Life is a voyage and we come face to face with our destiny at least a few times during its course. This is true for individuals and even for nations. Liberated India had a few such occasions during the last 60 years. In 1947, we had the best opportunity to start on a clean slate with genuine secularism, essential socialism and progressive nationalism. But we missed the bus completely and boarded the wrong ones of pseudo-secularism, non-alignment and what not. Then we had another opportunity during 1980s when a government came to power with two-third majority in parliament and a youthful leader at the very top. We goofed again with retrograde legislations and blundering peace accords. The price we paid for all those blunders have been heavy so far. If only we had utilised those historic opportunities properly, India would have been among the top five nations in every sense by now.
After a long gap, the year 2007 looks promising for the Indian nation with several historic opportunities once again. At least three unrelated developments in the last few weeks have sounded the bugle for the leaders to wake up. Two of them have come from the court rooms in India and another interesting one has come from the cricket fields of distant lands. But those who sound the bugle are not the ones who can fight and win the battle. It is up to the leaders and laymen to act and convert the opportunity into victories. And that is not an easy task. Leaders must demonstrate their vision and political platforms must provide adequate backing to generate the required political and legislative momentum for taking tough but correct decisions. If we need to reverse our direction in certain wrong ‘comforts’ we are used to, it should be done with full understanding. Decisions must be taken after as much consultation as possible but once taken it must be enforced with force if needed. A little pain now will only lead us to prosperity and happiness in the days to come.
Reservation & Minorities
It is quite common in democracies to find the Parliament and Executive getting restless over the impediments put up by Judiciary during their sincere attempts to accelerate progress and development through unconventional (and often unconstitutional) fast tracks. But we in India have witnessed exactly the opposite in the last few weeks. Indian judiciary has offered historic opportunities for the nation to change for the better in two very important aspects of our social regime viz. reservations and minorities. While Supreme Court stayed the controversial 27% OBC reservations bill, Allahabad High Court has observed that any religious community with more than 18% of the population cannot be considered as a religious minority. Both are extremely controversial subjects in India and most of the real intellectuals keep away from it for fear of getting branded. But it is high time the patriotic Indians from all walks of life got together and used this opportunity for building a better Bharat by 2025 AD.
Those who are used to the convenience of irrational and illegitimate reservation policies so far are the real trouble makers. Their nuisance is compounded further by the proponents of vote-bank politics found in all mainstream political parties. It is a totally distorted notion that is spread by ‘reservation-maniacs’ that all those who are criticising the current reservation policies are dead against social justice and all forms of reservation. It is hard to imagine any Indian who has no sympathies for the socially and economically backward classes. We have suffered and struggled so much under foreign occupation and various forms of internal discrimination that reserving a part of our limited resources to the deserving few has become part of our culture itself. But is it rational for reservation to be eternal and unconditional? Shouldn’t there be a clear time frame to uplift all those who are currently backward? An all powerful commission must go into all aspects of backwardness in the country and put together a plan for time-bound reservation policy. It should be a comprehensive one-time reservation policy and all forms of caste and religious reservations must come to a complete full stop within a time frame. Thereafter all reservations must be based only on economic criterion.
The question of minorities is even more intriguing in India. While we are treating all religions as equal, as it should be, we are treating those who are following different religions differently. Some are majority and some as minorities. In twenty first century it is ridiculous for a secular state to treat its citizens differently on the basis or religion and caste. The concepts of secularism and minorities, now in use in India, are its Western versions and definitely not applicable for a country like India where followers of all types of religions and cults are available. Number of followers of various religions is ever varying and there are millions of people who are comfortable with multiple beliefs or beliefs of their own. Without going into the logic and wisdom of the Allahabad High Court, any rational and secular citizen of the country will hail the judgement. We can only hope that a majority of such people will also succeed in doing away with the concepts of majority-minority and caste reservations in our country soon.
Healthier Games
India’s well ‘deserved’ loss in the World Cup is yet another meaningful opportunity for the nation. Cricket of today is no more a game. It is an industry or a business with all its unethical undercurrents and manipulations unbefitting a sport. The alleged murder of a coach symbolises the sad state of this game more than anything else. Killing a teacher for failing in examination highlights the immoral depth to which a set of students can fall into. Millions of man-hours are wasted every day on cricketing industry and millions of black money is also generated by the mafia. The very nature of one-day cricket is such that there is absolutely no weightage for the health and stamina of players. All that matters is luck, manipulation and weather. A simple comparison of the competitive parameters of the players in games like cricket, football and hockey is enough to rule out cricket as a healthy game for a healthy nation. Cricket can never return to its ‘test’ days and the politicians will never get out of the lucrative cricketing grounds. It is time we abandoned this game and returned to hockey and football. Again the government can do this easily if the leaders have the will.
Most of such debates about the well being of our nation end up diffidently under the long shadow of calibre and integrity of politicians who lead us. One of liberated India’s biggest problems is the proliferation of career politicians. While it is true that no democracy can thrive without the tribe of politicians, it is equally true that we can avoid (or discourage) the growth of those who consider politics as a means of living. It is time that we got over the sight of handicapped political leeches (living on public money) deciding the fate of a youthful and vibrant democratic nation of more than one billion. As our founding fathers envisaged, the nation should be ruled by the elected youthful leaders (in Lok Sabha) and not the nominated oldies (in Rajya Sabha). True democracy is all about representation and only those who can get elected on the strength of a transparent manifesto should govern and decide our destiny. Historic opportunities come rarely and there is no excuse for those who miss it for any reason.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Friday, April 06, 2007
MAHATMA’S MOUSTACHE
Mohandas Gandhi was the only top Indian leader who looked like, thought like and lived like an ordinary Indian till his very end. All other factors that made him a successful politician, strategist and finally a Mahatma were only incidental. His ordinary moustache indicates his complete identification with the ordinary Indian peasant and workmen.
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
Thursday, April 05, 2007
BANKING KPIs
These are days of KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) for anything and everything. A couple of decades back most of the ordinary folk may not have heard of KPIs and score cards. But the twin torrents of liberalisation and globalisation have changed all that. More and more ordinary people know about KPIs now and would like to have them fixed for many of their expectations. In the twenty first century, it is of no use to have expectations alone. Expectations must be calibrated with suitable KPIs and score cards if we need to decide on celebration or depression when the results are finally out. The results are so vague and publicity techniques so effective that many a time we feel lost when a party we contracted claims successful completion of assignment. The only way to avoid such scenarios is to have KPIs fixed upfront and sticking to them for monitoring progress of work.
The advantages of KPIs are many fold. By proper fixing of KPIs, we can not only expect better performance in existing work but also put optimum resources to maximum use in their core and non-core areas of operation. The case of a policeman catching more and more thieves every month is a direct example of having his monthly KPI fixed as the number of thieves caught. But imagine its impact on our society if we decide to have the KPI of the same job changed to the number of people he helps. The attitude and approach of our fearsome conventional policeman will give way to a more sober and friendly one. Similar change can be brought about in all positions and even institutions by a suitable change in the KPIs applicable. It will go to the full credit of any government if it can identify a few such potential areas and bring about catalytic changes.
Instruments of Change
The easiest way to progress for any nation is for governments in power to work through the most effective instruments that can bring about change in the lower and middle strata of society. Rather than tackling social issues directly by means of mass literacy programmes and empowerment, it is always easier to approach the same through a related economic conduit. We have already seen this phenomenon when the government announced incentives for those who resort to inter-caste marriages. The social evil of untouchability and casteism can be buried forever if the monetary incentives for participation are attractive enough. We should remember that these evil practices came about because of a selfish few who wanted to limit competition for limited wealth. And it will definitely go away if equally good incentives are offered for reversing it. What a thousand preachers can do is easily achieved by a simple economic policy of the rulers.
It is in this context that the role of banking institutions and other types of institutions that handle flow of wealth assumes more importance. A great amount of social levelling in any society can be achieved by providing the basic necessities to every one. And this can be achieved only by enabling a reasonable distribution of wealth in a realistic and effective manner. A local branch of any bank, which is the meeting ground of wealthy few and needy many in the locality, is a natural choice for this purpose. The bank personnel are not only approached by those want to deposit their money but by far more people who want money for running their business and household. The same is the case with all such meeting places where people with varying needs are coming together. Co-operative institutions and even places of worship are potential avenues where social changes can be stimulated by triggering economic activities. Redefining KPIs of those who work in these areas is a sure shot to bring about drastic changes in our society with much less effort than by conventional means.
Best Bet Banks
Banks have a unique place in everyone’s life. All people may not be familiar with the local village office, many may not feel necessary to visit the post office and some may avoid the hospital. But there is hardly anyone who can stay away from any bank in the contemporary world. Banks play a very vital role in the day-to-day lives of the business communities. It can play a much more vital role in the life of each and every common man if there is a little more imaginative thinking on the part of the governments in power. India has over 25 banking groups in the public sector and the number of bank branches in the country is over 50,000. The reach and depth of a potential instrument for touching the common man’s life through an economic conduit seems to have missed the attention of our planners all these years.
The biggest mistake lies in considering banks as purely commercial institutions and having their KPIs linked to the annual profits they make. But a bank can be much more than a commercial being. It is directly dealing with hundreds of customers and affecting their lives directly. The current practice of ranking such vital institutions on the basis of the profits they generate is ludicrous to say the least. Instead, performance of every bank, atleast those in the public sector, must be pegged to the number (and not value) of loans they have given to ‘good’ customers and their attempts to maintain a zero-profit. Banks must no doubt make no loss, but it is much more absurd to think of such vital social institutions vying with one another for making profit. Profitable operation must not be the motto of any bank. Bank in a locality must vie with one another to make loans available and encourage those who return it in time.
The social impact of this one change can be tremendous. Various banks in our public sector have made an operating profit close to Rs. 50,000 crores in 2006. Imagine a situation when the same banking institutions are competing to spread this amount among 50 million ordinary Indians in the form of loans. The banking personnel can bring about much more changes in our society than all others in the services sector of this country. All that is required is a redefinition of their KPIs to extend loans to a vast section of our population rather than making profit out of deposits by a wealthy few. Loans must be easily available to any Indian who is willing to pay it back with reasonable interest. Poverty and backwardness will be a thing of the past if Key Performance Indicators for banks are changed in this direction.
The advantages of KPIs are many fold. By proper fixing of KPIs, we can not only expect better performance in existing work but also put optimum resources to maximum use in their core and non-core areas of operation. The case of a policeman catching more and more thieves every month is a direct example of having his monthly KPI fixed as the number of thieves caught. But imagine its impact on our society if we decide to have the KPI of the same job changed to the number of people he helps. The attitude and approach of our fearsome conventional policeman will give way to a more sober and friendly one. Similar change can be brought about in all positions and even institutions by a suitable change in the KPIs applicable. It will go to the full credit of any government if it can identify a few such potential areas and bring about catalytic changes.
Instruments of Change
The easiest way to progress for any nation is for governments in power to work through the most effective instruments that can bring about change in the lower and middle strata of society. Rather than tackling social issues directly by means of mass literacy programmes and empowerment, it is always easier to approach the same through a related economic conduit. We have already seen this phenomenon when the government announced incentives for those who resort to inter-caste marriages. The social evil of untouchability and casteism can be buried forever if the monetary incentives for participation are attractive enough. We should remember that these evil practices came about because of a selfish few who wanted to limit competition for limited wealth. And it will definitely go away if equally good incentives are offered for reversing it. What a thousand preachers can do is easily achieved by a simple economic policy of the rulers.
It is in this context that the role of banking institutions and other types of institutions that handle flow of wealth assumes more importance. A great amount of social levelling in any society can be achieved by providing the basic necessities to every one. And this can be achieved only by enabling a reasonable distribution of wealth in a realistic and effective manner. A local branch of any bank, which is the meeting ground of wealthy few and needy many in the locality, is a natural choice for this purpose. The bank personnel are not only approached by those want to deposit their money but by far more people who want money for running their business and household. The same is the case with all such meeting places where people with varying needs are coming together. Co-operative institutions and even places of worship are potential avenues where social changes can be stimulated by triggering economic activities. Redefining KPIs of those who work in these areas is a sure shot to bring about drastic changes in our society with much less effort than by conventional means.
Best Bet Banks
Banks have a unique place in everyone’s life. All people may not be familiar with the local village office, many may not feel necessary to visit the post office and some may avoid the hospital. But there is hardly anyone who can stay away from any bank in the contemporary world. Banks play a very vital role in the day-to-day lives of the business communities. It can play a much more vital role in the life of each and every common man if there is a little more imaginative thinking on the part of the governments in power. India has over 25 banking groups in the public sector and the number of bank branches in the country is over 50,000. The reach and depth of a potential instrument for touching the common man’s life through an economic conduit seems to have missed the attention of our planners all these years.
The biggest mistake lies in considering banks as purely commercial institutions and having their KPIs linked to the annual profits they make. But a bank can be much more than a commercial being. It is directly dealing with hundreds of customers and affecting their lives directly. The current practice of ranking such vital institutions on the basis of the profits they generate is ludicrous to say the least. Instead, performance of every bank, atleast those in the public sector, must be pegged to the number (and not value) of loans they have given to ‘good’ customers and their attempts to maintain a zero-profit. Banks must no doubt make no loss, but it is much more absurd to think of such vital social institutions vying with one another for making profit. Profitable operation must not be the motto of any bank. Bank in a locality must vie with one another to make loans available and encourage those who return it in time.
The social impact of this one change can be tremendous. Various banks in our public sector have made an operating profit close to Rs. 50,000 crores in 2006. Imagine a situation when the same banking institutions are competing to spread this amount among 50 million ordinary Indians in the form of loans. The banking personnel can bring about much more changes in our society than all others in the services sector of this country. All that is required is a redefinition of their KPIs to extend loans to a vast section of our population rather than making profit out of deposits by a wealthy few. Loans must be easily available to any Indian who is willing to pay it back with reasonable interest. Poverty and backwardness will be a thing of the past if Key Performance Indicators for banks are changed in this direction.
Monday, April 02, 2007
AS WE AGE
As a newborn, we are blissfully ignorant about anything in this universe except for pain and pleasure. But as time pass by, we gain the knowledge and develop the instincts for survival. It will be interesting to go through a few such realisations in our lives so far.
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
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