अर्थकारी च विद्या

There is phrase - "when in Rome, do as Romans". We are talking about International standard of education in country where guys from the super schools (Read international curriculum) will have to perform & compete in India with a per capita income of Rs. 56K per annum. Our country is ranked 134th in human development Index (Not to undermine). The challenges will be not only of economics but humanities. We should not follow the system which suits respective countries. We shall emphasise on a system which suits our requirements.

I was under impression that Indian kids are better performing than their counterparts worldwide. I was in myth till I came across a release in TOI, few days back. As per the article, Fifteen-year-old Indians who were put, for the first time, on a global stage stood second to last, only beating Kyrgyzstan when tested on their reading, math and science abilities. India ranked second last among the 73 countries that participated in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), conducted annually to evaluate education systems worldwide by the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) Secretariat.

Though I do not believe too much in all these survey but it is important to build capabilities and competencies to cope with the challenges which Future India will throw on our Kids. This where so called international system might be less effective..

When I was kid, I was not allowed to play much. My music classes were not appreciated. I got a bicycle when I reached my class 8. I used to curse my parents. Today, I thank my parents including my lovable cha-cha for being so strict to me. Whatever small or big I am, it is due to that treatment. I am not justifying them. But, I have a strong logic for that. My parents were aware of the fact that, they may not be able to support my hobby, which might not earn money to support the family. My family was a system, where education was an investment. They had to follow economics as they had no choice with their limited earning.

Today when I am parent, the challenges are different and so the point of view. We wish to have 360* development of our child. No harm whishing but, sounds more like a management jargon with less scope of practicality. Today I am open to accept the choice of my kid and support her to opt her profession. But still I believe that the core of any form of education or profession still lies in its ability to make the student economically independent.

My grandfather used to tell me this Famous quote from Chankya’s Arthshashtra “Arthkari cha Vidya” (Vidya Wahi hai jo dhan uparjan kar sake)

How Intolent is the tolerent India?

Indians are known for tolerance and non violence. It’s never considered as a weak notion but has been seen as the strongest adjective to describe India. It is land of Caucasian, mideterian, Mongolian and many others.. It is land of Aryans, Dravidians and ethnic tribes. Land of Hindus, Jains, Buddhist, Muslims, Christens and Sikhs. The soil and water has potency to adopt the diversity and nourish all the cultures to co-exist and sometimes mingle. We are known for our strong logical thinking. We have accepted critics and welcome critics with great maturity.

I am an Indian with modern outlook yet very possessive about its culture and heritage. It hurts me when I see we are deviating from the core and trying to redefine the adjectives of our definition. We show anger, frustration and intolerant attitude about pettiest of things. We allowed the mock of the strongest democracy (So called by sheer number but not the quality). We cannot manage an outraged pressure group. The recent Selman Rushdie episode has hit the right of voice/opinion in India. How different we are from China or any other hardliners. Literature has been the strongest weapon for an intellectual, we cannot deprive him of. I was reading TOI today, where, editor has blamed congress for not able to address the issue with great ability. I humbly disagree with you gentlemen. Its not the political party but the people are responsible. If congress act against the sentiment/pseudo protest of a particular group, the other political parties will in cash it. Why can’t all political parties have a consensus in dealing affairs with such stature?

Some of us throw shoes/ink/slap and Few of us pat shoulder of such a timid coward individual who try to act Bhagat Singh and Raj guru. We are not in our senses. Violence and intolerance in any form shall be condemned in civil society. Imagine we all start claiming ourselves as competent authority to punish, deliver justice.. What will be the situation of law and order in the country? Any person of that repute is equally good or bad in some or others perspective. It is not about RG, RD, SP or any ABCD.. If we as a Nobel citizen start supporting these kind of acts, the victim could be anybody. The result could be slapping a rikshawala.. Slapping a person who overtakes u.. Slapping an elderly govt.  babu  for some or other mistakes.. Youth are more vulnerable to follow such aggressive stance.

Being intolerant will not bring accountability in the system. It has to do a lot more with socio-economic equation of a civilized society and practicing moral science which we use to study when we were kids. Before a follower of any religion we all are human. An ethnic tribe of santhal pargana has equal stake in the country.

Dilemma of UP voters

Young Indians are going above of caste, creed and religion. We have seen progressive attitude of voters in state elections of Bihar, MP, TN & WB. But UP has unique problem.. They have to opt best amongst all the worst. Leaders with no vision for its people always lead to anarchy. Till 1960 up was one of the developed states of India. You all know the status of the state today.. We all know that NOIDA/Ghaziabad can fetch revenue for the state which could turn UP around. But who wants to develop UP? I am clueless which coalition will work better.. Let us hope for the best. Here i go with an analysis of paralyzed political scenario of UP:

Voters along with political parties have accepted the fact that results will be chaotic with no clear motion to party X or Y. I could see congress and BJP not in the race to form government but to support either SP or BSP. Congress doesn’t have any strong face in UP for the post of CM and BJP is no different with absence of strong local public figure. SP has to do a lot to shade away its goon typical perception. With projection of Mr. Akhilesh as gen x party is repositioning as a progressive and adoptive party. But still going by its proven theorem of MY factor.. BSP worked for development but in autocratic way, which back fired her. BSP is a clear no for intellectual class.

Outsourced leaders of other state are not helping BJP workers to connect at grass route level. What is working for them is the support of service and business class that too when congress is thrashed at center for Lokpal and black money and scam fiasco. Lack of strong Brahmin leadership will not be able to connect with orthodox Brahmin lobby. Brahmins votes are not going to one particular parties, so the parties are actually not bothered about them..  However, BJP is trying to get anti-incumbency vote against congress desperate move to lure Muslim vote. But lord Ram alone will not help the party. The agenda is done till death.. Riding on intellectual class may not work. This class do not form herd and are always divided on their own individual opinions. I could see BJP could be the biggest loser in UP poll.

BJP and its sophisticated political moves doesn't go down the gut of rural India.. Rather our rural counterpart don want to understand it.. What bothers them is caste, creed, diesel price.. Fertilizer, electricity.. food prices (gone up) an average farmer in rural India is happier than ever. Congress holds master degree of that lingo.. BJP is still an under graduate scholar of rural lingo.. They have yet not learnt from their failure of India shining campaign.. Only ad agency benefited out of the campaign.. RG has taken UP poll on his heart; I rate him as one of the passionate politicians going all out to establish his credential. With all top Brahmin leaders campaigning in UP. Brahmins may shelter to their old and trusted party. At the same time the orthodox clad of the Brahmins may still not come to congress for their pro Muslim moves. I still believe that congress posses political maturity to manage secular equilibrium. Congress will gain in UP election but will not be able to make its CM in states. However my vote goes to congress.

I wish all the best to UP voters.. I wish democracy wins.  

 

 

 

 

 

Fighting my alter ego..

5 months gone not a single post.. Sounds like I have lost interest in blogging. Not sure if it is true. Hard to find any excuse. Was lost in daily chores of life.. So much happened in last 5 months - Scams, anti-corruption movement, politics.. Cricket - CLT, India white wash, England Whitewash.. Anna behind congress & now Congress behind Anna.. Iran threatening America :) China supporting Pak.. India Supporting Vietnaam.. Pak threatening America..:) Gaddafi.. actually many more.

On the eve of Deepawali.. there was no Deep (Diya), only electric lights around. Delhi turned into a War Zone with lots of fire work and bursting sound of heavy duty crackers.. Today was a bit relieved weekday at office and so at home. Half of colleagues are on off, agency closed.. Boss out of office..:) Though not a good reason for intellectual stimulation, perhaps the fire work sound has done the job. We always cherish to celebrate. Any celebration comes at certain cost.. I want to celebrate an anniversary, bought a gift for my wife, I paid the cost. I want to celebrate, burst crackers.. I paid the cost but at the cost of many more...We must remember that humans are not the sole owners of Earth. I also understand establishing equibrilluim is so difficult. But, we should have some limit in place. Many of my dear ones will give me a bad vibe for being so philosophical.. my wife comes first in the list.. But can’t help it. You must appreciate how gentle I am in putting my point forward.

Me the biggest conjus (So called) on the earth bought just one packet of fuljhari (Rs. 50/-) for my kid.. Had hard time convincing her that one is enough :). She has just entered in her 4th year. I am sure it will be even tougher as she grows up her age. The irony is - I was the one who used to go overboard in buying crackers in my childhood.. My father's budget was never enough for me.. I always sheltered to the most reliable source (Mother) to get more.. I don have words to express my gratitude to my parents for fulfilling all my idiotic demands in childhood, just to see me/siblings happy.. Sounds so Hippocratic isn't it? I do not know when this transition took place.. Still fighting my alter ego.. Not sure if it brings more changes in me and my thought process.

From Anna to Baba Ramdev: An emrgence of a new equation in Indian Socio-political environement..

Empowered by democracy Indians are speaking their Mind and they are willing to fix the things up for them. Its no more an India where people ignore obnoxious acts by politicians and beurocrats. Recent state assembly polls are the live example of the same. What is more important to the youth today is basics in place. We are really not bothered about from which social group we belong to? We are also not interested in showering swallowed egos on others basis our caste, creed or language.. Obviously, because we have started conversing a language called "Development".

Its very interesting to understand the change which is taking place in Indian civil society. Its sheer because of increasing expectation from policy makers and escalation of frustration because its hardly met. Anna is not an individual but an attitude of a new India.

Recently launched campaign of Baba Ramdev is even more appraisable. Baba would start a 'satyagraha' against corruption and black money and go on an indefinite fast from June 4, demanding that the government bring back black money stashed in tax havens abroad. His movement seeks the early establishment of a neutral and empowered Jan Lokpal Bill, which has the authority to recover black money and send offenders to prison. As per his statement -"The black money that is deposited in the foreign banks should be declared national property by the government, and no Indian citizen should be allowed to deposit money in foreign banks with illegal methods. If anybody does that, he should be declared an anti-national".

Weather it is practically possible or not is debatable but it has a very sound message to the government and its corrupted aides. Also, the road ahead is bumpy for the people who have their black money in foreign banks. Moreover the people in queue will think 10 times the idea of black money and its deposition outside India. Request all annas, matas, Babas and the entire civil society to keep the good work going..

Jan Lokpal Bill will dilute the authority of other well-functioning institutions…

I am delighted to see the response of people to support the Jan Lokpal Bill drafted by Shanti Bhushan, former IPS Kiran Bedi, Justice N. Santosh Hegde, Prashant Bhushan, former chief election commissioner J. M. Lyngdoh in consultation with the leaders of the India against Corruption movement and the civil society. It further promotes citizen’s involvement in policy making process.

Jan Lokpal bill is centripetal to anti-corruption. People frustrated and disgusted with series of scams and day to day policy and system failure have reacted to the bill without doing a systemic check and scope of its practical implementation. Citizens see it as panacea to combat corruption. Before we conclude anything let us look at the features of Lokpal Bill and Jan Lokpal Bill:

Draft Lokpal Bill 2010 (UPA proposed)*	Jan Lokpal Bill (By Public)*
Lokpal will have no power to initiate suo moto action or receive complaints of corruption from the general public. It can only probe complaints forwarded by LS Speaker or RS Chairman.	Lokpal will have powers to initiate suo moto action or receive complaints of corruption from the general public.
Lokpal will only be an Advisory Body. Its part is only limited to forwarding its report to the "Competent Authority"	Lokpal will be much more than an Advisory Body. It should be granted powers to initiate Prosecution against anyone found guilty.
Lokpal will not have any police powers. It cannot register FIRs or proceed with criminal investigations	Lokpal will have police powers. To say that it will be able to register FIRs.
CBI and Lokpal will have no connection with each other.	Lokpal and anti corruption wing of CBI will be one Independent body.
Punishment for corruption will be minimum 6 months and maximum up-to 7 years.	The punishment should be minimum 5 years and maximum up-to life imprisonment.

Though Jan Lokpal bill gives more power to the public and Lokpal & Lokayukta, It lacks scope of its implementation and smoothen transition of old policies to the new one. At what level of confidence we can say that the Lokayukta and Lokpal will not be corrupt. Taking power from PMOs, Supreme Court and divesting CBI doesn’t sound a full proof solution of corruption.

As per Jan Lokpal bill - Lokpals and Lokayuktas will be elected by people (By judges, citizens and constitutional authorities and not by politicians, through a completely transparent and participatory process.) Our LS & RS members are also elected through a democratic process which has scope to allow almost every adult citizen of India. What I meant to tell is – if a member or the system elected by the citizens becomes corrupt most often, what guarantee do we have for a completely novice LOKPALS & LOKAYUKTAS? India where one-third of the population is still illiterate, what scope Janlokpal bill has to include them in the process? Corruption is an instinct which is one of the very strong negative attributes of humans. Practicing corruption is highly correlated with society we stay in. Practice of corruption and failure of civil system depends on socio-economic and socio-political equation of the society. Consistent involvement of public in the policy making process, awareness of the social cause, scaling up education system and economic reform will the change the socio-economic and socio-political equation of Indian states and so we will see less corruption in India.

Though I am not against any anti-corruption bills, however I do not accept the both the current form of Lokpal Bills. The first one doesn’t has power but mere a political agenda, wherein the second one is more feel good for public but lacks practicality and will dilute the power and scope of work of a robust and existing public institutions.  Vandemataram...

* Reference: Wikipedia

From Invention to Innovation: A take from “The Game Changer” by A. G. Lafley & Ram Charan.

While we all chant the marketing mantra of “The consumer is King”, it is very difficult to practice it in real life management of Brands. I found the book really relevant for the middle level business/brand managers. It has derived a brilliant equation of how to make inventions an Innovation by practicing the business mantra of “The consumer is king”. 

Consumers expect brands to improve their life. An Innovation shall be centered on the consumers but not the fantasy of a business leader.  Innovation doesn’t mean an invention of a product or service but it mean lot more about serving consumers better. It could be a technology, could be a better supply chain or a brand building exercise may be a slogan, a punch line or could be an interface with consumer. According to Ram Charan, “An innovation is the conversion of a new idea into revenue and profits”. What it means is an Invention which get materialize to add value to the consumer’s life thereby generating revenue for the inventor is an Innovation.

The process of innovation shall start from consumer and end at consumer. According to A.G. Lafley, “We need to understand your consumer at both the rational and emotional levels. This goes well beyond the basic of demographics and psychographics.” We need to do the need gap analysis based on not only the need of consumers but also their aspiration, their dream and how our product can help them achieve their aspirations. It was impressive to know about the P&G’s “Consumer closeness program” where P&G employees live for several days with lower-income families to understand the equation of family income and buying decision making about the brand they choose to buy.

The story of P&G and other company’s such as GE, HP, Apple, DuPont, Honeywell etc. is opens up a new spectrum of thoughts and insight. To become an innovation driven organization one needs to put the innovation friendly structure in place. P&G’s various structures and divisions such as CIF (Corporate innovation fund), Future works, NBD (New business development), EBD (External Business development) and Innovation Hot zones helped them to become an Innovation driven company. The culture of connect and develop which allowed employees at P&G to willingly come up with new idea and become part of the innovation team, helped the company to achieve a sustainable business growth. HP’s IPO (Innovation program office) is chartered to work closely with business units to deliver the breakthrough products. Honeywell disintegrated the process of innovation and made it the job of each business leader but not the exclusive domain of the chief technology officer. Later part of the book talks about the building the culture of Innovation in the organization by virtue of which departments, customers internal and external, collaborate and teamwork across to fuel in the innovation process.

Overall the book has got smooth flow of the Innovation process. The language is simple and easy to grasp. The examples and explanation through various chart and grid has made the job easy for the reader to understand the process. Both the writers A. G. Lafley and Ram Charan have adopted the story telling style of writing which helps readers to stick to the book.