar was an area where I was weak and I think Manhattan Sentence Correction Guide played an important role. I think other than these two books, I also tried to increase the speed to answer questions by working on math problems from CAT preparation guides. I tried to improve reading comprehension skills by attempting much bigger paragraphs than the ones we face in GMAT.

I got the date of test on 13 March, though I wanted an earlier date. I devised a very important strategy and i think it played the most important part in the final score. I broke down the each of verbal and quant in 3 small sub-exams and allocated time to it. Gave few minutes extra to question in the end to ensure that I have sufficient time in the end to counter difficult questions. Starting with score of 640 in first mock, I scored 740 in my last mock and I was pretty confident of achieving my target score of 700-720.

On the day of exam, I was slightly nervous and that played a part in my AWA score of 5.0. But AWA section helped me in coming up to speed. Still I was not sure if I was answering the questions correctly, as the questions seemed quite simple except for a couple. But when I saw my score my score of 750 (Q51, V40), I knew that I got lucky and I will be on a plane to one of the best business school soon.

2G Auction - Bloated loss or miscalculation

Just the other day, 2G auction was completed and there were not many takers. It generated just over Rs 9000 crores and gave the government an opportunity to shout back on the losses estimated by CAG to the tune of 1.76 lakh crores.

It is not surprising to find that while there are different views by different political parties on this re-auction and the revenue generated. While congress refuted CAG allegations, opposition parties attributed the less revenue to disinterest by the telecom companies. But I was amused that there was no response by telecom companies on it or any view from an expert.

When the world is moving towards 4G and even in India people are shiftting to 3G, it should not raise any eyebrow when noone sees any market for 2G in next 2-3 years. It is like saying that there are no takers for Maruti 800 even though it was being sold at a heavy premium around 15 years back.

I think telecom companies has done well to remain quiet on such sensitive topic, otherwise it would have consumed another session of parliament. It ensured that we have a full fledged session dedicated to Coalgate. Otherwise opposition would have been divided self and confused on what to fight with Government. 

Reservation - Is there an end to it?

Just when the BJP has disrupted both the houses for coal blocks allocation scam, Congress found an opportunate time to clear an important bill for reservation in promotions. Timing could not have been better as it would have portrayed BJP as anti-*. At a time when Congress popularity graph is reaching abyss, populist measures are being tried to get some stability.

But why so much of noise on reservation? Why do not we understand the benefits of it, and always oppose it. Probably it is one of the strongest evils which we have inherited from Britishers from their policy of "Divide and Rule". The fundamental of reservation was defined because there was a need to bring parity in Indian society. SC/ST were oppressed backward lot and just so that they can mingle with society, reservation was brought in Constitution. But I believe our policy makers failed to define a road-map for it. There seemed to be no strategy and no vision. Even if it was there, it has got lost in the vote bank politics. It was never thought that competition would get so fierce that reservation will be easy key to success.

In India, BPL is not defined by the caste but by the income. And so far, there is no single reservation system which takes income as criteria. Though it is easier said than done, but when i am spending lakhs on my child's education, and he could not get into his dream college just because of reservation, then I would curse the system. In our current education system, government is forcing private institutions to reserve 25% seats for EWS because it cannot provide good education. But I would not mind paying extra if it brings everyone on equal footing and is part of strategy to get rid of reservation.

I am of the view the time has come to move away from these petty politics and define a road map. Reservation is not something which people should be proud of. Lets define how we can bring everyone to the starting line, and stop tempering with the finish line. Government should take hard steps and should not take the easy way out. It should take steps to provide primary education. It is a constitutional right, but the government should ensure that every citizen gets its right. And it just does not remain on paper.

Saina vs China

It seemed that every Indian has developed a liking for Saina Nehwal for her grit and determination to take on the world. Coming from a state where girls are less likely to take on the world, she has dared to challenge the mighty chinese in the sport of badminton. Today was the semifinal between Saina and China's Wang who is current World No. 1. Everyone is office cafeteria was glued to TV watching the match. The cafeteria seemed so full with activity after such a long time.

Every point for Saina was cheered and applauded. She did tried to match her chinese counterpart stroke for stroke, but once Saina gave away the lead, it was very difficult to catch up. Eventually she lost but scoreline of 21-13, 21-13 does not suggest the hard work put-in by Saina. She had made chinese sweat for every point. Many said that Saina committed many unforced errors, but it looked to me that whatever Saina tried, Wang had response ready, which forced Saina to try something different to get the point.

Probably she did tried too hard and the five previous losses were in her mind. But that takes nothing away from her. She has made every Indian proud and whether she wins the medal or not, she has carved for herself a niche place in history of India Sports. And she is still young and will have a shot at the medal again in Brail four years later.

Great Economic Paradox

Indian Economic Policy is very strange. On one hand, taxes are being raised every now and then and on the other, subsidies are being doled out just on the pretext that poor cannot pay the high prices or taxes. There are numerous interesting contradiction in Indian economic policies.

It is a fact that central and state government fill their coffers from big taxes on petroleum products. And the consumption is increasing every day. But still whenever, prices are raised, central government gives pretext that hike was inevitable as oil companies were making losses and state governments carries out agitations against the hike. When everyone is so concerned, why cannot these governments at least shield the hike against taxes. Just think, state governments demand roll-back in prices, but cannot roll-back the VAT hike just because it needs the taxes. Why they do not understand that roll-back will also take away the VAT hike, and this is the least support common man needs. Or is it all the game of politics to milk the common man. It is no wonder that prices raised anywhere has overall impact on the economy. So poor are not shielded anywhere.

Another aspect is that the expenditure by government on services per person is decreasing, while the revenue per person is increasing every year. Since the advent of privatization, government is getting revenues from every sector, whereas earlier they had to make investments and do spending and most of the time those were in losses too. So overall it has been a benefit for the exchequer. Almost everything is being sold by government, and the only effort which they have to spend is to sigh then contracts. There are very few recruitment done. So you have almost same number of policemen/fireman/government staff manning ever increasing population.

All the highways are being constructed on BOT, where private investment is done and private companies charge tolls to recover the investment. Even their, government has their share of revenues. No big investment on railways with talk of it making losses. I am sure if there is private participation, travel will become cheaper even with generating profits. The tariffs by public telecom operators like MTNL and BSNL are higher than private operators, and still public companies are making less money.

Then the government raises service tax, VAT etc bringing more services under its ambit. Instead, if some effort can be spent on curbing black money, taxes will raise exponentially. What do the government needs money for. Or is the money needed by politicians and their well wishers and they do so by looting the middle class.

Every year government spends lakhs of crores of rupees on subsidies. And this gives them the pretext to sell sub standard material to them. A few years back, Indian government has said that poor man needs 30Rs per day to make ends meet. Why cannot government does away with subsidies and provide a card to common man with a fixed amount of benefit for a year? And with that will go all the pretexts. And with that, our country will save huge money. And will also do ways with sub standard materials.

If only there was a will to do something rather for country rather than the will to fill their pockets. Indian would have been a developed country by now. Great Indian Economic Paradox is bleeding the common man.

Is Dictatorship Way Forward?

All around the world, dictator governments are being thrown up. There are revolts wherever there is dictatorship and people are not ready to accept any dictator's rule. Look at Egypt or Syria, revolutions against the rule succeeded, while there are muted voices in other countries as well. Then it left me wondering, why am I writing this article, especially if you consider I am living in the one of the largest democracies of this world. 


There is a reason for it. I do agree that in autocratic rule, common man does not feel as secure or free as those living in democracies do. I really am not countering it. But if you look at  India, the freedom and power to power hungry politicians is so much that they are selling the country and its resources like anything and still can afford to relax in the parliament. At the time constitution was drafted, all these power was just to make sure that those who are elected by "WE, THE PEOPLE" can deliver their duties without any fear. 


We are still following a Constitution which is 60 years old. At the time it was drafted, it was the best thing that could have happened to it. But what our senior politicians missed was setting an expiry date to it. No one thought that as India will progress, there will be changes needed to this democratic tool. No one could foresee what this will lead to. Ultimately, even after 60 years of reservations and with majority in minority now, we are still dragging it. Politics is only for the uneducated ones. Usually those who fail in education make the laws to run a country which aspires itself to become a economic superpower.


These power mongers just want to make cash for themselves without having an iota of responsibility. For them, the motto is, make cash in five years at power and live merrier till afterlife. Just hoard the money for self betterment. Let the common man take care of himself, as this is a "democracy". That is why i wonder that at least dictator has a sense of responsibility because of the fact that he/she owns the country. And rarely one damages his/her own house.


I know this is a very silly thought and stupidest of ideas that could come to someone's mind, but the apathy by government is making a mockery of our democracy. Need a change in constitution, and only then our democracy will be saved.

Jan Lokpal Bill

Just the other day, on lunch table, we were having discussion on Anna Hazare movement and where it stands today. We all were amazed with the way Congress has tackled this movement and almost have made this a non-issue. At the same time around last year, this movement was gathering so much popularity and support that it looked that Congress day's at power are numbered. There was so much talk about corruption and how a common man is suffering with it. Even Prime Mignister of India had to bow to Anna. Any news on Anna was a front-page headline.

A year on, and this movement has been relegated to corners on Page 8 or somewhere. Congress has completely isolated Anna with its political tactics. BJP also could not do anything. Part of the blame also lies with Anna and BJP. Anna tried to avoid linking with BJP or RSS for fear of communal tag and BJP can never satisfy itself that it is not a communal party anymore.

No offense to Annaji or his team, but they ridiculed every tool which was available for getting this Jan Lokpal bill a reality. I feel that they jumped the gun when they rubbished Parliament's authority and supremacy. Parliament has enough powers, but when the constitution was drafted, it was not envisioned that too much of power can lead to it making a mockery of Constitution itself.

Having a separate authority or a headmaster is not the way to get this sorted out. It is for sure that same authority will become more corrupt when loaded with absolute power. What we need is to have accountability and strict selection criteria for Members of Parliament. We have reservation in education for so many decades, so why we cannot have educated leaders from all castes. When we have so strict criteria for IAS selection, why some of those cannot be there for MPs/MLAs. Also, if Annaji is so bent on having the bill passed, why to do it by sitting outside. I am sure that Annaji can win the election and form government if they contest. Then lets have this strong bill passed so that it serves the country for decades to come.

I do not think one should make mockery of our constitution, but we should stand for it and safeguard it. Otherwise, we are just asking for a autocratic rule without any accountability. I hope Annaji should not get disheartened by Congress' tactics and come out in open for a WAR.

IPL Season 5

It is just a coincidence that Big Boss completed 5th season couple of months back and IPL just started its 5th innings. Still we can starked similarities between the two. Big Boss started at a time when people were getting bored of daily saas-bahuu sagas, TRPs were falling down and revenues were dipping. It brought a new run of reality TV in india. Even though Roadies was there, but MTV and channel V are the reserved territories of Generation Y. It was one of the first reality TV where people from all ages and genres were glued. Same was the case with IPL. India didnt made it to the World Cup quarterfinals, and people were disappointed. Interest was weaning and to make cricket a selling cake, IPL came into picture. As it turned out, it also turned out to be not less than a reality show. Second and Third season of both IPL and Big boss were a hit. It looked like these were the best things that have happenned to Indian masses in recent times. The sponsors and investors were getting good returns on their money. People were enjoying it, players of IPL as well as participants on Big Boss were making lot of money, which was even unheard of. It can be said that both were over the moon. Then came season 4. Because of so many reality shows and same saga on Big Boss, people started getting bore of Big Boss. Then more controversies were created, stories were planted, contrversial figures were roped in, and somehow Big Boss managed to hold on to it. With IPL, just before the tournament was to begin, India won the World Cup. It was assumed that it would mean IPL would be bigger hit. But then players were sold out different teams. Everyone was confused on where their loyalties were. Should they support Kolkatta or Saurav Ganguly? Rahul Dravid or Bangalore? And the popularity also took a dip. Noone was sure whom to cheer for. Somehow, still it survived. Now we are in Season 5. Big Boss was a dud. Even Salman Khan and Sanjay Dutt could not save it. Sunny Leone, Pamela Anderson and what not was thrown to the viewers to make it attractive. Still it clearly felt that the show is on its last leg. Similarly IPL also looked like going the same fate. Opening ceremony was more like Filmfare awards, but still it failed. Opening match between Chennai and Mumbai failed to generate interest. Even the loud cheers appeared fake when the stadium looked more empty than full. Though there is still a month to go, but it seems that it has also lived its life. Money will not be pouring so easily in coming years and drastic changes will be needed.

Headline Today - US mulling millitary strikes against Iran

Read an article from newspaper today morning which talked about possible US military action on Iran. It seems Uncle Sam is not happy with the the response of Iraq on the sanctions being imposed on it. Since there seems to be no affect, US might strike Iraq or entrust its ally Israel to do this for it. Frankly, I do not understand the rationale behind this, nor I understand the backing by European nations for this. On one side, European nations are struggling with their own economic crisis. Every other day, their is a news of one or the other 'nation' mired in crisis. On the other, they have time to impose sanctions on Iraq. I do not know whether Iraq is having intentions of creating nuclear weapons. I am least bothered about it either. There have been so many nations which possess nukes. Who is to decide which nation is responsible and which is not? Just being a superpower does not mean it is more responsible than Iran, North Korea or India for that matter? There are so many rogue states that posses nuclear weapons. Why was there no hue and cry when other weaponary was acquired? There always seems to be an agenda with US to attack nations, but it does not seem to decide what to do after that. It is very well possible that Iran might become another Iraq. It will be more dangerous situation to be in than what is now. Imagine, major block of West Asia without any proper control - Pakistan/Afganistan/Iraq/Iran/Libya. It will only mean that the world will be more unsafe to live in. I just hope that there are no hidden intentions behind these moves.