दृष्टिकोण – Indra's Viewpoint

As clear from the story on Reliance Fresh and Metro, organized retail sector can bring a revolutionary change in rural India unless it goes for quick short-term gains. With Wal-Mart famous for its ‘Always Low Prices’ coming in India with Bharati as equal partner, Indian farmers and rural craftsmen can hope for a better direct deal. Wal-Mart sources some $20 billion worth items from China for its international operations. It has developed the rural small manufacturers in China, ensured the quality of production, and cut its unit cost to be globally competitive and profitable too. I wish the mission remained the same for its Indian alliance too. Wal-Mart directly procures from the producers and sells to the consumers with no intermediaries. The super-efficient supply chain management tools and methodologies developed by Wal-Marts are its differential over its competition. Wal-Marts can open the doors of Indian produces to the world market.

Surprisingly, Wal-Mart remained as the largest retailer of the world and at the top of Fortune Global 500 till last year. It has slipped to the second place but with profits of $11.2 billion on revenues of $315 billion, still something that is something no company in India still dreams of. But India is attractive enough with its $300 billion worth retail market, both organized (only 3% of total) and traditional, and its projected size of $637 billion by 2015. Organised sector is expected to reach a share of 10% or more by 2010 with surging economy.

My interest is only that Wal-Mart would move the same as it did in China and develop India as a source for its international operations that no other Indian retailer can think of at this moment. Other retailer such as Metro, though limited to cash and carry business, is focusing on training farmers, fishermen and even sheep rearers who supply to Metro. India needs many more big retailers to do that and spread its sources to rural India. Indian rural folks can be trained very easily in many skills such as embroidery, knitting, printing, etc. and become the cheapest labour source. Rural India can also be source of organic food products and herbal products. Scope is unlimited. The initiative goes for the people with business mind to exploit it.

I hope and expect Sunil Mittal, the hero of the alliance keep the promises of “providing profitable linkages to the producers and growers.” The venture will start with a few stores by mid-2007 and the number of stores will be in several hundreds by the end of the year.

With Reliance, Birla, Tata, Wal-Mart Bharati and then ITC through its Choupal Sagar coming up in retail in big way India will help a new revolution for the farmers and small producers. Who knows by next year India opens its retail sectors for many more global players, once the apprehensions are gone.

And with the global retails, the export will certainly grow because of cost advantages and new innovations will be imperative. One such came to my knowledge today itself. IIT, Delhi, Chemistry Department has developed a liquid solution-natural, safe, non-toxic and tasteless that slows the complex process that takes place within the vegetables and fruits leading to rotting fast. I wish many such useful innovations helped the rural producers.

CPM opposes Wal-Mart , Bharti tie-up
Bharti, Wal-Mart deal: A promising partnership
Govt to scan Bharti, Wal-Mart deal: Nath
Wal-Mart’s Superstores Gain Entry Into India
Retail bandwagon, the bull in a china shop by D. Murali
And something different
The people behind this year’s winningest innovations.

I thought ‘surging India’ has brought certain change in the confidence level of its politicians too and they have stopped behaving like ‘begging India’ of pre-reform era. But recent utterances of the chief minister of Maharashtra pointing to the President Hu must make all Indian ashamed. It was Man Mohan Singh who gave a slogan to make Mumbai a Shanghai. Congress CM of Maharashtra should ask Man Mohan Singh to help him in making Mumbai Shanghai. Why should he seek the help of Hu to make Mumbai Shanghai?

And many felt bad about the unwanted request or appeal of Deshmukh. One is Shobha De. In her column in Sunday Times of India, she puts her points nicely.

I don’t know what to say about Maharashtra’s CM, Vilasrao Deshmukh’s strange request to the Chinese President, Hu Jintao, to help ”Mumbai become Shanghai.” Had I planned President Hu’s itinerary, I would’ve taken him straight to Ludhiana. Perhaps, after visiting one of India’s most cash-rich cities, Hu might’ve gone back and announced, ”Let’s make Beijing into Ludhiana.” I’m serious. It’s time to reverse the situation. We’ve certainly come a long way from that memorable moment when actor Vinod Khanna assured voters in his constituency that he’d convert Bhatinda into Paris! What? Complete with can-can dancers and the Moulin Rouge, in place of balle-balle and bhangra in the mustard fields of his home state?

I certainly don’t want Mumbai to become Shanghai, but I would welcome any initiative that will make Mumbai, a better Mumbai. Why should we ask for help from China? It makes me jealous when I go to cities up north and check out the quality of life there. Last week, I whizzed through Amritsar and Ludhiana and had the opportunity to speak to locals who boasted about their cities. ”Do you see a single Sikh beggar here?” our host in Amritsar asked as we entered the Golden Temple. It was late evening and devotees were still pouring in through four imposing portals. The complex was spotlessly clean – so clean, in fact, one could virtually eat off the washed marble floors. The sight of the Temple itself was so overwhelming, it took me 10 minutes to pull myself out of a trance-like state and undertake the parikrama.

It was true – there was no beggar in sight. No pesky hawkers and no ‘guides’ offering to show tourists around for a small fee. Soothing kirtans sung in low, mellifluous tones wafted over the water, while free meals were being served in the enormous community kitchen (over 75,000 worshippers eat here daily). The entire complex functions seamlessly, which is a feat, given the numbers. From making and distributing delicious prasad, to ensuring the premises are thoroughly washed, it’s volunteers who perform the seva in a spirit of deep humility. ”Nobody starves in Punjab,” my host reminded me once again, as we left the magnificent complex. I looked back with longing for one last time to catch the shimmering reflection of the Golden Temple in the sacred pool. It is an image I shall always carry with me.

Rajesh Parishwad in the Week has compiled some new technologies and research and development work going on in India and elsewhere that will impact the life for many people significantly.

Scientists from Hyderabad-based International Advanced Research Centre for Metallurgy and New Materials have developed filter candles coated with silver nano-materials that reduce organic impurities in water. These nano material-based filter candles are an example of how high-end research in technology filters down the benefits to people and provides cost-effective solutions.

Automobile firms and academic institutions are working on a futuristic car parking system that can search for a slot for your car. The car fitted with an intelligent system automatically steers the vehicle to the vacant slot.

Danish scientists have achieved in their labs-moving atoms from one place to another, although through small distances, in a split second.

In wireless communication, the third generation (3G) services provide today net access on mobiles, movie clips and television on our cell phones, and faster download speeds. The 4G technologies will be 300 times faster. With access speeds of 1 gigabyte, one can download a feature film in just a couple of seconds.

The Microsoft Research Lab India has developed a software solution that allows the use of multiple-mice in a computer. Each mouse has a different cursor colour. All of them are displayed on the monitor. With multiple-mice, students are more engaged and easily adapt to the multiple-cursors on screen. Research shows that up to five mice, it is easy to work. It is a right solution in a situation with resource crunch.

Researchers at the HP Labs India have developed a user-friendly keyboard for Indian languages, called Gesture-based keyboard (GKB). It allows users to enter text as they normally do while writing with a pen. The device contains a pad on which letters of the alphabet are arranged orderly in different cells. If you want to put a letter, tap on the corresponding cell with an electronic pen. In case, you enter a letter with maatra, write that maatra on the cell. This innovative keyboard is based on handwriting recognition technology. This makes electronic communication easier for people who speak languages that can’t be typed on a standard keyboard. The keyboard, which is now developed for Hindi and Kannada, can be used not only for other Indian languages but also for Southeast Asian languages.

Movies are being played simultaneously across several theatres using satellite communication. The first such full-length feature movie, Moonamathoral by V.K. Prakash, was released in Kerala recently to mixed success. 80 theatres across the state were to release the movie, but because of the resistance by distributors it could be released in only 10 theatres. This will help fight piracy and save print and transportation cost.

Students need not very soon write down lecture notes. And it will hardly matter even if they miss any lecture. With help of podcasting, they can download the lectures and play it on their mobile phones. Even learning from books could also become obsolete. It is time for interactive learning through three-dimensional computerised simulation. With this, people can choose a situation, for instance, a historic battle or corporate management, and test their ideas. The simulation can be re-run to see how different strategies affect the outcome. People can make decisions, see the consequences immediately and also see how other decisions alter the end-result. 3-D simulation will become a training tool.

US-based Cyber School Technology Solution is one company that develops lessons on different subjects for school students based on 3-D visuals and interactive simulations.

How would your kids take it if superstar Shah Rukh Khan were to read them children’s book, say, the Panchatantra tales every night? Sony has come up with a design for a device that allows your favourite book read by your favourite star or the author himself.

There may be many more things coming soon. The most interesting part is the concern of even the big companies to reach the bottom of the pyramid. Technology can help in attaining equity in significant manner. Perhaps, we can see this in the developed countries where the technologies have provided the bare minimum conveniences to all.

Web access device for Rs 2,000!
Mobile phone services to 2.5 lakh remote villages soon

The Time of India, New Delhi has published a 2-page pull out on ‘Bihar Today’ Friday 24 November. As per TOI, it is under ‘A Response Connect Initiative’. To be frank, I don’t know what it means. Is it sponsored and/ or paid by the Bihar government?

‘Bihar Today’ covers in brief the performance report of the first year of the new government. Some of the interesting points are as follows:

In an interview to Faizan Ahmad, Nitish Kumar targets the growth rate for Bihar at 10% plus, as the average growth rate for the country has been targeted at 8.5%. Mr. Kumar claims to have started the public distribution system by introducing coupon scheme as an experiment. He also talked of allotting Indira Awas to the beneficiaries without commission and greasing the palms of the government servants. Proposals, mainly for sugarcane based industry with cogeneration of ethanol and distillery, some for the maize based industry, and for professional educational institutes of management, engineering, and medicines, have already come and some have already been approved. ‘We are also laying stress on opening of national institutions of repute.’ Road Construction Department (RCD) has started work with Rs 729 crore. Kumar ensures a transparent system with all the information of the specific roads under construction and its progress on Internet, and appeals to the people to monitor the work.

Under ‘Bihar surging ahead’, it appears, the state is now in news for the right reasons:

Bihar became the first state in India to introduce 50% reservation for women in the Panchayat elections.

Patna became the location of India’s first Haemophilia Hospital.

Bihar government received investment proposals worth Rs 14,000 crore in the first nine months as against Rs 700 crore in the last 15 years.

Bihar has started recruiting 2.36 lakh teachers for elementary school to improve its learner-teacher ratio to 40:1.

Retired CBI personnel were appointed to strengthen the state vigilance department and it has shown results. Crimes including kidnapping have come down and some 5000 criminals have been convicted.

New thermal projects at Nabinagar, Katihar, and Bhagalpur, an MTPS extension with a total capacity of 5,750 MW at a cost of Rs 23,350 crore are proposed, and so also a nuclear power project with an outlay of Rs 16,000 crore. By the end of December, private parties will maintain all 11 KV distributions for maintenance, minor repairs, billing and revenue collection.

One write up provides ‘major initiatives’ related to rural development, healthcare, and education. Some that I liked as major are:

The repeal of the Agriculture Produce Market Act is one that will certainly help farmers in getting the better price of their produce.

To bring in some sort of recognition of the importance of farming, the government has announced ‘Kisan Sri’ award at block level with a cash prize of Rs one lakh, ‘Kisan Bhushan’ award at district level with cash prize of Rs 2 lakh, and finally ‘Kisan Ratna’ with a cash prizw of Rs 5 lakh at state level. I wish it provided the right impetus.

Gram Vikas Shivir have started taking Block level administration to the Gram Panchayat every Wednesday in rotation to dispose of work fast and effectively. I am sure all the actions taken are put on the website of the Block.

Besides providing 50% reservation for women in Panchayats, the government also intends to have 50% mandatory quota for women in the appointments of schoolteachers too. I only pray that all these hasty appointments are transparent and based on merit. Otherwise the government must arrange training for the new teachers, and it must be mandatory to pass the training courses thus planned.

Investment of over Rs 200 crore has already gone for construction of new facilities and upgradation of health facilities. 36 Additional Primary Health Centres with a doctor, five paramedics and all essential facilities such as general OPD, immunization, gynae services, and routine pathological tests have been outsourced.

While a Common School Commission is in place to implement the National Education Policy and the right to free education, the government is seriously working on improving secondary and higher secondary education by bringing in vocational courses in it. Aryabhatta National University of Technology and management Bill 2006 will pave the way for opening private and technical institutions. The initiation of The University of Nalanda, the establishment of Chanakya National Law University and BIT, Mesra Extension in Patna are other good things.

Private Bank such as HSBC has opened a branch in Patna. Perhaps the first multi-plex of Prakash Jha will come up soon. Expectations are high. And perhaps, the progress report of the next year only can make the people confidant that Bihar will have a sustainable change in line with the other developed states of the country. It is just the beginning, and there are miles to go in limited time of 3.5 years more for this leadership.

Hinduja Group flagship Ashok Leyland has lined up investment worth Rs 5,250 crore to enhance its production capacity by 1,40,000 units over a period of next four to five years.
Larsen & Toubro plans new shipyard in India. Ashok Leyland is one auto manufacturer having huge possibility, but I don’t understand why are they more conservative than even Japanese investment and expanding the scale. Hindujas are a family running businesses world over. It can make Ashok Leyland a MNC with scale and technology comparable to other manufacturers abroad so easily through inorganic acquisitions. But it appears; it has its own way to go ahead.

JCB India Limited, manufacturers of construction and mining equipment, is planning to turn India into an export hub for markets in western and southeastern Asia. JCB is in the process of setting up a plant in Pune for heavy line manufacturing, investing Rs 150 crore. The heavy line would include loading shovels and track excavators and compaction equipment. The company would be investing another Rs 130 crore at its components plant in Pune, as well.

Maruti was ranked 91st on the Forbes list, Hero Honda Motors 108th, FMCG major HLL 116th, ITC 137th, IT major Infosys 155th and Mahindra & Mahindra 189th. Tata is the only Indian entity in the top 20 of the list of world’s 600 largest companies in terms of corporate reputation. The more important is the inclusion of mostly manufacturing companies in the list.

Larsen & Toubro Ltd. plans to set up a large shipyard at a cost of about 20 billion rupees to capitalise on expected demand for vessels as international trade grows. Here is a great step forward. Some more companies could take a plunge. Unfortunately, Indian engineering companies are not that dashing. BHEL has so much of orders for power plant equipment that it is failing to cope with. The growth of critical power sector is affected, and now the government is contemplating to have another plant. Why are another entrepreneurs coming in the sector?

General Motors Corp, the world’s largest automaker, is considering setting up an engine and powertrain plant in India. GM aims to expand rapidly in India. GM recently organized a groundbreaking ceremony at Talegaon, 130 km southeast of Mumbai, for its second car-making factory in India. GM would spend about $300-$400 million for an initial capacity of about 140,000 units, which would help meet its goal of raising market share to 10 per cent by 2010, from 2.3 per cent. I don’t know if GM is serious to compete in India’s auto market. I was associated when HM was a partner in GM’s Vadodara Project. It appeared GM just wishes to keep its presence in India waiting for a big boom for large volume.

Haworth, the second largest furniture manufacturer, which has 27 plants globally, is on course to establishing an ideation centre in Pune, which will be its third, and first in the country. The company, with $1.4 billion revenue, has set up a manufacturing base in India, plans to add more product lines in its Pune facility making it a hub for the region. It has shipped its first batch of products overseas to Dubai from its Pune facilty.

The $7.5-billion Chinese consumer electronics giant TCL Corporation is likely to set up two factories in India, one of which may be located in Uttaranchal. TCL is the first Chinese consumer electronics company to venture into manufacturing in India.

German carmaker Volkswagen has finally chosen Maharashtra for setting up a $300-million (Rs 1,350-crore) green field automobile manufacturing facility on a sprawling 500-acre site at Chakan, near Pune with employment opportunities for about 2,500 people. As per the plan, production of small passenger cars will commence by the second half of 2009.

Precision Automation and Robotics India (PARI), evolving from manufacturers of a sub-system and assembly automation process to a turnkey automation solutions provider, plans to set up 50 acre automation park in next 18 months. The company had geared up to meet the ‘explosive growth’ with Rs 250 crore capacity enhancement of automation projects per annum, up from the existing Rs 130 crore, as its global clients like GM and Volkswagen (indirect customer through a Tier I supplier) are setting up their bases in India. On the domestic front, major auto companies are also on the expanding spree. The company is pleading for a status of knowledge industry in stead of manufacturing that it is considered.

And the Chinese are coming again. Two Chinese motorcycle makers- Guangzhou Motors Company and Zongshen Motorcycle Company – have zeroed in on communist state West Bengal for setting up their assembly plants.

Guangzhou plans hit the market with its bikes in January 2007 in an alliance with infotech company Xenitis. A JV company Global Motors will produce the bikes by 2007 end. Global Motors has decided to brand its bikes Xoom in India. Global Motors is investing about Rs 280 crore for setting up a plant near Hoogly in West Bengal. The bikes will be positioned across all product segments – from basic commuter models to the executive segment. Initially, the firm will import the bikes in a semi-knocked down state from China and assemble them in India.

Zongshen has formed a joint venture – Mahabharath Motors – with Indonesia-based Salim group and NRI Prasun Mukherjee. Mahabharath Motors will roll out its bikes under the Arjun brand. Salim group has already bought around 70 acres of land near Kolkata for setting up the assembly unit. The firm intends to invest around Rs 1,100 crore to build a plant with a capacity to produce 150,000 motorcycles a year, which would later be hiked to 500,000 units a year. Its maiden product for India is expected to hit the Indian market by the end of 2007.

Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) is also in talks with two Chinese firms – Lifan and Loncin – to set up parallel ventures, marking its foray into motorcycles.

I feel M&M is getting too ambitious. It must concentrate and stabilise its automotive business with emphasis on SUV, cars of Renault and Nissan, and parts and engineering outsourcing.

Many expected historic outcome from the visit of the Chinese President Hu. But Indian Prime Minister didn’t go to the airport to receive him though he did for Nepal’s Prime Minister.

Ideally, India would have forgotten the war of 1962 and shameful defeat. But many things happened in last 44 years. The most spectacular was the economic development of China. It has made even US to do many things just to save its face. Today with balance of payment of US in the Chinese favour, China is almost on its own and it hardly depends on US to get any favour as India is asking for. China has also built stronger relations with its bordering countries, and particularly the archrival of India such as Pakistan and Bangladesh. China is militarily helping Pakistan, and sustaining Bangladesh economy by using its labour force and its low cost products. Even India failed to get closer to Nepal than the Chinese are to it. Bangladesh as well as Pakistan, because of its history and religion based hatred can never be nearer to India. What can be more revealing than the fact that Bangladesh, a part of Bengal of yesterday imports from China more than what it buys from neighbouring India?

With huge foreign exchange reserve, China can buy the relationships in Latin America as well Africa; and it is already doing that expediently. It is also nearer to Southeast Asia because of the influential Chinese presence over the year and some ethnic similarity. Unfortunately, India never tried that route seriously. It is only with the emerging strength of China as superpower of tomorrow that India hesitatingly decided to look towards US. It may help to improve the position of India on a short term. However, India will have to develop strength of its own as China did to get a respectful support from the developed western countries as well as from South Korea and Japan. It is to be closer with China as that may help in finding the market for India’s products and services that will provide employment to its billion strong population. But it requires a very shrewd diplomacy. You can’t go on declaring China as enemy number one and friend too.

As independent nation with many strength and cultural closeness, India must get the maximum advantages from Japanese and Koreans in furthering its high end manufacturing sector with all the possible concessions grated to them. If Japan extends ‘special economic partner status’ as announced by its ambassador, India must accept that. Perhaps for that reason, the Prime Minister’s visit to Tokyo next month is very important.
Tokyo had not extended such a status even to its neighbours like China and South Korea.

Let the politicians and particularly Leftists not meddle in foreign policy demanding unrestricted entry to the Chinese business houses, otherwise the shrewd Chinese ready to offer every thing to Indian unscrupulous traders will kill all incentives for new entrepreneurs to enter key sectors such as manufacturing.

And when many companies such as Tata Steel can produce the cheapest steel, why not the government supports the steel industry to become the largest producers in world and use its resources of iron ore instead of taking a pride as the largest exporter of iron ore to China? Similar is the story in cotton textiles and apparel manufacturing sector. If Indian manufacturers can prove themselves in these two sectors, India will not have to worry about China. India can do in every sector.

However, I feel in some soft qualities too, Indian people must learn from the Chinese and that is more important. As I hear one hardly find any unscrupulous taxi driver cheating foreigners. Can’t this be emulated? Can’t all babas, now in plenty, in India help?

India and China Work on Building Trust
India and China Become Friendlier Rivals

I had a dream that with education expanding to all sections of the society, the old system will die its natural death. Youngsters will demolish the barriers created by the caste system. There will be free inter-caste marriages. People will stop identifying themselves by the caste. There will be no complexes or hatred against the persons of other castes. There will be no reservations by at 2050, if not earlier. But a study of IT sector that comprises of educated class has morosed me. It appears it will take perhaps a century or more or it shall never come in this country. It appeared in ‘Outlook’.

The first-ever sociological study of the IT industry in India, conducted by the School of Social Sciences of the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), Bangalore, debunks some of these myths

MYTH: IT industry has unleashed a ‘network society’ and a ‘second modernity’.

FACT Indian IT workers seem to have preserved the conservative institution of endogamous marriage. As per the sample survey, South Indian Brahmins married South Indian Brahmins, while for North Indian Brahmins in-marriage was 100 per cent. Only one Brahmin in the sample was married to a non-Brahmin. For Vaishyas, endogamy was 100 per cent, as was the case for dominant agricultural castes and all other categories. All the Muslims and Christians also married within their communities. Of those surveyed, 62 per cent had arranged marriages, 28 per cent were self-arranged, while a small number were arranged through marriage bureaus, Internet chat and the like. Intra-regional marriage statistics is another factor supporting the conservative attitude of IT employees to marriage-among Hindi-speaking respondents, 88 per cent married those who speak Hindi. A similar pattern is found among Tamil speakers (88 per cent), Kannada speakers (83 per cent), Malayalam speakers (75 per cent) and Telugu speakers (71 per cent).

Perhaps, my perception of the younger generation was based on very few cases of young men with open mind that I met.

What do you think about it?

Chidanand Rajghatta in ‘Times of India’ has provided some statistics about the country of origin of US entrepreneurs of start-up companies. It is inspiring and exemplary too for those youngsters who still move to US for further studies and perhaps with a dream of settling down in US. Globalization is demolishing, perhaps very rightly, the emotional attachments and responsibility to the motherland too. Mittal would not have been the largest steel maker in the world and that successful if he would have persisted with his own country. And today, the clan is expanding fast.

Indian immigrants to the US account for 28% of all foreign-founded private start-up companies in a climate dominated by immigrant entrepreneurs, according to a new study on the hotbutton issue.

Over the past 15 years, immigrants have started 25% of the US venture-backed public companies with a market capitalization of more than $500 billion.

A survey of private, venture-backed startup companies in the US estimated that a staggering 47% of them have immigrant founders. “India was the most prevalent country of origin with 28% followed by the UK (11%), China (5%), Iran (4%), and France (4%).”
In public venture-backed firms too, “the most common countries of origin are India, Israel and Taiwan.”

Indians started years ago. Amar Bose’s Bose Corp in Massachusetts and Suhas Patil-founded Cirrus Logic in Utah are among those entrepreneurs. Moreover, the immigrant founders are responsible for building a high percentage of the most innovative American companies, with 87% operating in sectors such as high-tech manufacturing, information technology and life sciences.
Some highlights of the survey are:

  Nearly half the immigrant entrepreneurs (46%) arrived in the country as students.

  More than half the founders started their businesses within 12 years of entering the US.

  They hold an average of 14.5 patents.

  69% of the individual entrepreneurs have become American citizens.

Authors of the survey emphasize the need for the US to remain open for legal immigration and to issue higher work visa.

US must have huge lot of highly skilled Indians and immigrants from other countries, who are still working year after year waiting for their green cards. I feel a democratic country such as US must be very transparent about the criteria of getting the visa so that they can use their creativity in area of their interest.