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

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

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.

Immediate Reforms Needed in the Departments of Police and Judiciary

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.

E-Governance can be one of the movers

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

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?