Reflections

This is the second part of the article http://reflectionsvvk.blogspot.in/2013/06/the-indian-growth-engine-hobsons-choice.html eruse any newpaper, online business site dedicated to India (or any other for that matter) - you will find a set of reactions and analysis posted using the words "urgent need for kick-starting reforms" or "Indian Problems are structural in nature"; apart from a rare article in business newspapers, and the odd analytical article in Business Magazines, few - if any - deal with this at any length. Reams are written on Current Account Deficit, Rupee's Free Fall, FII redemption pressures, Policy Stasis; the assumption is that certain policy matters, if corrected, can get us back on track again. Accordingly, our political classes come out with plans and schemes to attract FDI into the country by various means; as if the answer lies in that alone. What use is a policy that cannot be implemented fully, whose benefits do not reach the p...

Usne Kiyaa... He Did It... He Did it... That sound familiar? No? Well, it should. That is what every media vehicle and every citizen scream every single day, Monday ho yaa Sunday. Every day, without fail, regardless of occasion, we can hear this in some form or the other. It is a ritualistic utterance in some cases; insincere in others; and unfortunately sincere in some...  I am talking about the response to the challenges and problems facing India. From governance to corruption: for every problem, we have a staple response. Usne Kiyaa ! He Did It! It Wasnt Me! I Didnt Do It! He Did It! It Was That Person! And lo and behold, the focus of the entire nation shifts to the evil uncultured political class,or the government officers, or the policemen, or... but no. It was never us; we didnt do it. No. Nope. Never. Nada. We are innocent babes, pure as the driven snow.  Now take a step back and observe. Let us observe corruption from afar - and not that piffling and tr...

 BrahMos can' t be intercepted in next 20 years: Pillai The enclosed article showcases Indo-Russian strategic partnership - as well as clearly establishes Indian capabilities; capabilities which have no need of independent proof, given that we have placed a lander on the moon! It also underlines the mutual trust and confidence each party has in the other; something which is sorely missing from the India-US partnership. The Brahmos project, or the 5G fighter project are defence projects that are state-of-the-art, participation in which enhances Indian prestige, develops & strengthens Indian skills and give its armed forces cutting edge technology - while leveraging skills in both countries for competitive advantage. Another important point to be noted is that both countries get the technology almost at the same time: it is not in the nature of a handout from a superiour nation to a developing nation. This is precisely what the USA is loathe to do; and expects us...

Ancient History From its Ancient History, India can learn Confidence. This is the land that gave the world innumerable scientists, inventions and discoveries; if we can do it once - we can do it again. This is the land that was known as the sone ki chidiya; the land that was quite literally an international trading powerhouse. As I said - if we can do it once, we can do it again. This is the land Charak, of Sushrut, Baudhayan, Kanad, Aryabhat, Varahamihir, Brahmagupt, Patanjali, Bhaskaracharya. This is also the land of ChandraGupt Maurya, Ashok, Rajaraj Chola, Vikramaditya, Harshavardhan. This is the land that has given birth to great kingdoms and great thinkers alike; if we can do it once- we can do it again.  India can learn openness in Trade; this is what defined Ancient India, and indeed Medieval India as well. There is documented evidence of trading outposts outside India in locations as far away as in Central Asia - and this is before 3000BC at least. Trade is what m...

The recent news on the economic front has brought little cheer with IIP numbers, Current Account Deficit, Inflation, Exchange Rates all being dissatisfactory. Market sentiment continues to be abysmal, and charges of misgovernment abound. There seems to be little cheer on the global horizon either with Europe in the doldrums, BR(I)CS being questioned, and the grand-daddy of them all (USA) having serious problems of its own. This, in a nutshell, is the scenario that confront our policy makers,  planners, corporates and the common man The reaction from at least the policy makers is clear, as is evident from the Hon. FM's statements of recent days: FDI! Attract foreign inflows! The reaction of corporates is also crystal clear, at least externally - wait'n'watch. And the common man is way too occupied in meeting his own targets of meals for the family 2 times a day to worry overmuch about anything. And, at the end of it all, no one is actually doing anything, in reality h...

This is the 10th article on the culture series India is an ancient land with a rich heritage going back several millennia, a resplendent artistic and cultural tradition, a history with several glorious and resplendent chapters and a richness and uniqueness of the land and its people who have stayed together despite many challenges. These are known and accepted matters internationally- for which we do not require any approval or acceptance from anyone. And yet, a look at the contemporary landscape of Modern Urban India would belie the above statement in its totality - the penchant of the Urban Indian of fawning over western symbols to the detriment of our own being a painful symptom of this. Anything to do with western recognition in any field is hyped up - there are innumerable examples across the cultural landscape. Be it The Booker, or be it the Oscar - any success in these is a ticket to instant recognition. There is nothing wrong with this by itself - but at the core lies...

The success of the concept of India, once thought to be unstable and waiting to break-up into pieces and its vibrant democracy against all odds fill me with immense pride; it makes me think that it is an honour just to be born as an Indian - despite our many weaknesses. India - the nation that was not meant to be, in the eyes of the west; India - the nation that was supposed break-up as per Pakistan and many others; India - that collection of many nations, so said people...  It is that same India that is today an example of many, many firsts and stupendous successes that defy logic. That we are the only colonised country to be a democracy,. that we are one of the very few colonised nation to be so non-violent and relatively successful is the icing on the cake. That we are the only third world nation to have every known medical treatment in India; missile technology; space technology and moon lander; IT and Services Prowess, Manufacturing abilities that span all known product ...

http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/NorthAmerica/US-concerned-over-India-s-economic-policies/Article1-1072381.aspx The world starts at the US borders, and ends with it, apparently. India - just a resource; a roughly delineated zone that good ol' Uncle Sam can tap into anytime. That seems to be the view of the US' with regard to India-US relations. It seems to me that we Indians should be on our knees in gratitude at the golden chance of befriending the USA. Take a look at the wishlist: Compulsory Licencing Patent Issues Preferential Market Access Localisation At no point in the Indo-US dialogue has the US ever given serious thought to the manifest Indian concerns and wishes; so where does the question India toeing the US line arise from? The USA has steadfastly ignored India's concerns on innumerable occasions, and only given lip-service to the same, while continuing on their pre-set agenda.  They object to compulsory licencing and our patent r...

This is the 2nd part of the article :  http://reflectionsvvk.blogspot.in/2013/05/corporate-india-work-stress-and.html This has been a tumultuous year for the corporate world - with sting after sting leaving companies and corporates red-faced, and running helter-skelter to check the damage. Ranbaxy and Cobrapost, taken together, have hit some of the biggest names in our corporate world. This is nothing to celebrate; neither is it anything to mourn. It is in fact an opportunity for corporate India to introspect and put in place systems and processes that can lead to an image improvement, as well as better on-field performance.  Are these incidents systemic, or are they sporadic? And, if they are systemic, what are the systems and processes that are causing this? First of all, the Cobrapost sting affected almost the entire banking spectrum without exception. Something so widespread cannot be a sporadic happening. This alone forces me to painfully conclude that this is a...

“ For  each landing we had to pay customs, the DRI and the police officials to ensure that the goods could be unloaded unhindered and transported to the city… for each landing we have to pay a fixed sum of money to customs DRI and the police” “On Thursday evening, there were huge flashlights in the Garage and all those friends of Tiger Uncle were filling cars and scooters with a black substance. My friend Raju tried to go near them, but one of the men yelled at him and told us to go home. But we all kept looking at them from a distance ” The book “Black Friday - The True Story of The Bombay Bomb Blasts” is far more than just a true crime expose; it is a mirror of our society and its self-destructing carelessness, lack of civic responsibility, corruption and is a conclusive indictment that we are our own enemies. The Indian society stands double damned and conclusively indicted through this moving and shattering expose that leaves no doubt as to how something so smal...

" The smugglers also have informers within the agencies. Whenever the agencies organise a raid, such informers call up their masters and warn them, often foiling the strike... On 29 January. the first recepient of Bharadwaj's alert checked into this guest house at 4 pm... Customs Inspector Talawadekar and Phanse came into the room... Singh and Talawadekar, law enforcement officers, were Phanse's co-conspirators... Tiger received a call from a customs inspector... " Excerpt from Black Friday... The above is a true story, involving corruption. And yes, we dont need to worry all that much about corruption. Hardly any damage was done due to the series of events described above; only - only 273 Indians died. Huh! Only 273 Indians. Kyaa fark padtaa hai, bhaiyon aur behenon? World War 2 killed 60 Million, including an estimated 2 Million Indians. What's 273 as compared to 2 Million? Peanuts. Let us worry when that number crosses 2 Millon. What say, India?  ...