Can corporates rise from drivers to enablers of India’s growth engine?

If someone asks me about a one word panacea for all evils inflicting the Indian society, my prompt answer would be ‘education’. Illiteracy or lack of proper education is at the root of the vicious cycle of unemployment, poverty, hunger/health issues, inequity and crime. With the exception of corruption, this cycle pretty much sums up all the evils prevalent in our Indian society. Even corruption or more precisely moral depravity can be addressed with proper and comprehensive moral education during the formative years of schooling. The current budget aptly envisages a 22% increase in funding for RTE-SSA and 29% increase in Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA).The Twelfth five year plan also proposes setting up of 6000 model schools at block level.
A critical analysis of the system reveals that all the government support has been directed at improving the quantitative aspects of education without any emphasis on qualitative aspects. This is why education has been able to address most of the problems listed in the vicious cycle to a limited extent with the sole exception of inequity. While the ostentatious purpose of education is to eradicate inequity, it is being seen as fostering inequity-the inequity among urban and rural masses-the inequity among urban rich and urban poor.
It is easy to refute the above statement by saying that all government efforts are directed at providing equal opportunity to all children and it has been successful in doing so by achieving commendable school enrolment rates and increase in mean years of schooling. But everything is not hunky dory when students pass out of the school and compete for an intermediate college or a professional course. How can a public school student educated in vernacular language without any access to good coaching or mentoring about opportunities compete with an u/’rban child who has complete and unbridles access to all facilities? How can a poor student using standard text books compete with someone using over priced reference books? Equality of opportunity without equality of condition is complete sham! All advocates of meritocracy should understand that admission to good higher secondary/professional colleges is highly competitive and requires the correct kind of coaching/mentoring. Without enough cash to spare, it is impossible for a poor rural student to compete with suave urban student. The reservation policy ensures that some rural SC/ST/OBC students get their due even if sufficient enabling conditions is not available but the general caste rural/poor students are left in the lurch. The society blames them for not being competitive/ capable enough and the poverty culture continues.
So, is there as way out? With the central govt. and most states govt. under tight fiscal constraints, government can’t be expected to bail out the underprivileged in this situation. The only beaconing light that is visible in this scenario is from private sector. All corporate have millions of rupees earmarked for CSR activities each year. Most corporate donate a large sum of money to NGO’s and for sponsoring college fests, events etc. With proper efforts these corporate could be coaxed to fund (including total operating expenses including cost of reference books and talented professionals) english medium schools cum coaching centres providing proper guidance for higher/professional courses. These institutes would also help in enhancing the confidence by guiding on spoken english and communication skills. Attracting professionals/faculties from cities to run these institutes would require a higher financial outlay and thus involvement of corporate as source of funding would be essential. This idea could be marketed to the corporates not only as a channel for CSR activity but as a potential marketing/promotional channel. As most FMCG companies are eying the rural market (with increase percentage of sales coming from rural areas), these companies can be allowed to use their merchandise/promotional offers/advertisement on/though text book covers, pencil boxes etc. They may also be allowed occasionally (in a quarter or so) to directly pitch to the students about their products. By doing so, they can not only influence a lot of parents , they can also get long term customers(the students themselves would grow up and would have higher proclivity for the company’s products).Currently many FMCG/consumer durable companies are involved in extensive marketing research to find innovative marketing programs to influence the rural market. The proposed idea would not only give them strong inroads into rural markets, the good will and media hype generated would also help in increasing their revenues in urban areas. It is a well know fact in marketing that public relations is the most powerful form of marketing compared to the conventional advertising and consumer promotions. So, rather than spending crores to pay celebrities and advertising agencies, companies can divert their funds for this ingenious idea to create immense media hype and demand for their products(thus increasing revenues) and also gain the satisfaction of contributing to drive the nations growth engine.
Some sociologists claim that present-time orientation of poor is responsible for their lack of academic success. Let’s disband this myth by providing an equality of condition and environment in terms of education.

The Lesson-Or Should I Call it Epiphany?

I had always fantasized about having my own separate room-a room where I am free to do whatever I want without any fear of lurking eyes or voyeuristic gazes-a room where I can sit and continue to contemplate, dream, fantasize, brainstorm and think-a room where I can come back and have a peaceful monologue with myself. Now, after a span of 25 long years, that fantasy has somehow materialized. But the irony is I have suddenly realized that I was chasing only a mirage. As I try to savior every moment of my ‘Dream room’, a sense of nostalgia and fear begins to engulf me. What I thought of as peace has actually turned out to be isolation. The feeling of boredom continues to manifest itself as sudden bouts of frustration and anger. How can I consider a life as utopian if I have no one to talk to when feel like chatting? What is the point of a double bed if the only space I need to sleep is 1/6th of that space? What has happened has taught me a beautiful lesson-a lesson not abstruse or unknown –but a truism which has been told and retold so often that you consider that as a cliché or hyperbole. The lesson is that “The basic need of humans is human interaction”. You may consider this as the intimacy/friendship need of Maslow’s need hierarchy or as part of any such manifold theories. The moot point is that irrespective of how much money, power, comfort or peace one has, life appears empty and void if you have no one to share that happiness with. Every other need is secondary, only interaction need is primary. You may reject my hypothesis as a blabber of an upper /middle class brat who has never felt the pain of hunger or insecurity of homelessness. Though I may not have encountered them in their most horrific form, but I have not been totally alien to these things. I have experienced them in their subtle forms, and believe me the pain of isolation is much greater than the pangs of hunger or wretched home. Lastly, the above thoughts of mine are totally unbiased –they have no bearing to my introversion or extroversion, my elated or dejected mood and my anger or love.

Train Journey is the best case Study

Published in Indian Express on 14th June,2011:
http://expressbuzz.com/opinion/op-ed/train-journey-is-the-best-case-study/283952.html

I believe that a journey in the sleeper class of Indian railways should be made mandatory for all management students. A journey in Indian railways makes one realise the importance and the use of different marketing concepts in lucid terms. Here is my account of a recent journey from New Delhi to Bhubaneswar in sleeper class and how it shaped my opinion on the often used marketing concepts of Targeting, Differentiation and Positioning.
The most frequent visitors in the sleeper class in summer are the lassi vendors. One may wonder that how can a simple lassiwala shed light on the esoteric marketing concepts which are taught only by marketing gurus. Though at first glance, all lassi vendors may look similar, their selling propositions are often very different.Here are a few points of differentiation on which the vendors position their products: Thanda Lassi (Chilled Lassi), Tazza Lassi (fresh Lassi), Meethi Lassi (Sweet Lassi), Chach (Salty Lassi), etc. Some vendors who may not position their lassi on quality platform, position it on the basis of low price — Dus pe do (2 lassi for 10 rupees). Similarly, chaiwalas (tea vendors) come with different positioning statements — Garam Chai (Hot tea), Adrakh ki Chai (Tea with Adrakh), lemon tea, etc. I was astonished to see a chai wala using the concept of packaging to allure potential customers. While most IRCTC vendors offer tea in opaque plastic cups, I saw a vendor offering tea in a transparent cup so that the customers can see for themselves how thick the tea is (i.e. it has milk and not water). And he was repeating the same chant again and again: khud dekhiye aur pi jiye (See for yourself the quality of tea, and then drink). Even samosas come in different forms and are positioned differently: Onion Samosa, Bada samosa (Big Samosa), Garam Samosa, Dus pe Char samosa, etc.
Forget the vendors, even the various poor guys imploring for money from the passengers are a case study in themselves. Though at first glance they all may appear to be from a few broad categories: children, eunuchs, old men, emaciated women, disabled, pious individuals, among each of those broad categories , there is a hell lot of difference. It seems that they have understood the psyche of the donor (customer in marketing parlance). Since the donating capacity of a passenger on a sleeper coach is less and he can’t continue paying to everyone, these poor guys try to adapt as innovative and different approach as possible. Let’s come to the innocent children first. The children mostly don’t beg directly. The first group targets the finicky kind of literate youth who are ready to dole out some cash for having a clean surrounding whereas the second group of children targets the achievement oriented adults who appreciate good deeds.
As our nation debates over the quality of professors in IIMs and the requirement of more top management schools to produce quality MBAs, we tend to ignore such simple management skills which are practised by those considered as the bottom of the pyramid.
As huge dollars are being spent on management research and developing case studies to ingrain practical knowledge into MBA students, I believe that observing and analysing such simple things in our day-to-day life in India can provide the best of insights.An analysis of mundane Indian life is the best case study.

Is Inclusive Growth necessary for survival of Indian Economy?

Published:Coolavenues(November 18, 2010)
http://www.coolavenues.com/mba-journal/human-resources/inclusive-growth-necessary-survival-indian-economy


A country’s prosperity is determined not by the prosperity of a few elite citizens but by the emancipation of its entire population. While our nation boasts of having a 8.6% GDP growth rate, we still have more than half of our population wallowing in hunger, poverty and misery. We are still fettered by the shackles of illiteracy, slums, child labour, lack of health care etc. Booming IT and retail sectors , burgeoning telecom sector and galloping FMCG market present a skewed picture of the Indian economy.

Our Indian society is evidently segmented and there is a huge disparity between the urban and rural people, between higher caste and lower caste, between non-agricultural workers and farmers, between the organized sector and un-organized sector employees, between men and women and also between developed states and underdeveloped states. Inclusive growth aims at bridging the gap between these divided sections. All sections of society must get the benefits of our country’s growth in full measure and then be able to take this growth forward by participating fully and wholeheartedly.

The general consensus about inclusive growth has always been positive and a lot of prominent figures from various fields have been strong proponents of the concept of inclusive growth. The government too has followed policies which foster inclusive growth, though the reasons for this have largely been political. In fact it is widely acknowledged that inclusive growth is good for the economy. But the underlying question is whether inclusive growth is necessary for the survival of the economy.

Currently the Indian economy is dependent to a large extent on foreign demand. This can be seen from the fact that export constitutes 13% of the GDP and the outsourcing constitutes 7% of the GDP. Clearly we are very sensitive to volatility in international economy. But still during recession India was not affected as much as other countries because the growth of the economy was fuelled by the domestic demand. The principal reasons for this sustainable demand were two-fold. The first one was due to the increased focus on inclusive growth in our nation and the benefits accruing from the social welfare schemes like NREGA and better education opportunities.

This was a conscious effort by the government to provide productive employment rather than income distribution. The other reason that helped us in maintaining the demand is that increased employment in any sector like the IT/BPO sector further created a chain of indirect jobs at the lower level. These jobs required a varying spectrum of skills and employed people from different sections of the society. These jobs are automatically created by the market and are not done intentionally by the government, but still their ultimate effect was inclusive growth. In a sense the financial crisis acted as a catalyst, and brought the importance of inclusive growth to the limelight.

The Indian economy is in a very important phase right now, the growth of the Indian economy up to this point has been on the back of India’s ability to provide cheap skilled labour. India was a labour intensive economy and the cost of labour was less, this fact was used by the developed nations of the world which were capital intensive and this resulted in the flow of capital and business from the developed world to India. But the current scenario is different, the cost of labour has been steadily increasing and the cost of capital has been reducing. As a result of this India has been facing stiff competition from countries like Philippines, Vietnam etc and in these countries the cost of labour is less than that of India. The implication of this scenario is that though India is able to retain its current business, opportunity for growth is limited as new projects are going to countries like Vietnam, Philippines. Thus to sustain the same growth which India has seen in the recent past there is a need to look within, not beyond to foreign countries.

The robustness of the Indian economy over the long run can be achieved by strong domestic focus rather that its dependence on foreign trade. We should thus strive to strengthen domestic demand so that our dependence on international market is reduced to a marginal rate. Assuming that at least 50% of our 1 billion strong population start consuming, it could fuel our economic growth at an exponential rate. Thus the true potential of the Indian market can be realized only when the domestic demand increases. If this increase in domestic demand is due to growth in some segments and not all segments of the society then there will be increase in demand for some time but over time the demand will get saturated. The only way to sustain a strong domestic demand over time is when growth encompasses all segments of the society.

For exponential and long term growth we will need employment generation at a proportionate rate. Given the fact that organized sector including the public sector cant be expected to make any large impact on employment generation, the desired economic growth can’t be achieved unless the bulk of GDP growth takes place in the unorganized sector. Thus there is a need to provide unorganized sector with an enabling environment and a level playing field for achieving rapid growth.

In our country, agriculture provides employment to 50% of the population but it contributes only 17% to overall GDP. With rising costs of cultivation, low remuneration, high risks of crop failure and mounting debt , farmers are getting discouraged to pursue agriculture and getting more attracted to other non-agribusinesses. If this trend continues unchecked, it can cause huge food scarcity which will ultimately hamper the economic health of our country. So we need to give proper incentives to our farmers so that they are encouraged to pursue better agricultural activities. This will also increase the contribution of agriculture toward the total GDP of our nation.

Furthermore, the disparity between the developed states and the poor states in india is very large. Out of the 28 states in India only eight states account for two-third of the population below poverty line.This is because of the lack of industrialization and infrastructure growth in these states.It is pertinent to note that if these states continue to remain poor, they would impede the development of the entire nation. We can never achieve economic prosperity while certain geographical parts of our country remain deprived. Evidently large scale investment in infrastructure and social welfare programs are necessary to bolster the economic condition of these backward states which would in turn help in prosperity of the entire nation.

Apart from considering the backward states we also need to focus on backward castes. The vulnerable sections like the scheduled castes (SCs), scheduled tribes (STs), backward classes, minorities and the handicapped form a major part of the country and without their emancipation no constructive progress of the nation can be achieved.So, they need be made stakeholders in the economic prosperity of our country.

Another important aspect for achieving long term growth is the need of education. Primary, vocational , technical education and skill development in rural areas are essential for boosting self-employment and entrepreneurships to encourage new units and expand existing ones.T hese can create new avenues for economic growth for our country. Furthermore, women empowerment also presents an important feature of inclusive growth. Well educated women can provide a great impetus for accelerating growth of our nation.

I would like to conclude by stating that although short term economic growth is achievable by not taking all sections of our society into stake, we will need a focused approach of inclusive growth for achieving a long-term economic prosperity.

Let’s weed out graft from our Society

Our nation boasts of being the largest democracy in the world. The four pivotal pillars which buttress our democracy are: a proactive judiciary, an impartial media, an accountable legislature and a vigilant bureaucracy. But these very pillars have been weakened by the tentacles of corruption. The 2G scam and the subsequent release of the Nira Radia tape have given valuable insights into how deeply these pillars of democracy have delved into the quagmire of corruption.
To start with the judiciary, the former CJI KG Balakrishnan has been accused of multiple charges of misdemeanor. He has been accused of deliberately hiding the name of Mr.A Raja in a case of influencing a High court judge. Now a new complaint of having disproportionate assets has been lodged against Mr. Balakrishinan. Though the veracity of all such claims is yet to be proved, the very fact that finger has been pointed at the position considered the epitome of justice in our nation, is a mater of grave concern.
In the field of journalism, eminent media persons like Vir Sanghvi and Barkha Datt have been found to be working in cahoots with the corporate lobbyist Radia.
The least we talk about the legislature, the better it is. The 2G scam has embroiled the highest echelons of power and the PM himself is accused of being a mute spectator to the entire drama. The Adarsh Society scam has already taken its toll with sacking of former Maharashtra CM Ashok Chavan. The Karnataka imbroglio in which the CM BS Yeddyurrapa was implicated but refused to budge from his position is known to all.
The bureaucratic goof ups are very common and we have seen manifold number of cases relating to graft hitting headlines this year. But the icing on the Cake was the entire episode involving the Chief Vigilance Commissioner PJ Thomas. Perhaps India is the only nation where a tainted person is entrusted with the task of keeping corruption at bay in the society. All Hail my sweet nation!
We, as a nation have become so inured to cases of corruption that any new instance of graft fails to rouse interest or reaction in us. We have grown to accept it as part of the society and the mindset. In fact any act of generosity or uprightness evokes a response of awe and surprise. A similar incident occurred with me a few days back. On my way back from college, I somehow lost my mobile (SONY ERRICCSION C510).When I reached hostel and realized the gravity of the situation, I started panicking a lot. My friends advised me that I need to come to terms with the situation and since I have lost it somewhere on road, my dear mobile would already be on its way to be sold at a handsome price in the Chor Bazaar of Delhi. But still I kept believing that some friend is playing a prank with me and thus with this false hope I kept calling to my number. Finally after 1 hr of failed attempts, some one picked up my phone. The voice on the other end appeared to be of some guy speaking coarse Hindi and he said me that he picked up the mobile on the road and that it is safe with him. He identified himself as Vivek and that he was a trainee at the Police training Centre, New Delhi. I listened intently to the voice with disbelief and shock. Do we still have such persons in India who after getting hold of a Rs 10000 cell would be willing to return it back? Or some one is playing a bad joke with me? In a state of confusion and despair I set out with one of my friends to the destination he referred to. During our auto travel we had some difficulty in finding the address and this fuelled my apprehension that someone is playing a bad joke with us. Finally I arrived at the address and I apprised the security guard there of the situation. The security guard started laughing loudly and said” What? You lost your mobile on the road? And some one wants to give it back to you! No dear, go back. Some felon is playing with you. No one is going to give you back your lost mobile.” Again this statement raised my apprehension.
So I finally had to call Vivek and request him to come near the gate. He readily agreed. And after 10 minutes he was before me. The guy appeared to be very friendly and what he said is clearly etched in my mind,” Dear, I knew that this mobile set is currently priced at 8000 but I could not have filled my stomach with money from selling this”. I stood there dazed and dumb struck. I thanked him profusely and returned to my hostel. I had a perception that the police personnel in our nation are the most corrupt lot –that it is most easy to grease their hands. But this magnanimous action by a potential police recruit forced me to change my beliefs.
This incident gave me notions that still some shreds of morality are left in our national DNA. It gave me a hope that we have not yet crossed the irreversible line of dishonesty .Though a large part of our nation has succumbed to the robust tentacles of graft, still a small part have been able to resolutely keep themselves immune to the scourge. It is the responsibility of upright people who constitute this immune part to endeavor in freeing their fellow countrymen from the strong shackles of corruption. On the eve of this New Year, let’s take a pledge to lend our helping hand to this noble cause.
Tamaso ma jyotirgmaya.-May we rise from darkness (Graft society) to light (Moral Utopia).

Scourge of Child Labor

Indian express(20th May, 2011)
http://expressbuzz.com/opinion/op-ed/scourge-of-child-labour-in-india/276016.html


When I ponder over the recent Assembly election results in four states, I observe a piquant irony in the common themes on which they have been fought. Most of the elections in the recent past have been fought on the corruption or economic growth planks. The economic growth plank encompasses growth of infrastructure, better employment, etc. While there is nothing wrong in focusing on economic growth, I am of the view that in this noise of economic development the need for social growth has taken a back seat or has been forgotten. It is understood that economic growth indirectly paves the way for social development, but there is a sinking feeling that some pressing social problems, which deserve proper, urgent attention, are not getting their due. One such issue which is on the top of the list is child labour.
Daily, we see hundreds and thousands of children working in small hotels, platforms, small vendors or as domestic help in houses. We are also aware of small children working in different industries and factories, some even under inhumane conditions. Work place abuse is common in these places and very often we hear of the atrocities committed to such innocent children by their masters. Even government bureaucrats, who are entrusted with the task of checking such malaise in society, are seen to employ child labour themselves.
The society appears oblivious because they believe that the employers are doing charity by giving employment to these otherwise destitute children. It is widely believed that these children are orphans and have no one to care for them. But this is not necessarily always true. Many poor parents send their child to do odd jobs just to earn that extra rupee which will make ends meet. Some people who are capable of earning enough to feed themselves and their children are also seen sending their children to earn an extra buck. The answer to why the government is oblivious is very obvious: for the simple reason that the society, which comprises of an unfortunate political creation called vote bank, is oblivious to this issue and thus pursuing this doesn’t earn any political brownie points for a party. The media often ignores this issue because the government and society are oblivious to this issue.
The biggest beneficiary would be the society and thus it should start taking the initiative to reduce child labour in our country. The media and government would automatically follow suit. To achieve this the misconception about child labour should be eliminated. The government can chip in here to segregate working children into two distinct groups: Those whose parents can provide for their food, education and health and the those whose parents are not capable of providing a square meal a day or those who are orphans. To tackle the first group, a combination of stringent punishment for errant parents and good subsidies/freebies for compliant ones could be a starting point. For the second group of children, a greater effort will be needed on the part of the government. It would entail forming of private-public partnership to adopt impecunious children and take care of their entire food/education expenses till a certain age. Another feasible solution to tackle the second group would be to allow the children to continue working in their respective work places for lesser hours and simultaneously making arrangements for them to attend schools and receive proper food and access to healthcare.
There would be of course a lot of implementation issues, but for eradication of such a deep-rooted social malaise a sincere effort is needed. India is projecting itself as a growing economy and as a rising superpower. But what use of a double-digit GDP or superpower status if the system within is rotten and its children do not have an opportunity to grow up with dignity? The scourge of child labour needs to be targeted and eliminated quickly.

The sham called" Sarva Siksha Abhiyan"

Published : Indian Express(5th Aug 2010)
http://expressbuzz.com/opinion/time-out/sarva-shiksha-abhiyan-is-a-farce/195759.html



During my recent visit to Kanyakumari, while I was returning from the sanctum sanctorum of the temple, a little girl (aged not more than 3 years) approached me. The girl looked frail and emaciated and wore a torn, dirty dress to camouflage her skeleton. She was trying to sell polythene bags to me at Rs. 2 per bag. Well I can’t explain the glum and dejection which shrouded her innocent visage. I was moved by her condition and promptly handed over a crisp Rs. 10-rupee note to her. Her smile was worth watching.
I had initially assumed that she was the only small girl there peddling bags to tourists. But as soon as I handed over the note, a dozen more children like her surrounded me. I had to pacify them by giving a two-rupee coin to each child near me and then I stealthily ran away to avoid being further accosted by more children. This is a mockery of our “Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan”.
This incident made me ponder over the sorry state of primary education and child care. Just when these innocent ones should have been learning in schools and playing with their peers, they are busy peddling polythene bags to tourists to earn a living. The budgetary allocation to improve primary education has seen a steady rise over the years. We even pay a special 2 per cent education cess from our pockets to fund the education of the deprived ones. The number of primary schools has increased manifold and the enrolment rate has increased. But change seems to have come only on paper.
Let us start from the enrolment process itself. Once the school authorities get poor children enrolled in their school registers, they assume their role to be over. No one is bothered about how many enrolled students actually attend school. We have a much hyped mid-day meal scheme in the schools whose only purpose is to ensure that enrolled students attend school regularly. But the scheme has failed to achieve its purpose. It is because the huge amounts of rice and other vegetables procured for the scheme are embezzled by the school authorities. Even in schools where a perfunctory meal is arranged, the quality of food is extremely bad. And there is no one to whom the poor children can complain.
What the entire school learns depends upon the whims and fancies of the teacher. And we expect these poor children to compete with top-notch English medium school students who get individual attention and care. As the functioning of the school depends on the whims of teachers, let us analyse the quality of teachers themselves. The payment for primary school teachers is so meagre that it only attracts the least talented. While the top brains go for medicine and engineering and the average ones opt for bank jobs, other clerical posts or high school lectureship, the worst lot are selected as teachers for primary schools. And we expect those who have flunked in their exams many a times to educate our children.
Thus our primary education system is replete with bottlenecks and flawed in every aspect. Investments in agriculture, industries, infrastructure, etc., yield returns only in the present. But investment and improvement in primary education yields returns in the future. We are deliberately jeopardising the future of our country by neglecting the sentinels of our future. We can’t expect ill-educated citizens to lead us. We have to change the present education scenario if we want to secure a top place for India in the evolving world order.