India - How do we make our Country Great?

Shame on the Parliamentarians of India

2011-08-24T17:42:00.004+05:30

India is plagued with corruption. We have 782 Members of Parliament who are supposed to represent the people of India. But the majority of these 782 MPs are crocodiles shedding crocodile tears unconcerned of the genuine demands of the people. The people who have voted them, today, feel angered and dejected. One selfless crusader against corruption questions the issue of corruption, begs of a Jan Lokpal Bill, fasts for the rights of the people and wakes up the people of India to fight against it. People all around India come out in large numbers & the globe in support of Anna and his Jan Lokpal Bill. The politicians superficially show that they are concerned of the corruption. They show that they are concerned about Anna's health. But as a common man I feel that none of these so called representatives really care a hoot. For them getting elected means thay are the masters and the people their slaves. It is arrogance of the highest order. Anna the people's man, the sacrificer for the sake of the common man is arrested and humiliated by the government. It's the British raj once again minus the colour of the 782.

"Sonia Gandhi is closely watching from her bed in US". "The PM is very concerned and written a letter to Anna". "Rahul Gandhi is deeply concerned". "Yashwant Sinha is very angry with his party". "BJP lambasts the Govt." These are the headlines of the hour. But these are just words to fool the people of this country. Every minute, Every hour is costly. Anna's health is fading. God forbid if anything happens to Anna, there will be mayhem. I am afraid the anger of the people will engulf this country to a situation like Libya. Thank God Anna has restrained the people of this country from following the violent path. But the anger & passions are very high. Every common Indian man has understood the genetic construction of the politicians. They see through the real intentions of these politicians. I hope the Government and the opposition foresees the danger beyond and gets out of their cocoons. For if anything happens to Anna, I am afraid every politician will be dragged out and God knows what will happen.

Politicians of India wake up and understand the pulse of the people!!!!

Today I believe Gandhiji….

2011-08-17T07:21:00.001+05:30

I had never seen Gandhiji. In fact I was born many years after his shameful murder. Maybe that is the reason I never understood the power of Non-violence and Satyagraha. Though India, as history says attained freedom because of Gandhiji, his Satyagraha and non-violence methods I could not believe.

Today, I understand the power of non-violence. This man Anna Hazare, who has come as a savior of our country has proved the power. Today, I understand why the English left this country. Today, I really understand Gandhiji.

This simple retired soldier was in the Army, to defend his country from the enemies outside of his country. When in the Army, he smoked, he had his peg of rum and used the gun to defend his country. Reading a book of Vivekananda transformed him. He understood the meaning of life, the joy of working for the people and the power of non-violence. He changed his village from a barren land to a thriving productive village. He realized that there are more and deadly enemies of his country, within his country. But to eradicate the enemy within, he knew guns would not work. So the soldier in him transformed him to a Satyagrahi soldier, keeping the fighting spirit of a soldier intact, and leading the country against the deadly virus namely corruption. God has given a second Gandhi to this great country. I am fortunate, so are our country men and even the people of the world to witness history in making. Anna has arrived!!!!

Dr. Manmohan Singh and “Manmohanomics” or “CPIMonomics” or “UPAonomics”

2007-05-27T18:15:00.000+05:30

It took me totally by surprise to hear our great PM, Dr. Mr. Manmohan Singh, who is an economist, educated from Universities no less than Oxford and Cambridge, when he called for trimming the salaries of top executives, while addressing the CII Annual General Meeting. How can an economist talk like a lay man to Economics? He must be putting the Universities; he was educated from, to shame. As a citizen of a country which is poised to touch the peak in global economic performance, I feel ashamed because these words come from the mouth of a renowned and responsible economist.

As an Indian, when Dr. Manmohan Singh took over the Prime Minister-ship, I was proud. I was proud because I had a feeling that the wayward Indian politico was moving towards refinement. A feeling, that the Indian politico was recognising the need for a qualified personality at the helm. But I never realised that an economist of such a stature would lose his basics to the wind, in the company of Lalus, Karats and Yechuris. Since Independence, there has been an unconscious performance competition between the Private Sector and the Government Sector. While, in the early years post independence, the Public sector was better off vis-à-vis the Private Sector, now the Private sector has catapulted to dizzy heights and the Public Sector to dizzy lows. Compare the salaries, Compare their employee to work-output ratio and compare the motivation. It’s a low-low in your house Dr. Manmohan Singh. After you and your kinsmen have strangulated the Government sector and now realise that you can not improve it, you now want to strangulate the Private sector too. India is poised, not because you have performed, it is because the private industry was not tinkered by you or your predecessors. Your call to the private sector to restrain salaries of CEOs & executives reflects like a defeated General begging his counterpart in Pakistan to procure 303 rifles instead of modern automatic machine guns. If you can not perform and can not set your house right, do not burn other’s houses. Dr. Manmohan Singh, can you tell Mr. Bush or Bill Gates to restrain salaries of Americans. I am sure you know that the American business fraternity controls the movements of salaries all around the world.

Yes, we know that there is poverty in India. We know that we are thick in corruption. And we, including Dr. Singh and his co-netas, know who is to blame. Its plain and clear, the governance has been very poor. In fact it is not governance but “govern-nonsense” that has been going on post Independence after the Netas took over the mantle. We know that the Sixth Pay Commission is due, Dr. Singh, and that is why probably Manmohanomics goes into a wobbly and asks the Industry to restrain the salaries.

Dr. Manmohan Singh Sir, We know that you are a simple man. We know that you are clean and honest. We know that your heart goes out for our country. You too have a desire to make this country great. But we also know that Manmohanomics can not clean the rotten system. Manmohanomics cannot clean the dirt in the Indian politico. Manmohanomics cannot prevent entries of goondas and goondaraj into the Politics. Manmohanomics can not improve the working culture of the Government sector. Manmohanomics is being pulled and mauled by the compulsions of CPIMonomics and UPAonomics.

We all know, Dear Sir including you that restraining the salaries of top executives of the private sector,who are breaking their backs in nurturing our business is not the solution. The solution is very Clear but tough.

-Hold the Government employees accountable. Get them to perform with the same zeal as the private sector.
-Pay better salaries to your employees.
-Think long term rather than setting five year goals.
-Have qualified politicians to hold Ministerial positions.
-Break the politico-police-goonda nexus
-Do not protect the guilty
-Do not give tickets to goondas and murderers
-Weed out corruption and its perpetrators.
-Get 100% free education in our country.
-Have more colleges and schools.
-Devise concrete tools to uplift the lives of poor
-Encourage and aid the farming and make it a lucrative industry

And finally
-Do not mess about in the affairs of the Private Sector. Act as a catalyst in improving it.
-Do not make a “Khichadi” of Manmohanomics with CPIMonomics and UPAonomics

Can you Dr. Manmohan Singh?

Women - A Hidden Wealth

2007-05-01T14:34:00.000+05:30

Gone are the days when women were imprisoned in their husband’s houses and called dumb. Are women dumb? There is a saying “Women are dumb!” I do not know who coined this, but I am sure he was a man who never knew the potential of a woman and lived his life a fool. Everyone here will agree with me that men are physically stronger while women are weak. But that is the only negative thing in women if we compare them with men. Negative??? I think being weak itself is a positive quality of women. Women generally have tremendous patience, are responsible, more mature, are mentally stronger and they are the ones who generally take care of the family. God has given them a huge stock pile of love and emotion. When a women talks, she connects quickly and easily. She is expressive and reflects honesty. She is no longer an indoors women. That is why we see women slowly and steadily occupying higher positions in our society. With increase of computerization and automation, the need of physical strength is on the wane.The women who are blessed with the best of qualities in terms of commitment, mental strength, convincing and negotiating skills are getting better educated and in larger numbers. The good business industry has recognized this and we see women quickly up-skipping towards higher echelon of careers and proving to be assets of their organizations. Many of these women also manage the household chores smoothly and efficiently. That’s a huge load they are now carrying.

Those business industries that have recognized the potential of women are better prospering. We in India still have a very large section of society who has not understood this wealth. Many of us still believe and promote the masculine gender and unconsciously suppress the feminine. We still yearn for that male child and abort the female. Women are still physically and mentally abused by their husbands and in-laws. The muscle still rules.

Though efforts are being made to improve the state of women in our society, the efforts lack will or do not percolate adequately. This has to accelerate quickly with self-assurance. Our country needs the women of our society to be better educated. We need to give the women of our society independence. Independence, to decide their future. We need an explicit cultural and political overhaul.

There is without any doubt that if this area is addressed and acted with vigor, we will be accelerating our pace towards a greater and prosperous India. This hidden wealth urgently needs to be unchained. India needs many more women leaders and managers in every field.

The Old Politicians must Retire and give way to Youngsters

2007-04-26T13:31:00.000+05:30

I have been delighted by a sudden turn of events taking place in India…Should I call it the changing face towards a cleaner phase as far as the policing department and judiciary is concerned. The arrest of BJP MP Babubhai Katara in the human trafficking case, arrest of three senior IPS officers for fake encounters and standing up of the judiciary against the government’s blatant fixing of quotas for IIMs are but to a name a few. The human trafficking case and the arrest of senior IPS officers are set to open a Pandora’s Box on corruption and police-politician nexus. Why should one be delighted when we hear that politicians and police are involved in such crimes? The fact is that we knew that there are many such corrupt politicians and police officers. Because we knew that the system was thick of dirt. There are too many tainted men out there controlling the system. The delight is because they are now being exposed and a firm baton of law is ringing on their heads. The way the UP polls are going on without any booth capturing is another matter of delight. The election commission is slowly and steadily trying its best to cleanse the source of this dirt. What we need now is acceleration. We need the people in authority to pin these hooligans who wear a mask of nation builders & regulators to be punished as quickly as possible. Let there be no delay.

That was the good part. Now the bad one. Why do we have old and mindless politicians on important chairs of our nation? I think the old must give way to the young. The youngsters are educationally better off, agile, mature, outgoing, thinking and who have a better mind. The old have to understand that they are biologically half-dead in every department. These old leaders, who can’t even walk, decide the future of our country. Unfortunately the dead and weary cells of their brain are not visible to the naked eye. These old men who decide the future of our nation get carried away and want to stick to the helm, because of the respect what the younger Indian generation gives, which is a part of our Indian culture. I beg the old to give way for the young and stop clinging to those very important chairs. These poor chairs only face the farts of these oldies and am sure must be crying and looking to seat those thousands of capable young, intelligent and agile Indians who are in the waiting. Waiting! ….waiting to get old and useless…Well that is the qualification in vogue to have a seat in those very important chairs

Look what’s happening! The NCERT has to change the syllabus every year. They can never formulate one in time. Who faces the brunt? The poor children…the foundation of the future of India. The new books will only be available when half of the academic session is completed. Now the IIMs!…What’s happening? Why is a great institution being tinkered? Take the case of farmers and farm lands. Why are these very important sources of food being neglected? Yes we had a green revolution some years ago. Why is it being colored red? The government seriously needs to understand the importance of fertile land, the farmers and the environment. Tomorrow will be too late. When food becomes scarce….there will be no nuclear reactors, no IT parks and no India poised. We must ensure that we have a rich and happy farmer. And design tools to mould farming as a lucrative occupation.

The middle class has been slowly and steadily increasing. Thanks to the growing industry. We will soon have a lower middle class, a mid-level middle class and an upper middle class. While the upper middle class is not much affected by inflation and rising rates of interest, because he is in a position to balance his earnings proportionally, but not the mid-level and the lower middle class, who is generally the salaried class. It was the case of farmers committing suicide. Soon stories of suicides from these classes will also be a common news unless the interest rates and tax burden is reduced. These are the two classes who pay their taxes correctly. And these are the classes whose necks are being noosed. Tomorrow will be too late when we are going to have defaults in payments and news of more suicides or pushing this class towards corruption.

Can we have a younger, dynamic, agile and learned intelligentsia occupying those very important chairs that decide the destiny of our country?

Can we have the older generation retiring gracefully and being remembered for their good deeds done when they were young and in their peak performance?

Immediate Reforms Needed in the Departments of Police and Judiciary

2007-04-18T16:45:00.000+05:30

We have to first understand the most important and essential ingredient necessary for any developing country. A healthy tree needs water, oxygen, sunlight and minerals to grow. If any of these ingredient is inappropriate, the health of the tree suffers. If the tree is equated to a country, I would equate water, sunlight and oxygen to Defence, Law and order and Education. The rest of the components within a country are the minerals. Like the oxygen, water and minerals to a tree, so is the importance of a strong Defence, an effective Policing and Judiciary and Good Education to a country. Take away any of them a country cannot survive…it will perish.

While we are abundant in minerals in terms of intelligence, manpower, business sense, etc, we need to strengthen the other three important environmental ingredients. And the weakest is “Law and Order”, with Education also very close to it. Why is it so? Why is the common man afraid to go to a police station to lodge a complaint? Even those who dare to go to a police station to lodge an FIR, have to come back empty handed. Why is the police helpless in controlling mobs and how do mobs dare to carry out unlawful activities? Why do the murderers and goondas get tickets to contest the elections? These are some of the questions every Indian except the law breaker has in his mind. On one side India is moving ahead getting accolades for its business acumen and performance, and the other side we are moving backwards towards the raj of the goonda. Which India is going to succeed and thwart the other India? I see the later gaining ground.

The necessity of reforms in the police and judiciary has been realized by those responsible for running this country for quite some years. However, something is pulling them down from accelerating the process. The politicos want the police to let their flock do what they want. The police want the politicos for their promotions. This is a dangerous inter-interest. The goons come in between. They are the source for the politicos for money and muscle power. And so the goons have a friendly police. It’s a dangerous tri-nexus.

We have to set our priorities right. We have to understand the tools essential for the acceleration of our progress. According to me, the defence of one’s country must be very strong and on the topmost priority of any government. If you are safe from external threats, only then you can set your house right. The second priority must be to have a strong and fatherly policing structure with a fast and good supporting judiciary. If your family is well disciplined, Lady Prosperity is bound to embrace you. And similar is the case with the country. With no external threat, an upright backboned police and a quick delivering judiciary, the rest of the tools are bound to be strong and eventually spin the country to greater heights.

I have many a times listened to Mrs. Kiran Bedi, a jewel of our Senior IPS officialdom. She has been crying hoarse for Police Reforms. She has gone a step further by asking every Indian citizen to suggest ideas for reforming the Police department. The Padmanabhaiah Committee report is quite elaborate and gives a humane touch to the reforms. But I would like to add to it by recommending a slight change to the structure. I would recommend a centralized command and control structure. Have a National Police Chief...Like the Army, Navy and Airforce. However, unlike the three chiefs, he would be answerable to a commission called the Indian National Police Commission having 8 members; two senior retired judges appointed by the CJI, two senior IPS officers, two intellectuals nominated by the President of India and two elected MPs nominated; one from the ruling party and one from the opposition. The tenures of the Commission and the Chief has to be fixed and should have immunity from any changes/ transfers/ suspension. Only the President, on the recommendations of the CJI should be empowered to remove/ disband the Commission. The Commission should periodically review/ amend policies, address welfare issues and deal with promotions of senior officers. Every state should have it’s Police chief. And all these Chiefs would be appointed by the Indian National Police Commission. A similar State Police Commission should also exist with every state/ Union Territory which would be responsible to the Indian National Police Commission. With a centralized command and control, under an independent body in place, and the implementation of reforms as recommended by the Padmanabhaiah Committee report, I am sure we would have an effective and responsible police department. The states and the country as a whole can then concentrate on development issues rather than getting bogged down by the law and order issues.

Similarly the Judiciary also needs an immediate reform. According to recent media reports, there are approximately 30,000,000 cases pending in all courts and there is a shortage of about 3,000 judges. It is understood that most of the cases pertain to the government. Since the government is run by politicians and bureaucrats, many of them tainted, they prefer delay in justice delivery. Imagine cases running for more than 20 to 30 years. Who is getting justice or going to get justice?

The number of Judges need to be immediately increased. All proceedings of the courts need to be made time bound; say not exceeding 30 to 45 days. All backlog cases be resolved in a time bound manner by re-appointing retired judges. We have to understand that we have to reach a point where there is no backlog and justice is quickly delivered to every one. I am sure that with immediate reforms in both the police and the judiciary, our country can become the best in the world. We have everything else in us to become great except a strong, fatherly and independent Police and quick and fast delivering judicial system. The fear of the law and surety of justice to every man has to be created without delay or the day is not far off when India, our country is ruined by its own flock.

Please….. Respect and Have High Regards for our Teachers & Professors

2007-04-10T09:55:00.000+05:30

My heart goes out to the teachers and professors of today. They are the ones who make our destinies. They are the ones who are the lowest paid vis-à-vis their qualifications. They are the ones who are deeply concerned in nurturing us. The thing what makes them contented & happy is when they see their students doing well. Who ever has gone back to his college or school to meet their teachers and professors, I am sure, must have seen the sparkle in the eyes of their Gurus. The gleam in their eyes can not hide the message of love for you. I have experienced it and the picture of the first day when I went back to my school after 10 odd years of leaving my school is still fresh in my mind. I can not, ever forget that day because love was gushing out of all my ex-teachers. They were so thrilled to see me. I was their student….so what if I was not brilliant….I was their student. They had umpteen questions. What was I doing? Where is Krishna Kumar? What is he doing? Did you meet him? Oh gosh! they remembered every student’s name of my class. I unfortunately never had an opportunity to go to a college as I joined the forces immediately after my schooling. But I know from my friends who went through colleges that the same feeling existed with their professors too.

Times have changed. Politics have entered the colleges. Respect and love for the teachers & professors is on a sharp decline. While the teachers & professors want to groom us, discipline us and make our lives, the students are not interested. We have heard and seen Professor Sabharwal’s case where the students of a college in Indore beat him to death. We have seen and heard the case in one of the colleges where the teachers wanted children not to get their mobiles and how the school was ransacked. There are many such reported and unreported incidents on the rise. This is sad.

All in all, there is deterioration in the school and college discipline. We Indians are considered to be cultured and respectful; carrying the treasure of our ancestral values. And here we treat our teachers and professors in the ugliest way. Goondaism has crept in and has burrowed deep into the lives of students. Why are the students being misguided? It is this age that moulds the future of citizens of India. If the student is moulded in the right direction, then only can we have a great India tomorrow. It is unfortunate that the political class of this country is bent upon making them goondas to strengthen their muscle power and eventually the votes.

I felt ashamed being an Indian when I saw the way Professor Sabharwal was being heckled by the ABVP activists on Television. He was murdered by these so called students. And to top it, the reaction by the police and administration was even more appalling. It was only because of the media that these goons were finally arrested. But, I feel that this case is now slipping out and the families of the professor are not going to get justice as all the witnesses have gone hostile.

Why have the witnesses gone hostile? Why is the administration not doing its job? Why are we polluting the mind of our students? Why don’t we respect our teachers and professors? Why don’t we let our teachers and professors do the best at what they are…groom our budding generation to be good citizens of tomorrow?

If the perpetrators of crime are let free, it will be the beginning of an end to Indian education and culture. It will be an encouragement for the goons to rule this country and that day will not be far off when we find the seats of Chief Minister and the Prime Minister occupied by goondas.I request the administration, judiciary and the political structure of India to wake up immediately. Let not the Ravans (Devils of our society) take over the reins of our country. Tomorrow will be too late. Trample these devils and perpetrators of crime with a firm foot.

We have to get our education system in the right direction. Unless the teachers and professors are allowed to do their job fearlessly, this will not be possible. The students must be taught to respect their teachers & professors. Politics must be kept away and indiscipline should not be tolerated. It is an earnest request to give independence and support to the administration of schools & colleges, so that they nurture their students for a better tomorrow. Let our age old Guru-Shishya relationship be rekindled. Please….

Reservations Based On Caste And Religion Is Dangerous

2007-04-01T09:51:00.002+05:30

I have always believed that identification of people by caste and religion sets in a very strong divide in the society. These man made identifiers are indelible and remain labeled through out the lives of people. We all are human. We have the same type of blood, flesh and bones. Then, why are we different from each other. Why should one look down on the other. The world is a division of countries. How have these countries formed and how do they remain divided? Can these countries ever unite as one...? Never!. This is because I am an Indian, XYZ is a Pakistani, ABC is an American etc, etc. Here is a very strong example of division of the human race. From birth an individual is identified by the country he is born in. This division can not be undone. And…. neither am I advocating the undoing of this division here in this post. India is different from many countries because of its multi-lingual, multi-religion and multi-caste society. We have been made to identify ourselves based on our caste, religion and language from our birth. When we go to school or a college, an application is filled up where we enter our caste and religion. While in the metropolitan cities and in a well to do society, the caste and religion of an individual is just on paper and does not carry weight in disturbing their relationship. However, in many villages and towns, these play a very negative role in separating one section from the other. After India gained Independence, most of the leaders had a vision to create a harmonious India. An India….where every religion and caste lived in unison. However the strategy adopted from then on, only has darkened the line of divide with every passing year. Unless we stop identifying ourselves based on castes and religion, this divide is going to get thicker and thicker. Tomorrow may be too late and division of a country because of these petty indelible identifiers is a dangerous possibility. Bold steps need to be taken. The government needs to immediately remove these identifiers in all applications and forms. We must go for individualistic identification of people rather than communal. Reservations need to be there, not based on caste or religion but on the economic status of an individual. Identifying an individual based on his economic status will not cause a divide, because he is poor today and tomorrow he will be affluent. This identifier is not permanent. Let us aim to eradicate poverty. Let us aim to provide education to each and every Indian. Let us aim to see that every Indian gets his three meals, clothing, housing and Medicare. The government needs to look holistically and with a long term perspective into all these aspects. Let us not create tools to divide this country to garner cheap votes. Let us make a strong united India.

Can We Take a Few Lessons From The Koreans?

2007-03-29T18:26:00.000+05:30

Forget about the “World Cup Debacle”! It was only a game of cricket played by 11 players. Let’s talk about the performance of our country. There is some good news for us Indians here. According to the latest survey by Transparency International (TI), India is no longer seen to be a “highly corrupt” country. India ranks 70 out of 163 nations this year against 88 out of 159 nations last year (The lower down the list, the more the country is seen as being corrupt). India scored 3.3 out of 10, with 10 being the least corrupt. Last year our score was 2.8/10. Countries with 3 and less than 3 are considered to be “Highly Corrupt”. We have climbed 0.5 points away from corruption. That’s the good news. Though many of us are subjectively aware that there is extensive corruption in our country, I am sure that many of us will be disappointed with the revelation of such a low numerical score. I was myself very disappointed. But the good thing what one sees, is that the score is moving towards the better scale, and this is a positive pointer. We have to accelerate from here to bring it closer to 10 as fast as possible.Corruption is not only a worm in our country but in every country. The Koreans have in the last few years addressed this issue with full zeal and might. It will surprise everyone that their efforts are paying and setting benchmarks for other countries to follow including India. It is estimated that they have saved a whopping $4.5 billion from going into the bellies of bribe seekers in the last one year. That’s a huge-huge amount.

How have they achieved this?

KOREAN INDEPENDENT COMMISSION AGAINST CORRUPTION (KICAC)

It was a beginning in 1999, an Act on Preventing Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions was enacted. That was the first small step. Later in 2001 another small step was taken when the Anti-Corruption Act and the Money Laundering Prevention Act were enacted. A bigger step was taken in 2002, when the Korea Independent Commission Against Corruption (KICAC) was established. This body consists of nine commissioners including the minister-level Chairman, three of whom are recommended by the National Assembly, three by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and three by the President. Each member serves a three-year term and can be reappointed for an additional term. It must be borne in mind that the Commissioners cannot be dismissed or removed, which assures that KICAC members have the independence to perform their duties appropriately. KICAC is a comprehensive anti-corruption body which systematically connects activities such as handling corruption reports, improving institutions, formulating and assessing policies, and carrying out education and promotion. Now this was the Government’s sheer will to eradicate corruption. Parallely, there was a movement by the citizens of Korea that gelled well with the Government’s policies. In fact the citizens movement started much earlier in the early 90s and it is this movement by the citizens that the policies for eradication of corruption were formulated by the Government.

KOREAN ONLINE E-PROCUREMENT SYSTEM (KONEPS).

October 2003 saw the introduction of KONEPS or the Korean Online E-Procurement System in Korea. KONEPS is a cyber market where public organizations and supplying companies conduct transactions. It serves as a single procurement window for private enterprises to conduct transactions with public organizations. All bidding information can be accessed at KONEPS. All procurement procedures including bidding, contract, delivery inspection, payment of proceeds and others are processed electronically via KONEPS, and related documents are exchanged online. The best thing is that and you only have to register once through that portal to participate in all biddings of any organisation. Truly a one stop counter for complete business in Korea.

KONEPS has delivered. It has brought transparency, public confidence, and efficiency in procurement and administration. All paper based forms, frequent visits of business people to government offices, sealing/ stamping of contracts, and repeated registration are the things of the past.

KONEPS has become the world's largest cyber market reaching an annual trade volume of $43 billion in 2005. Due to innovations such as the real time information provision and expanded discloser of contract details, procurement administration has become transparent. In addition, not only our closest neighbors such as Malaysia, Japan and China but also foreign countries including the US and Canada have benchmarked the electronic procurement innovation.

CAN INDIA EMULATE THE KOREAN PROCESS?

According to the Times of India, the Indian Government is seeking help from Korea on formulating our strategy to fight corruption in India. My view is that it requires a full throttle will by the Government of India. Does our Government have the will????

E-Governance can be one of the movers

2007-03-12T05:40:00.000+05:30

I was surfing the web looking out for groups concerned about the development of our country and came across this group India-egov@yahoogroups.com . It has eminent and thinking personalities as members. The vision of this group is to discuss issues related to the Government's vision to make "All Government services accessible to the common man in his locality through a One-stop-shop (integrated service delivery) ensuring convenience, efficiency, transparency & reliability ".

This interesting and a good Indian think tank group was founded in Jan 2003, and after 4 years, there are only 1274 members. Yes, they filter group membership, but the filteration must be done for those people not interested to speak on the subject. The point I am trying to make is that, with almost 100 million netizens in India, the figure seems to be very meagre. We do not have the time to discuss such important topics. We must voice our thoughts and contribute in the development of our country. "Our Little drops of contribution can make a mighty India". I would request my friends to be members of such groups and contribute. Similarly, I haven’t seen any comments here. I have been getting emails though telling me that they liked it, good job.... etc etc. But I need encouragement friends through your comments and suggestions on this blog.

Coming back to the topic of E-governance... E-governance, I think can go a long way in accelerating our actions and taking appropriate decisions. With transparency associated with it, this is a big tool to reduce corruption. The implementation is the problem. True, changes are difficult to be accepted by Govt. bodies. But changes are also easier if we have a good and willing leadership. E-Governance has changed Hyderabad, railways and air-travel. Those business houses that have implemented have prospered. This was only possible because the leadership associated knew the importance and benefits and most importantly there was a strong action oriented will power. I think this is one of the greatest tools that can lever India to the top position in the world. For this, we must as fast as possible ensure positioning of the required infrastructure, train both the leadership and manpower in earnest, and set a target for implementation in every organisation.

Customer Service and Customer Care- We need our Business Houses to Ponder

2007-03-09T18:42:00.000+05:30

Before I write on Customer Care & Services offered by the Indian Business fraternity, let me give you examples of customer service offered by few firms abroad.

I had purchased my domain name and web hosting, online, from “Godaddy.com” which is located in Scottsdale, in US. I had also purchased additional utilities which would help me in creating a decent website. As I was a beginner to web designing & hosting, there were many questions to be resolved. I must first of all admit that, the tutorial/ help posted on their website is very detailed and easy to understand. Thick head that I am, I still had a few silly questions, for which I sent them mails to resolve. You will be surprised that I got an auto-response mail, with the incident no. and a statement of assurance that they would come back to me, with the solution of the problem within 24 hours. The most surprising and satisfying experience was that they never waited for 24 hours to end. They always responded with a satisfactory solution within 1 to 12 hours.

I would like to mention another interesting incident experienced by one of my friends about four or five years back. He had an assembled PC with an Intel Motherboard and there was some problem in the system. The exact problem could not be understood by the Service Engineers and it looked as though he had to live with the hitch. One day, while surfing the net and browsing the Intel site, he posed this issue through their website. To his surprise, he received an email with a set of questionnaires, followed by another mail requesting him to carry out certain test procedures and forwarding the results back to them. Within a fortnight of posting the results, he received a mail from the company regretting that there was a design problem and asked him to return the motherboard. He was also promised a brand new replacement mother board, which he received in a month or so. He was thrilled and went on to narrate this incident and praise Intel, when ever he got the chance.

The point I am trying to make by stating the above two incidents, can be well understood if we substitute the names of US firms above with our Indian firms…I need not to elaborate more on this, as everyone knows, how our Indian reaction would have been. In fact even if a customer care guy in India calls up to take a follow up info….we are surprised.

We have experienced hours of waiting in anguish, with the telephone hand-sets stuck to our ears, bearing that recorded female voice, in anticipation for that sweet voice of the Customer Care/Service representative. E-Mails sent through customer care are never responded. Haven’t we taken off from our work and made several trips, to get a guaranteed appliance repaired. We can count a multitude of such torturing instances by the so called Customer Care & Services. Can we count a single Indian company with a genuine Customer Care & Service support?

I was reading this article on ethics of Customer Service on the net by Ms. Susan Ward on http://sbinfocanada.about.com/od/customerservice/a/custservrules.htm. According to her “Good customer service is all about bringing customers back. And about sending them away happy – happy enough to pass positive feedback about your business along to others, who may then try the product or service you offer for themselves and in their turn become repeat customers.” It is not that these issues are not understood by the business houses, they are, but the system simply does not work. It is only there on paper, the experience by the customer is agonising and frustrating.

The Indian industry has managed to make a mark in the world. This is the beginning. But will it sustain? If it has to sustain, and if it has to be a world leader, “The Customer Care & Service” issue needs to be addressed on a war footing. Charity begins from home.

Can our Indian Business improve? Can we have some solutions?

Media and its Responsibilities

2007-03-07T09:05:00.000+05:30

The media in general has been a great mover in exposing corruption and hooliganism in our system. However it has also been an encouraging factor for the men treading the darker path. We have seen life stories of the dons being displayed on news channels and interviews being given by them. We are making them heroes. Yes, the TRP ratings is the issue. But the media must realise that they are doing a dis-service to their country by airing such content. You are making them idols. How do you otherwise explain that goons are elected as representatives. It is very important for the media to be responsible and aim their coverage in the best interest of the society and the country.

Tehelka had started with the sting operations in India. I salute Mr. Tarun Tejpal and his team
for the guts they showed through out the expose and the turbulent period later. This sting operation has been carried forward by certain channels. Contribution of the media in the conviction of the accused in the Jessica Lal case is examplary. There are many more instances where the contribution of the media has led to action by the Government and the authorities. However the media could have done much better. We need to have many more people like Tarun Tejpal, Barkha Dutt, Shankar Sharma, Ms Sagarika Ghouse...; We need to stop glorifying the Dons; We need to stop having long drawn programs on the movie stars; We need to talk about the real heroes who make this nation; We need more expose of corruption...Not only expose, but a media which sticks like a leach on the expose, till the culprits are convicted.

Dear friends, let us choose the best of journalists (Five) on this sixtieth year of our independence. I would request you all to comment on this article and suggest your nominations for the best journalist (Maximum 5) marking them out of 10. Please give reasons to substantiate the markings. On 15th July let us consolidate the names and publish the names. We will have another round of voting and then let us announce the winner of our polls on the Independence day. Your comments on the process of selection and nominations are also welcome.

Poverty and Education - India

2007-03-06T14:28:00.000+05:30

We got our Independence from the British in 1947. We are in the Sixtieth year of Independence. From then we have managed to gallop with a pace; I would call a "Lame Horse Pace". While the Indian industry has moved at some pace, this could have been much faster. We should have, by now had 100% literacy, but we still lag behind. We only have 59% who can read and write. The rich are getting richer but there is no respite for the poor.

The political system of our country has deteriorated, with cheap vote bank dependent ideologies sprayed all around. Most of the politicians look for opportunities to pull the rug from those in authority. While the ideology of the leaders during the early period was to abolish caste and maintain a harmony between different religions, the vote bank politics has created a divide between sections of the society. After sixty years of independence we should have forgotten what a low caste is; however the identification of individuals by caste is only increasing. And communal divide is getting stronger. In every application that we fill in, we still have that caste and religion titles to be filled up. This is worsening day by day and a time seems very near, of another division of this great country unless something positive is done in this direction. While we should have taken incomes as criteria for giving concessions, we have been encouraging this divide of caste and religion. Unfortunately every government has been shortsighted. The extent of corruption is visible every where right from the politicians to the babus. But yes there are regions where development is seen…Do we attribute it to the Governments? Or the credit worthy are the industry leaders and the common man who works for the industry.

41% uneducated…25% Indians live below the poverty line. And there are these politicians who live and travel in luxury, gift cars and gizmos to rich, spend millions in marriages of their kins, and have the best of security. That is what India is. It’s a shame we carry.

How do we educate the uneducated? How do we eradicate this poverty? How do we change this India?

Should'nt Our Parliamentarians be fined?

2007-03-06T07:43:00.000+05:30

I was reading this article on the net and later heard this discussion on a news channel. Anything about cleansing the dirty part of our system interests me. And I am sure it must be interesting to many of us aam Indians. Nowadays it is "aam"..."aam aadmi budget", "aam aadmi rail" etc...It is the new political "aam"(mango) to generate votes. Well..Jokes apart, this is a good question.

Industrialist and Rajya Sabha MP, Mr. Rahul Bajaj, in a letter to the Rajya Sabha chairman, has suggested imposition of hefty sum of fine to individuals or parties instigating disruption of Parliament. For any small issue, we find that the Parliament is adjourned. How much do these Parliamentarians work? Just imagine when we were back to work to our offices on Monday after Holi, our great Parliamentarians took a day off. The also took a half day off on Friday prior to Holi. These are the great leaders on whose shoulders rest the future of our country. Are these so called representatives of our country, really concerned about the progress of our country. I wish that this debate is taken to its logical end, and the Parliamentarians are fined severly for every disruption. Can we have some thoughts from our internet friends! And can we institute mechanisms to pressure the Government to listen and act positively on Mr. Rahul Bajaj's suggestion.