दृष्टिकोण – Indra's Viewpoint

Business Week has published a full feature today ‘An Awakening In Bihar’– How one rural school helps prepare poor youths for the Indian Institutes of Technology. I feel so happy after going through it.

I have written about these missionaries in my blog, and I feel this is some thing that must be emulated in every state of India and in all the cities and villages. There can’t be any better affirmative action than this one.

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2006-08-11 23:08:42

PK Balachandran has written in ‘Hindustan Times’ from Colombo on August 11, 2006 , an interesting piece of feature based on a speech of Dr. Karan Singh, Chairman of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR).
Dr. Singh, while delivering the first Lakshman Kadirgamar Memorial Lecture in Colombo expressed his views.

At the time of the Hindu epic Ramayana, Sri Lanka ruled by Ravana was much more prosperous than India. It was referred to as Swarnamayi Lanka (the golden Lanka) and contains graphic descriptions of the beautiful palaces and buildings that existed there several millennia ago.

Lord Rama and Ravana were sworn enemies, and the latter met his death at Rama’s hands. However, the people of India respected Ravana as a great Sanskrit scholar and a devotee of Shiva. He was poet himself.
A glorious Sanskrit poem by Ravana addressed to Shiva as Nataraja, Lord of the Cosmic Dance. It is still recited in thousands of homes in India.

Though many of our historians don’t believe that Ramayana is historical events, the credit goes to many of the poets in last 5000 years who wrote about Rama and made us perceive Him as a historical figure. While Valmiki has depicted him more as hero of the time, at this age I like the character of Rama as depicted by Tulsidas who wished Rama to become the model for all Indian kings. His Ramayana is a story of joint family and he does every thing to make the family stick to its traditions even after natural turbulences.

However, I shall certainly agree with Dr. Karan Singh and so will many. Ravan’s Lanka was certainly one of the best cities of the time.

PK Balachandran has written in ‘Hindustan Times’ from Colombo on August 11, 2006 , an interesting piece of feature based on a speech of Dr. Karan Singh, Chairman of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR).
Dr. Singh, while delivering the first Lakshman Kadirgamar Memorial Lecture in Colombo expressed his views.

At the time of the Hindu epic Ramayana, Sri Lanka ruled by Ravana was much more prosperous than India. It was referred to as Swarnamayi Lanka (the golden Lanka) and contains graphic descriptions of the beautiful palaces and buildings that existed there several millennia ago.

Lord Rama and Ravana were sworn enemies, and the latter met his death at Rama’s hands. However, the people of India respected Ravana as a great Sanskrit scholar and a devotee of Shiva. He was poet himself.
A glorious Sanskrit poem by Ravana addressed to Shiva as Nataraja, Lord of the Cosmic Dance. It is still recited in thousands of homes in India.

Though many of our historians don’t believe that Ramayana is historical events, the credit goes to many of the poets in last 5000 years who wrote about Rama and made us perceive Him as a historical figure. While Valmiki has depicted him more as hero of the time, at this age I like the character of Rama as depicted by Tulsidas who wished Rama to become the model for all Indian kings. His Ramayana is a story of joint family and he does every thing to make the family stick to its traditions even after natural turbulences.

However, I shall certainly agree with Dr. Karan Singh and so will many. Ravan’s Lanka was certainly one of the best cities of the time.

Once upon a time, there was a route to success that corporate America agreed on. But in today’s fast-changing landscape, that old formula is getting tired and retired. However, I consider it as the dynamics of management rules. Before visiting Japan, I believed in tough management, but after some exposure to the Japanese plants and their working I changed my course and became more people-oriented. And it gave good dividends too. Here are the seven rules. You can go to the links and get benefited.

Rule 1    New: Agile is best; being big can bite you.
                  Old: Big dogs own the street.

Rule 2    New: Find a niche, create something new.
   Old: Be No.1 or No. 2 in your market.

Rule 3         New: The customer is king.
   Old: Shareholders rule.

Rule 4         New: look out, not in.
   Old: Be lean and mean.

Rule 5         New: Hire passionate people
   Old: Rank your players; go with the A’s.

Rule 6         New: Hire a courageous CEO.
   Old: Hire a charismatic CEO.

Rule 7         New: Admire my soul.
   Old: Admire my might.

How did you consider the difference? Is it because of the generation gaps between the managers and managed?

Last week sometime, Sunita Narain of CSE again came out with its report about the increased content of pesticides and other health wise unsafe elements in Pepsi and Coke. In a debate on NDTV, she presented her strongly worded views. These MNCs are not allowing the central government to come out the standard that has been finalized on the recommendation of Joint Parliamentary Committee. I wonder why our government is so scared about these MNCs. Is it to get the N-deal through?

Main problem for the public in general and the parents in particular is the confusion that these reports create in the mind of the people. Even in that debate, the two other backing Cola companies, were M. Suhel Seth and Mr. Singhal, to whom Sunita’s report is biased and meant to get prominence by opposing MNCs. I don’t understand why the scientific communities of the country are not coming out to help the people and our young kids to clear their confusion created from the serious reports from CSE and the contradicting promotional advertisements from celebrities including Big B. Is it so difficult to authoritatively and technically to say if the drinks are good for the kids or not?

And as I hear today many of the state governments such as Rajasthan, and some others are banning the cola sell. The Rajasthan Assembly has also prohibited the sale of soft drinks in its precincts, while the government of Madhya Pradesh has banned the drinks in educational institutions.

The Karnataka government has conducted its own tests on colas and found melathene above permissible limits in the drinks that may damage brain cells. It has banned the sale of colas in schools and colleges as well as hospitals and government canteens across the state since Monday.

The Kerala cabinet has decided to ban the production and distribution of the colas “because of the reports that there are pesticides in the drinks.” Perhaps, Kerala wishes to promote coconut cola, as unlike Coke and Pepsi coconut water has many nutrients too. This is certainly a good move, if it get taker of the idea in equal numbers. It shall certainly give good boost to the rural farmers and provide huge employment too. However, either some NGOs or the government will have to provide the resources for the advertisements or our celebrities must do some for free.

Indian government must try to get the problem sorted through a standardization of the product quality and its content through some scientifically deduced limits of impurities and its control in manufacture.

It is surprising to note that while in US, we found many parents discouraging their kids from taking colas and chocolate, but in our country these drinks are reaching even the remote rural India too. Coke and Pepsi have replaced Thandhai and Sikanjawi.

PS
Fizzy taste of India’s cola politics
Cola majors asked to leave Kerala
ANOTHER VIEW
Latest Move From Business Community: Remove cola ban, FICCI warns states

I was waiting in my car for Yamuna to complete her Puja of Lord Shiva on this auspicious Monday of Sravana. I had brought the latest copy of ‘India Today’ to pass my time. But I never had to that, I started watching the swelling number of kids from the so-called ‘have-not’ categories waiting to enter the school that Sai Temple runs.

I was trying to understand who are the parents that were bringing their kids. I found the riksapullers who brought their kids in their own riksha. Some of them were from Bengal. I saw also some security guards from Nepal and women who must be working as helping hands in different households of nearby residents accompanying their kids. And I enjoyed the whole scene. The country may soon see ‘sarva shikhsa aviyan’ succeed. The parents today understand the need for education. But then some questions as usual cropped up. Are the kids coming as the temple provides the mid-day meal along with the dress and books? Why have I failed to convince Anandoo, Raja, and Prema -all from Mahoba working as construction workers or maidservant to send their children to this school even after the promises of additional incentives from me? Why doesn’t the next-door Shakti Temple do something for education? And for that matter, why can’t the authorities of all temples make education as its prime goal?

Future of our religion and culture are no more in danger. Temples are not the needs of the day. India must compete must become the best to contribute to the expansion of education, skill, and knowledge. All its citizens without any discrimination based on community, castes, and gender must be literate and the majority must be well educated. Fortunately, many of our temples- Tirupati, Sidhivinayak, and huge number of them spread all over the country, are very rich. Why can’t the major portion of the collections from the devotees be used for high standard of primary and secondary education? It hurts any one when the news of corruption and misuse of funds of these temples make the headlines. And why religious Hindus can’t change the mode of expressing their obligation to the Givers by building schools or donating in scholarships for teachers for their advanced training and students and rather than offering crores worth of diamonds and gold to these temples and their gods? Why should the huge undisclosed amount go to Hundi rather than helping openly their own countrymen to get educated and to become more skilled? It is to be understood that the present mode of charity and donation creates more unwanted beggars and unscrupulous sadhus.

Let all the rich men from Rajasthan and Gujarat give preference to build and run primary and secondary quality teaching institutes for the have-nots with incentives such as employment instead of building temples and dharamsalas. India must provide some sort of skill to 100% of its children through compulsory trade training. Trade may be anything from carpentry, masonry work, plumbing, hairdressing, or dress stitching. Some seeds for entrepreneurships and innovative thinking must be sown at early stage of education. And now it must be private endeavour to start these trade schools. All those will be small temples and help in getting salvation after death as desired by most of us.

I am sure there would not be any objection to this change of mode of donations even from the gods and goddesses; and They will grant all their favours to donors without fail, may be more in value or volume.

Some Interesting Reading

‘Indian human capital better than China’s
India fourth largest Internet user

Time and again, Shri Amar Singh and also who so ever occupies the chair of CEO of NOIDA (Authority) proclaim their intentions of making Noida to compete with other industrial centers of India. Noida must prioritise its infrastructure projects, if it means business.

With toll bridge connecting and reducing the time of travel between New Delhi and Noida; and in another two years the start of Metro services connecting Noida with the rest of New Delhi, Noida will be better placed than other industrial cum residential townships within NCR (national capital region).

However, the Authority must work on two other very important infrastructures- the first being the quality power supply in abundance and the second is the provision good drinking water for all people. Let the household not spent on getting huge generators at their doors as a status symbol as the elephants in good old days.

The Authority must invite some private reputed company such as Tata Power or even someone else to set up a captive power plant for Noida as a separate company with the responsibility for distribution too. The project is very much viable. All the companies and individuals in Noida can be stakeholders and share holders in the company. The distribution may then be theft free.

On a similar line, the authority may invite some private company to take up the project of supplying treated drinking water so that individual households need not install RO or other system on keep on buying mineral water for drinking year after year and that too with suspected quality. Let the company sell water as business proposition. None will object to it.

Perhaps the new SEZs (Special Export Zone) are coming up with the same concepts. Why can’t NOIDA if interested in competing with them think on that line to have its own separate and independent infrastructure facilities of power and water?

Interesting to read:
IITan to rub shoulders with Bill Gates
Science panic in India
India’s Great Leap Forward?

I have been writing in support of the Ratan Tata’s Rs 1-lakh-car project. It will be a revolutionary achievement for the Indian manufacturing sector. However, for few months now, every now and then, I read about protests from the farmers of Singur that Tata Motors has selected as the plant site. The issues related to the project location and politicalisation troubles me, and even after a lot of analysis I can’t find the logics to locate the plant at Singur.

First of all why has Tata Motors selected West Bengal, the state famous for militant and old-generation trade unionism, and the state that provides the leaderships of trade unions all over the country? Is it for a political reason, attraction of Buddha’s initiatives, some bigger gains from the government or purely on technically and commercially superior location advantages? Is a whimsical decision of an influential person from West Bengal in the corporate office of Tata just to favour his state of origin? Singur and all the adjoining areas of Hooghly have performed well on agricultural front with multi-cropping.

Why couldn’t Tata Motors select some place near Kharagpur on the Kolkata-Chennai wing of GQ, where as I remember from IIT days, a large tract of land around the institute, Salwa and Kalaikunda, the air force base, are barren or lying scarcely utilized for agriculture? Tatas do have some manufacturing plants also in the vicinity.

In one of my articles, I did also suggest Tata Motors to buy the huge land around Hindustan Motors factory for its plant. Hindustan Motors may even sell its total facilities there, as it is hardly doing any significant manufacturing there. The government of west Bengal could have facilitated.

But the most disturbing question that I fail to answer myself with all my knowledge of the auto industry of India and abroad is regarding the amount of land required by Tata Motors. Why should the requirement be of 1000-1200 acres for an assembly plant in a multi-crop fertile land? Can’t Tatas appreciate the importance of the farming land that is shrinking every day? If at all, Singur is the best location, why can’t a car assembly plant be constructed in smaller area? I have seen many auto plants both in Europe and Japan producing many times more production that Tatas are planning being produced in smaller areas using multistoried plant building. I understand and even suggest Tatas to set up a number of assembly plants in different states of the country to cater to the regional requirements.

However, I can’t but appreciate the manner in which Buddha government is trying to acquire land for its development projects. All senior members of the government and intellectuals of the party are trying to sell the need of sparing the land for industrial projects to the people and farmers of West Bengal. Though politicians like Mamata Banerji will be trying to cash on this sentimental issue. But the well-oiled and well-entrenched party machinery of the CPM in rural Bengal will make the acquisition of land a lesser trouble for Buddha government unlike some in other states. CPM is working overtime for it. And in the process, as middlemen the unscrupulous ones will take some pretty good commissions from the farmers for getting better compensation paid.

The CMs of the other states must learn some lessons from West Bengal on the issue of land acquisition for major national projects.

PS
‘IBM is legacy, Infosys is the future’
Infosys must share its success story: Montek
IIT alumnus wins Magsaysay award
Latest from Tata Motors
Tata Technologies to design Rs 1 lakh car

‘Fortune’ on July 28, 2006 has an entry ‘Congo Capitalism’ by Anjan Sundaram.

In Congo, the world’s most difficult place to do business, an Indian entrepreneur has built an empire of soap, ‘the Wal-Mart of Congo’, as he likes to claim.

Rajesh Nambiar manages a consumer goods empire like the proverbial village elder under a palm tree. Ambling by the green foliage on his factory premises in Kinshasa, Congo’s capital, Nambiar isn’t preoccupied with any grandiose supply-chain or production problems but rather with the quotidian concerns of his local staff.

Nambiar moved from India to what was then Zaire to open a Yamaha motorcycle dealership in 1996, one of the worst moments in the country’s recent history. Inflation had hit 9,800%, the army had pillaged the nation’s businesses, a rebellion was brewing in the east, and expatriates were selling off estates and jetting home.

Nambiar, then 26, saw in Congo’s ruins an unlikely launch pad for his fledgling career.

In theory, business should be next to impossible in this corrupt nation. Neglect and two wars in a decade have left the country’s infrastructure in shambles. The Parliament is filled with former warlords, and the World Bank reckons that Congo’s taxes cost businesses more than their profits.

Indeed, the global lending agency rated Congo the worst business environment in the world in a 2005 survey. But Nambiar is thriving in Congo’s chaos: He created one of Africa’s largest Yamaha distributors from scratch, then engineered a turnaround of operations abandoned by Unilever.

Since Nambiar took over Unilever’s soap, detergent, oil, and foodstuffs factory in 2002, he and his team have cut costs and tripled production. A new palm oil refinery is set to open next year.

“You can make a lot of money in Congo if you have the guts and tenacity,” says Nambiar, who learned his craft selling electrical motors in Mumbai, fighting for the better half of 1% profit margins. “But you need the patience to understand business traditions in Africa and how to get things done.”

“It’s all about logistics. Our trucks could take a week to travel ten kilometers, but they get there, and our products reach every village in the country,” Nambiar says. “We have a guy sitting in godforsaken Ndjokopunda–the only expatriate for miles around–just to get things done. That’s what it takes.”

That, and a fleet of 30 trucks, 20 pickups, nine barges, four boats, and hundreds of motorcycles – mostly Yamahas, of course – plying marshy rivers and bumpy roads.

“We’re the Wal-Mart of Congo,” Nambiar says.

Is it not an example of innovative entrepreneurship of an Indian youngman that may inspire many more to emulate?

Dasrath Manjhi is this Shajahan. Shahjahan had all resources of the Mughal Empire to build his TajMahal. Dasarath did all by himself, with his own sweat. The story had beginning some 22 years ago. Dasarath’s wife was seriously ill. He tried to take her to the nearest hospital, but a small hill came on his way. Because of the hill (Gehlor) he could reach the doctor in time. The distance was small if measured as the crow flies, but the hill came on the way. Dasarath couldn’t save her wife because of the hill. At least Dasarath thought that way. But then he thought this should and would not happen with anyone else of his village. Dasarath started on his mission. He must cut a tunnel through the hill. A hammer, a chisel and a pair of hands started working. It took him 22 years, but perseverance paid. Dasarath succeeded. And today at 60, Dasarath and his achievement has become a legend. He created a history of sort by digging a 3-km-long passage through the hill and connecting his village Gahluar (or Atri in Gaya district) to the outside world. Manjhi’s passage has cut the time for people to travel to the next village from six hours to one. It’s Manjhi’s Taj Mahal, the memorial of today’s Shahjahan to his wife. Media never even bothered to know her name.

And I am really happy to read the end of the story. Today there is chief minister in the state who could recognize his daring task. I was moved by this report.

“A frail old man had entered his durbar on Monday when Nitish Kumar looked up. The man at the helm of affairs stood up and offered his chair. (Manjhi sat on Nitish’s chair for a while.) After all, he was standing face to face with Dasrath Manjhi, the man who had moved a mountain. CM spent more than half an hour with Manjhi, hearing him.”

As a compliment to Dasarath, Nitish Kumar said, “Manjhi is a world-famous man who proved anybody can do anything if he has the will power and commitment,” as Manjhi, sat smiling.

Now, the passage is going to be the part of the state’s road construction programme of a metalled road. Manjhi will perhaps get the possession of the five acres of land that he had been granted many years ago.
As reported, “in the early Nineties, our hero had met the then Chief Minister of Bihar, Lalu Prasad Yadav, urging the administration to construct a proper road in his village. Mr Yadav had immediately told his officials to start work, but in the Samuel Beckett-country that is Bihar, nothing happened. The same routine was repeated during Rabri Devi’s tenure as CM.”
I only hope it would not happen this time and the promises would be kept without losing time.

Some News
A motorbike that runs on kerosene and can carry six people
Bihar’s mountain man seeks a date with Kalam

Where can the people of the rural India get engaged once the technologies are taking away their jobs? Combines, tractors, engine pumps, flour and rice mills and oil crushers are replacing the old way of agriculture and food preparatory processes that employed the rural people. Perhaps, rice transplantation only remains manual still. Manual labourers and the ladies in homes have all gone idle. Main task is to create jobs in the villages.

As with the onslaught of automatic machines, the operatives in factories required retraining and redeployment, the people in villages will require training to have the contemporary skills in demand. Those blacksmiths or carpenters that were good in building bullock carts and wooden ploughs must become mechanics for repairing the machines and equipment used today in rural areas.
ITIs must take task of imparting the skill of maintenance of motors, pumps, tractors, and even motorcycles to the people who can set up their service shops in villages itself. The present practice of taking all these mechanical and electrical or electronics gadgets and equipment to nearby towns must stop. Electricians, masons, carpenters, hairdressers, tailor, and for that matter, all trained hands are in great demands. Skills in these trades can provide immediate employment. With thrust for modern housing even in rural areas and banks working for an affordable credit system for farmers, construction may grow as major employment sector and these skills will be in demand even in villages.

Manual works in rural areas will remain limited to construction and repair of roads, watersheds, check dams and tanks, and canals, culverts and drainages for irrigation.

In very near future, the modern way of cultivation will get popular. Skills attached with drip irrigation, water harvesting and conservation, purification to ensure safe drinking water supply, prevention of soil erosion, maintaining cold storage facilities, improving farm productivity, planting non-traditional crops and switching over to organic farming will be in demand.

Education, more so specialized ones such one ensuring admissions of the kids in good private schools will be another area that can engage quite a good number of men and women. Some men will also get engaged in health care activities, and as other service providers to help set up agribusiness, to arrange finance and crop insurance, and to organise sanitation, drainage and waste disposal.

Think of a rural hub for every five-ten villages or a population of 10,000-20,000 people with all services available for the rural population starting from a vegetable and fruit market to other consumables, healthcare and education such as yoga and dietary as preventive steps, repair shops for all gadgets and implements in use by the people today, personal development such as adult education, vocational guidance and training, cyber cafes to train in computer for distance learning and telemedicine.

Women folks are still the least exploited potentials to contribute to the earning of the family in rural regions with changing lifestyle. Ways to use their traditionally obtained skills such as stitching, designing, sewing, and their many crude innovations over the years in handicrafts and arts such as one seen in Madhubani prints must be explored. Some entrepreneurs in textile and apparel industry must develop some working models to use their skills and capability to organize for commercial scale. Why can’t these entrepreneurs move their factories or collection centers to rural India to face the competition from other cheaper countries?

Surprisingly, according to Dr Philip Kotler, the reputed marketing Guru, ‘India’s largest sector, the rural sector, will benefit greatly when we are able to make and distribute $100 computers to villages. The farmers will get more information on crop prices and what to plant. Families will get more information on health and educational opportunities. IT will affect a revolution in the rural area.’

However, $100 computers are far away to happen and made available to those who can use it effectively. India must seek its own solution. It must educate and skill 100% of its boys and girls in some or the other trades. Skill in trades will make the people employable in the village or anyone of the today’s global villages. Ultimately only very few people will be needed for menial jobs. And I hope it happens sooner.