In my Blog of September 22nd, I had hoped that the the corruption of the Common Wealth Games highlighted by the media would be the trigger for the start of a movement which demands accountability from public officials . Also investigations are underway to see far the corruption went.
Yesterday the investigative authority announced the arrest of two members of the Organizing Committee of the Commonwealth Games . It remains to be seen whether the " big fish" will also be netted or is it just some small fry getting gutted ?
However a few other events over the last couple of months makes one think that finally steps are being taken - even if they are small steps.
1. A NGO called Janagraha has launched a website called (http://ipaidabribe.com/) where you can go online and report the payment of a bribe to get something done. Your identity is apparently not disclosed.
2. The removal of the Telecoms Minister who while granting spectrum license's has apparently enabled the state to loose thousands of crore's in potential revenues. The exact numbers vary from report to report.
3. Mr.Ratan Tata one of the most respected industrialist after remaining silent for many years has gone public that the reasons why they are not in the airlines business ( despite the fact that Air India was started and run by the Tata group and was reportedly the role model for Singapore Airlines),is because he was unwilling to pay a bribe to a politician as was advised by a fellow industrialist.
4. The Adarsh Housing Society Scam in which Defense Services personnel and state politicians got together to allocate themselves flats in a building in a prime location in Mumbai at a throw away price.
5. A former Army Chief has been accused by the media for having assets beyond his means.
While some of these are still investigated, the very fact that these are being raised in the media and the Government taking steps to investigate them is an encouraging sign. Hopefully the guilty will be punished and not protected for political expediency's sake.
While one can be cynical and say that nothing is going to come off it, I would like to think that we are moving in the right direction. These are small steps individually, but as the Chinese say - " The longest journey begins with the first step". I think we are seeing the first step being taken !!!
Monday, November 15, 2010
Friday, November 5, 2010
The Melting Pot Through A Crystal Ball
A couple of weeks ago , I was having dinner with some colleagues from the United States and were chatting about how America was changing. One of the things which was mentioned was how the immigrants were no longer buying into the melting pot concept . His view was that in the past all immigrants , if not in the first generation , but certainly by the second generation had become Americanized. He felt that was no longer the case.He sounded a bit concerned.
I thought about it and feel that until the fifties the majority of the immigrants were white and predominantly Christian ( apart from the African Americans who were brought in as slaves). Yes there were exceptions. You had Chinese who came to build the rail roads but who did not have equal rights. Then you had the Jews who were initially discriminated against but gradually became part of the mainstream. The Hispanics predated the Americans, but the numbers have jumped up radically. From the seventies you saw more of a influx of immigrants who were Muslims, Hindu's and Sikh's.
The concern now is that the recent wave of immigrants now while living and working in America still want to retain their ethnic and religious identity. They want to build their own places of worship, eat their own food and speak their own language while at home. I do not feel that this is a cause of concern. Once you have the third and fourth generation they too will become Americanized, but that does not necessarily mean that they will give up their religion. After all the first American immigrants came to avoid religious persecution. So why should the new generations of Americans be expected to give up theirs ? There will be some who will , but there will be others who will retain theirs.Religion however will increasingly become of less importance as is the case now for the many Americans, English and even for Indians.
If you want an example of what the American Melting Pot will look like in fifty to hundred years from now, look at India from a socio-cultural point of view. Starting from Alexander's time, followed by the Mongols, the Turks, the Persians and others , we have had invaders who have come and in most cases settled down and assimilated while retaining their own religion. Apart from the majority population of Hindu's, we have large communities of Muslim ( the second largest Muslim population after Indonesia) , Buddhist, Sikhs, Christians,Parsi's, and Jews ( most of them have now migrated to Israel).What makes India unique is the the Indian identity - you have fair, blue or green eyed Indians, you have brown Indians,you have Indians who are blacks,Indians who have Oriental features - but who are all Indians. There are twenty official languages recognized by the Indian Constitution.Although Hindi is the official language in most schools, students also study another regional or state language and or English apart from Hindi.
During his visit this week President Obama in his many speeches talked about the diversity of India. At various times and during his address to the Parliament, he interacted with the Hindu President, the Sikh Prime Minister, the Muslim Vice President and the Christian power behind the throne. Perhaps a meeting with the Dalai Lama ( who after fifty years here could be classified as a honorary Indian) would have rounded off the major religions of the world.
Yes, occasionally we have incidents against certain minorities - Muslims, Christians and even Sikhs, but in the overall scheme of things these numbers are relatively small. For the most part, they live in harmony, and increasingly speak in a common language. They enjoy Bollywood ( and Hollywood) movies and shows. They root for the Indian cricket team and so on.
So the message to my American colleague is to look at India's social cultural mix. This is where America is going to be a hundred years from now or even earlier. Relax its not so bad.
I thought about it and feel that until the fifties the majority of the immigrants were white and predominantly Christian ( apart from the African Americans who were brought in as slaves). Yes there were exceptions. You had Chinese who came to build the rail roads but who did not have equal rights. Then you had the Jews who were initially discriminated against but gradually became part of the mainstream. The Hispanics predated the Americans, but the numbers have jumped up radically. From the seventies you saw more of a influx of immigrants who were Muslims, Hindu's and Sikh's.
The concern now is that the recent wave of immigrants now while living and working in America still want to retain their ethnic and religious identity. They want to build their own places of worship, eat their own food and speak their own language while at home. I do not feel that this is a cause of concern. Once you have the third and fourth generation they too will become Americanized, but that does not necessarily mean that they will give up their religion. After all the first American immigrants came to avoid religious persecution. So why should the new generations of Americans be expected to give up theirs ? There will be some who will , but there will be others who will retain theirs.Religion however will increasingly become of less importance as is the case now for the many Americans, English and even for Indians.
If you want an example of what the American Melting Pot will look like in fifty to hundred years from now, look at India from a socio-cultural point of view. Starting from Alexander's time, followed by the Mongols, the Turks, the Persians and others , we have had invaders who have come and in most cases settled down and assimilated while retaining their own religion. Apart from the majority population of Hindu's, we have large communities of Muslim ( the second largest Muslim population after Indonesia) , Buddhist, Sikhs, Christians,Parsi's, and Jews ( most of them have now migrated to Israel).What makes India unique is the the Indian identity - you have fair, blue or green eyed Indians, you have brown Indians,you have Indians who are blacks,Indians who have Oriental features - but who are all Indians. There are twenty official languages recognized by the Indian Constitution.Although Hindi is the official language in most schools, students also study another regional or state language and or English apart from Hindi.
During his visit this week President Obama in his many speeches talked about the diversity of India. At various times and during his address to the Parliament, he interacted with the Hindu President, the Sikh Prime Minister, the Muslim Vice President and the Christian power behind the throne. Perhaps a meeting with the Dalai Lama ( who after fifty years here could be classified as a honorary Indian) would have rounded off the major religions of the world.
Yes, occasionally we have incidents against certain minorities - Muslims, Christians and even Sikhs, but in the overall scheme of things these numbers are relatively small. For the most part, they live in harmony, and increasingly speak in a common language. They enjoy Bollywood ( and Hollywood) movies and shows. They root for the Indian cricket team and so on.
So the message to my American colleague is to look at India's social cultural mix. This is where America is going to be a hundred years from now or even earlier. Relax its not so bad.
Monday, November 1, 2010
Creating Wealth Has Never Been This Easy !!
If you are young and have dreams of becoming a billionaire, you are born at the right time.
For centuries if you wanted wealth and power you had to go out and grab it. You got together a band of soldiers which gradually became an army and you ventured out and conquered everything on the way. Some like Alexander and Genghis Khan or his descendants Babur and Kublai Khan went on to create huge empires and entered the pages of history. Thousands of others died anonymously in in forests, deserts or drowned in rivers far away from where they were born.
It began to change with the onslaught of industrialization.If you had the entrepreneurial skills,you started a new industry and set up a factory and sold on a global basis. You built up a fortune over a life time, and towards the end you had had a estate of hundreds of acres and built yourself a family mansion manned by hundreds of servants. This happened in England, Europe, the United States and other parts of the world.
Soon after that you had the development of the service industries, hotels, entertainment, advertisements and the like . With the exception of the bankers, of the ilk of JP Morgan, and the real estate developers who built cities to cater to the rapid urbanization of the cities, the wealth might not be of the same magnitude of the industrialists.
Starting the 1980's when information technology came to the forefront, it opened up the window of opportunity for people who used their brains to create the software which ran machines , provided entertainment and now help people communicate and stay in touch with each other. Providing the turbo jets for this effort were the venture capitalists who helped the scale up the efforts within a short period of time. Unlike the past when you relied on capital and bank borrowings, the venture capitalists injected large doses of capital to expand.
At the same time you saw the emergence of the high powered , well paid investment bankers and traders , who while still employed and playing with other people's money excelled in the game of heads I win , tails you loose. Similarly the hedge funds and private equity fund managers played with the decks loaded in their favor made and continue to make large fortunes within a relatively short period.
Which brings me to the conclusion of giving advice to the younger generation - if you are interested in making money quickly, develop the ability to sell your self. Once you are able to do that, it is easy to make money.Fortunately there are many among the younger generation who will not follow this advice and who have ambitions, to make the world a better place or pursue other careers which are less rewarding . We need them to have a well rounded civilization. Can you imagine a world full of just investment bankers and computer nerds ?
For centuries if you wanted wealth and power you had to go out and grab it. You got together a band of soldiers which gradually became an army and you ventured out and conquered everything on the way. Some like Alexander and Genghis Khan or his descendants Babur and Kublai Khan went on to create huge empires and entered the pages of history. Thousands of others died anonymously in in forests, deserts or drowned in rivers far away from where they were born.
It began to change with the onslaught of industrialization.If you had the entrepreneurial skills,you started a new industry and set up a factory and sold on a global basis. You built up a fortune over a life time, and towards the end you had had a estate of hundreds of acres and built yourself a family mansion manned by hundreds of servants. This happened in England, Europe, the United States and other parts of the world.
Soon after that you had the development of the service industries, hotels, entertainment, advertisements and the like . With the exception of the bankers, of the ilk of JP Morgan, and the real estate developers who built cities to cater to the rapid urbanization of the cities, the wealth might not be of the same magnitude of the industrialists.
Starting the 1980's when information technology came to the forefront, it opened up the window of opportunity for people who used their brains to create the software which ran machines , provided entertainment and now help people communicate and stay in touch with each other. Providing the turbo jets for this effort were the venture capitalists who helped the scale up the efforts within a short period of time. Unlike the past when you relied on capital and bank borrowings, the venture capitalists injected large doses of capital to expand.
At the same time you saw the emergence of the high powered , well paid investment bankers and traders , who while still employed and playing with other people's money excelled in the game of heads I win , tails you loose. Similarly the hedge funds and private equity fund managers played with the decks loaded in their favor made and continue to make large fortunes within a relatively short period.
Which brings me to the conclusion of giving advice to the younger generation - if you are interested in making money quickly, develop the ability to sell your self. Once you are able to do that, it is easy to make money.Fortunately there are many among the younger generation who will not follow this advice and who have ambitions, to make the world a better place or pursue other careers which are less rewarding . We need them to have a well rounded civilization. Can you imagine a world full of just investment bankers and computer nerds ?
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
What gets us excited ?
I notice that the online versions of the international business newspapers are trying to localize the news and have the equivalent of a India edition. The Wall Street Journal in particular has made a tremendous effort to Indianize their online edition.
They carry local columnists and photographs. This makes it an interesting read from my perspective. Also I have gotten into the habit of reading the comments or peoples reactions to some of the issues raised in this columns. Being the land of Argumentative Indians there is no shortage of opinions expressed. I have to confess, I occasionally jump in to express my two cents worth as well.
It is interesting to see that when there are articles critical of India there is a tirade of comments. There are other issues also which get people excited. However today's edition carried a column by a Mr.S.Gridhar who runs the Azim Premji Foundation and which talked about the great work done by individual teachers in rural communities in spite of the odds being stacked against them. Their dedication is spread over decades and is awe inspiring.(http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2010/09/29/india-journal-a-salute-to-the-unheralded-teacher/ ). Yet there were only three comments ( including one of mine).
While we all get excited about Shah Rukh Khan being searched by the US customs and other instances where reader take up cudgels, in this instance no one seems to show much interest. Shows our priorities. Sad state of affairs !!!
They carry local columnists and photographs. This makes it an interesting read from my perspective. Also I have gotten into the habit of reading the comments or peoples reactions to some of the issues raised in this columns. Being the land of Argumentative Indians there is no shortage of opinions expressed. I have to confess, I occasionally jump in to express my two cents worth as well.
It is interesting to see that when there are articles critical of India there is a tirade of comments. There are other issues also which get people excited. However today's edition carried a column by a Mr.S.Gridhar who runs the Azim Premji Foundation and which talked about the great work done by individual teachers in rural communities in spite of the odds being stacked against them. Their dedication is spread over decades and is awe inspiring.(http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2010/09/29/india-journal-a-salute-to-the-unheralded-teacher/ ). Yet there were only three comments ( including one of mine).
While we all get excited about Shah Rukh Khan being searched by the US customs and other instances where reader take up cudgels, in this instance no one seems to show much interest. Shows our priorities. Sad state of affairs !!!
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Déjà Vu
Over the last few years there has been a lot of concern about China and its trade and investment policies. China keeps it currency artificially low, it puts up trade barriers, it discriminates against foreign investors. In addition, the critics say that China does not respect intellectual property, it copies technology, it puts pressure on companies who want access to the Chinese markets to invest there and to disclose technology and so the list goes on.
Why does it all sound familiar ? Was this not all said about Japan in the seventies and in the eighties ? Japan was asked to appreciate its yen, it was asked to open its markets, it was asked to lower its barriers to import.Buy out funds chafed at their in ability to acquire control of the tightly held companies.
Some of these complaints were valid. I remember one instance where the Japanese were placing restrictions on the import of French ski's. The Japanese insisted that the snow in Japan was different from the rest of the world. The French retaliated by insisted that all Japanese car imports were routed through one small port which caused huge amount of delay. The Japanese backed down shortly.
In the meantime the Japanese companies went on a buying spree for assets in the developed world, including an American icon - The Rockefeller Center. The Japanese banks were among the largest in the world in terms of assets . It was rumored that the grounds of the Imperial Palace were worth more than the entire state of California. There was concern that Japan would dominate the world. Americans insisted their children learn Japanese.American graduates lined up internship with Japanese companies.
Now it is China's turn. The multinational companies are all complaining that China is limiting their access to the markets and to certain sectors. There is talk about barriers being erected against Chinese exports. Pressure is being imposed on China to let the yuan appreciate.
China has learned from Japan. Its investment forays overseas , with some exceptions, have been in the emerging market countries in Africa and Latin America, in search of raw materials and where it can use its financial muscle. Initial attempts by public sector companies to acquire natural resources in the developed world met with resistance and China now treads warily.
At the end of the day how will it play out ? The reality is that now days global trade and the global economies are too inter-linked . We have learned our lessons from the Depression era that barriers do not help. But each country has to shadow dance and show the big stick , partly for its domestic audience and also to ensure that limits are not crossed. While there is always a risk that a particular leader might be foolish enough to proceed with the threats being made, at the end of the day nothing will change. Twenty, thirty years from now there will Act III of the same play but with a new set of actors and a new bogey man Perhaps it will be Brazil or India. ? Keep watching this space.
Why does it all sound familiar ? Was this not all said about Japan in the seventies and in the eighties ? Japan was asked to appreciate its yen, it was asked to open its markets, it was asked to lower its barriers to import.Buy out funds chafed at their in ability to acquire control of the tightly held companies.
Some of these complaints were valid. I remember one instance where the Japanese were placing restrictions on the import of French ski's. The Japanese insisted that the snow in Japan was different from the rest of the world. The French retaliated by insisted that all Japanese car imports were routed through one small port which caused huge amount of delay. The Japanese backed down shortly.
In the meantime the Japanese companies went on a buying spree for assets in the developed world, including an American icon - The Rockefeller Center. The Japanese banks were among the largest in the world in terms of assets . It was rumored that the grounds of the Imperial Palace were worth more than the entire state of California. There was concern that Japan would dominate the world. Americans insisted their children learn Japanese.American graduates lined up internship with Japanese companies.
Now it is China's turn. The multinational companies are all complaining that China is limiting their access to the markets and to certain sectors. There is talk about barriers being erected against Chinese exports. Pressure is being imposed on China to let the yuan appreciate.
China has learned from Japan. Its investment forays overseas , with some exceptions, have been in the emerging market countries in Africa and Latin America, in search of raw materials and where it can use its financial muscle. Initial attempts by public sector companies to acquire natural resources in the developed world met with resistance and China now treads warily.
At the end of the day how will it play out ? The reality is that now days global trade and the global economies are too inter-linked . We have learned our lessons from the Depression era that barriers do not help. But each country has to shadow dance and show the big stick , partly for its domestic audience and also to ensure that limits are not crossed. While there is always a risk that a particular leader might be foolish enough to proceed with the threats being made, at the end of the day nothing will change. Twenty, thirty years from now there will Act III of the same play but with a new set of actors and a new bogey man Perhaps it will be Brazil or India. ? Keep watching this space.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Trigger For Change
The newspapers are full of the Commonwealth Games fiasco and enough is being said without adding my two cents worth.
I sincerely hope that this will be the trigger for the public to demand more transparency and accountability from the politicians and the bureaucracy. The government needs to streamline the numerous departments to avoid passing the buck like it is being done now. The Metro is a good example. By giving Mr.Shreedharan the overriding powers the National Capital Region Metro has come in on time and on budget repeatedly since its inception.
Why can we not do this for other major projects ? I am sure there are many other Shreedharan's around that we do not have to rely on the likes of Mister " It will be the best Common Wealth G ames ever. It will be better than the Beijing Olympics " .
The first step towards this is ensuring the strict implementation of the Right To Information and providing legal protection to the information seeker. It will be the first step towards a better , cleaner India which we can all be proud off.
I sincerely hope that this will be the trigger for the public to demand more transparency and accountability from the politicians and the bureaucracy. The government needs to streamline the numerous departments to avoid passing the buck like it is being done now. The Metro is a good example. By giving Mr.Shreedharan the overriding powers the National Capital Region Metro has come in on time and on budget repeatedly since its inception.
Why can we not do this for other major projects ? I am sure there are many other Shreedharan's around that we do not have to rely on the likes of Mister " It will be the best Common Wealth G ames ever. It will be better than the Beijing Olympics " .
The first step towards this is ensuring the strict implementation of the Right To Information and providing legal protection to the information seeker. It will be the first step towards a better , cleaner India which we can all be proud off.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Why India is different ?
While reading the Times of India this morning I saw a photograph, which made me smile and feel good about about being an Indian.
The photograph was of a woman covered entirely in a black burqa except for her eyes. She was carrying a
boy - probably five or six years of age dressed up as the Hindu God Krishna with his body painted blue and and on his head was a gold colored band with a peacock feather - the popular image associated with Krishna. Obviously they were off to a Janamasthmi celebration . In any other country in South Asia or the Middle East, a fatwa would probably be issued against her.
The New York Times recently had an article about the Golden Temple at Amritsar which talked about non- Sikhs who visit the temple regularly and voluntarily participate in the cooking and serving the communal meals. The Sikh holy book has quotations and hymns from both Hindu and Muslim saints - a fact probably not known to Muslims outside India. Similarly you have people of other religions visiting the Dargha at Ajmer or that of Hazrat Nizamuddin in Delhi.
This ability to accept foreign cultures and religions, assimilate them and live in tolerance with each other is what makes India so different. Yes we do occasionally have some religious fundamentalist - Hindus, Muslims,Sikhs who instigated by politicians try to cause trouble, but overall for the most part we live in harmony, celebrate and participate in each others festivals.
I cannot think of many countries in the world which have senior political, defense personnel or bureaucrats who are of a religion different from that of the dominant population . In India the President is a Hindu, the Vice President is a Muslim, the Prime Minister is a Sikh and the most powerful person behind the throne is a Christian . The President and the Congress Party Supremo are both females.
No country in the world can beat that !!
The photograph was of a woman covered entirely in a black burqa except for her eyes. She was carrying a
boy - probably five or six years of age dressed up as the Hindu God Krishna with his body painted blue and and on his head was a gold colored band with a peacock feather - the popular image associated with Krishna. Obviously they were off to a Janamasthmi celebration . In any other country in South Asia or the Middle East, a fatwa would probably be issued against her.
The New York Times recently had an article about the Golden Temple at Amritsar which talked about non- Sikhs who visit the temple regularly and voluntarily participate in the cooking and serving the communal meals. The Sikh holy book has quotations and hymns from both Hindu and Muslim saints - a fact probably not known to Muslims outside India. Similarly you have people of other religions visiting the Dargha at Ajmer or that of Hazrat Nizamuddin in Delhi.
This ability to accept foreign cultures and religions, assimilate them and live in tolerance with each other is what makes India so different. Yes we do occasionally have some religious fundamentalist - Hindus, Muslims,Sikhs who instigated by politicians try to cause trouble, but overall for the most part we live in harmony, celebrate and participate in each others festivals.
I cannot think of many countries in the world which have senior political, defense personnel or bureaucrats who are of a religion different from that of the dominant population . In India the President is a Hindu, the Vice President is a Muslim, the Prime Minister is a Sikh and the most powerful person behind the throne is a Christian . The President and the Congress Party Supremo are both females.
No country in the world can beat that !!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)