Full entertainment in the middle of the week. This is how I would describe my experience with this movie.
The theme explored in this movie is not new. Rajat Kapoor's 'Mixed Doubles' dealt with the emotions and feelings related to adultery in married life in a largely comical way. Anurag Basu has taken this a step further in dealing with adultery in married life, in work life and in alternative lifestyles all put together in one story.
The Indianness of characters is very evident from the first few minutes of the movie, starting with Monty's (later we find out, harmless) leching. 'Passing the apartment key' (though I remember this from a Hollywood flick I cannot recall) is another facet of Indianness when it comes to the sheer number of people using the key and the efforts put in by Rahul in managing everyone's 'needs'. The use of a BPO company, where Rahul works, for the background of the movie, may be not coincidental after all, since this group of people is the young upwardly-mobile face of Indian society. Without being judgemental about it, this group of people does have the benefit of opportunity as well as means when it comes to 'enjoying life' as shown in the movie.
The storyline has very intricately woven into it, two complex yet relevant issues faced by young working adults. First is that of that of marriage - a pull between love marriage and the arranged one and the confusions surrounding the choice of a partner. Second is that of hassles faced by gay people in leading their lives
normally. Basu has dealt with them lightly but without losing focus.
I would personally call this a practical film, in that the situations shown in the movie are close to real life. That a parody has been constructed out of multitudes of such situations including that of revival of lost love (Amol and Shivani) demonstrates Anurag Basu's skill in putting together an enjoyable adult movie. Tracing nine intertwined lives leading to a rather preditable ending, this movie entertains with inanities of young work life, lightsided portrayal of insecurities of the youth and gays and significantly the pointlessness of the search of perfect partner by young men and women. Shikha's character balances the film by raising (and partly answering) serious questions about guilt, fidelity and responsibility in married life.
Irfan Khan, playing the ever-eligible bachelor shows class in acting. One moment a lech another a valued friend to Shruti has played his part in style. Konkona Sen Sharma playing the traditional-wannabe-modern-but-confused-30-year-old-bachelor searching for the 'right partner' does justice to her role with her sensitivity; sometimes reminding you of Bridget Jones with her reliance on chocolate. Kangana Ranaut, Shilpa Shetty, Dharmendra, Nafisa Ali, Sharman Joshi and Shiny Ahuja are memorable.
If a message has to be taken out, then it would be 'reconciliation'- Shikha's with realities of her married life, Amol's with loss of loved one, Shruti's with practicality of finding love and Neha's with recognising love.
Some of my friends who watched this movie stressed on the exploitation in BPO industry. May be they are overly sensitive about the issue. This is a light-hearted movie and aptly certified 'A' since it deals with complex issues appreciable by adults. And this list of issues does not include exploitation in BPO industry, unless I missed by miles the point of this movie. My advise to them would be to focus on the fun element, sit back, relax and enjoy the show.
Parting note: I liked the music in the movie and the situational appearance of the band while the story is running. Thanks to 'no running around the trees approach'(director gave no scope for such inanities), I found the songs light and relevant to the story. The music would be quite enjoyable while driving, if you ask me; Silk-Route-ish.
All in all, two hours well spent after dinner!
2007-08-22
2007-08-19
Rare encounters of the honest kind
A sumptuous dinner of favourite cuisine was what S and I had needed to make the weekend utile. It had been a tiring day, with the usual weekend capers. Overall, the weekend had been going on well. Having gone to bed on Saturday night, I had no intention of rolling off the bed before propriety demanded it. Thus, a wake-up call at nine on a Sunday morning was unsought. Hoping it would be a wrong call, not needing any mental energies to be pulled up, I picked up the phone to face the voice of a woman haltingly speaking in Kannada.
"Am I talking to..."
"Yes, what is this about..." (Some courtesies are lost in translation)
"Do you live at the address..."
"Yes!"
I was getting more confused than frustrated. Then, she delivered the biff that kicked out any remnants of sleep from my eyes and drooped shoulders.
"Do you know that you have lost your wallet?"
A flurry of images speedily rushed past me. What the ...? What? When? How? The consequences of losing a wallet are new, but not unknown to me. I have never lost my wallet, more out of diligence and the knowledge of pains associated with losing one than out of luck. I have been carrying wallets for at least 17 years. I was already visualising myself making scores of phone calls, going over pages of statements, getting new cards, disputing charges, getting a new license card from the RTO, loss of a few hundreds in Indian currency and the 'just for kicks' carry-ons in my wallet-20 Euros, a ten dollar note and an each of the extinct one and two rupees notes.
As she continued, realisation descended on me that she would not be calling me if my wallet were merely lost. This telephonic transaction was consequent to the occurrence of the logical next step of 'lost', 'found'. OK, then I knew what all this was about.
"Thank you! Can you please tell me where you are calling from?" was all I could muster, still trying to recover from the agnition that my wallet had been, fortunately for me, found by someone responsible.
"We live near your house. I am calling from house number ... on 12th Main". Aha, a neighbor!
"My brother found your wallet last night on the street near your house", she continued,"We tried to call you up soon after, but no one picked up the phone". In blissful ignorance, I had been lolling in the bed for more than 10 hours, while my billfold, which had never before been away from me was being cared for by some stranger.
I threw some water on my face and dressed-up and I was at the gates of this good Samaritan in less than three minutes. I was greeted by a short man in white mundu and a white vest. He ushered me in, even as another younger guy with wavy hair and thick moustache waved to a young lady in a gown. They must have started their day just now, I thought, since she was just wiping off traces of toothpaste from her chin.
I said 'Hi, my name is... I think you spoke to me over the phone'.
She handed me the wallet as I was shaking hands with the others and asking their names. I had guessed by that time that I was with a Malayalee family .
"My brother Anish found your wallet when he was walking past the new apartment building. He said he had seen some labourers around, but he picked up the wallet before they did. He is at the church now. "
I took the wallet and was about to put it in my pocket, when she said "Please check the contents". My gut was telling me there was no need to. Their intention was clear. A wallet had been found, it was being returned. However, there are reasons why people would ask you to do this. It is a reasonable thing to do lest there be disputes in future. I gave the insides of the wallet a cursory glance and confirmed that everything was fine.
"I do not know how to thank you for this! Please thank Anish on my behalf", I urged them. I really do not know how to reciprocate this action. My friends and I have found things in the past - it especially happens with debit cards at the many ATMS in our office campus- and returned them to the rightful. But this is the first time that I have been at the receiving end. Quantifying something as gracious an action diminishes its sanctity. I could not embarrass them with a monetary reward. All I could do was invite them over to our home for a tea and offer help if they needed any in settling down (they had moved in a few weeks back).
In an attempt to pen this seemingly mundane, but quite a significant if you think about it, event , I tried to look for synonyms for the word 'honesty'- as in what I would want to describe what the finder of my wallet did. I find that there is no other single-worded-term that perfectly fits. Truthfulness, integrity, guilelessness, honour- they all come close but are nuances of character not same as honesty. It is definitely something basic.
So, why is it rare?
2007-08-17
Would you buy a OneLakhCar? (Part-2)
What if the OneLakhCar were to become popular?
Nightmare! I am not saying everyone should not have a car. I am just surmising about what will happen if they do. Are were prepared for it at any level? There are several ways to slice this issue. Here are some that came to my mind.
Roads: Indian cities are not built to accommodate so many cars, not so soon at least. And cities like Bangalore, definitely not, with chock-a-block two-lane roads, piled-up four-lane ones. Mayhem will be an understatement for what we will witness. As if autorickshaws are not a menace enough that we need more of such devilish vehicles. Come to think of it, the economy of a OneLakhCar (A Bajaj 3-wheeler costs 1.75 lakhs on road) combined with the promise of a 5-seat capacity, might just mean we will see the end of these reckless rattlers which are nothing but necessary evil. This is probably the only positive outcome of the OneLakhCar.
Traffic Indiscipline: Not all people who drive cars can ride bikes, probably because they never learnt to ride a bicycle (basic reason, reasons of relative safety keeps many off the roads). People who might otherwise not have driven because they could only afford a bike they could not ride, will be more inclined to drive. So, we will see more new drivers. For Indian drivers 'Driving is a privilege not a right' are words lost in the din. One can get a license to drive a car if he has a couple of hundred bucks in his pocket. With such abysmal regulation on who is given license to drive, the potential havoc caused by millions of more car drivers on roads leaves little to imagination.
Parking space and its effect on real estate: Go to the 'downtown' areas in any of the cities and you will notice that we just do not have the space to keep these cars. Even now, parking is not very economical, if available at all. Not just commercial parking, but personal parking too is important. How many of the builders with 600 apartments or more in a compound have actually planned for a car in every family? With such need for parking space, real estate prices will move north.
Environmental concerns: Emission levels will probably be low for a small engine like that of OneLakhCar's but only if the right fuel is used and the car is regularly tuned and maintained. What if adulterated and mixed (for economic benefit) fuel is used? People do it with a 1.75 Lakh rickshaw. Will they refrain from experimenting on a 1 Lakh Car? Pollution control is not as strictly enforced as required, except probably in the National Capital Region.
How will these cars be recycled (they will need to be at some point in time)? Most of the junked cars end up being cannibalised for spare parts (legal only in some cases) or their metal parts being melted and recycled. What will you do with millions of tonnes of composite frames and bodies of the OneLakhCars? Bio-degradable waste is itself difficult to dispose (for reasons of volume), where will we find space to dump composite bodies?
More cars, more green house emissions, more global warming. This outcome was always expected, but the OneLakhCar will only accelerate this process. No, I am not saying people should stop buying cars. Technologically advanced those maybe, but five times as many cars as in India are sold in the US itself. Why should Indians not be buying them? Fair, if India were not per-capita a 9th the size of the US. The thought that one million cars will be sold every year is mindboggling. Current annual car sales in India stand at about 600,000; there will be three times as many cars getting into Indian roads every year, if the TATAs meet their target.
Two-wheeler business will be worst hit, as repeat bike buyers are expected to be converted in to car buyers. Heavy pressure to push prices and costs down will only lead to planned declines in production of bikes and it will be no surprise if other companies too convert their facilities to make variants of the OneLakhCar. Renault has plans to bring out the $3000 car with Bajaj auto (talks with M&M fell through). The Renault car will be probably be more advanced than OneLakhCar in terms of safety as it has a higher tag.
In principle, Ratan Tata's dream of getting a car into every home may turn out to be a pyrrhic victory. The economical car may come at a big price for India in the long run. Rise in standard of living of socio-economic categories, as my untrained-in-economic-theories-mind perceives happens when the affordability of goods increases based on true increase in income to reach that level of affordability not when the level of affordability is brought down to existing levels of income. Commoditisation happens when the latter phenomenon is brought about. In a gimpy infrastructure, only the load on the system increases when commoditisation happens in items such as cars.Were these cars special in terms of environment-friendly technology such as electric or solar, the argument could have been reversed. Apparently, they are not.
Maybe I am being simply too biased against this car for some paranoia I cannot explain. Maybe it will not be so bad after all. Maybe I have not fathomed the adapting power of the Indian system. Then maybe, I am just dreaming!
What if the OneLakhCar were to become popular?
Nightmare! I am not saying everyone should not have a car. I am just surmising about what will happen if they do. Are were prepared for it at any level? There are several ways to slice this issue. Here are some that came to my mind.
Roads: Indian cities are not built to accommodate so many cars, not so soon at least. And cities like Bangalore, definitely not, with chock-a-block two-lane roads, piled-up four-lane ones. Mayhem will be an understatement for what we will witness. As if autorickshaws are not a menace enough that we need more of such devilish vehicles. Come to think of it, the economy of a OneLakhCar (A Bajaj 3-wheeler costs 1.75 lakhs on road) combined with the promise of a 5-seat capacity, might just mean we will see the end of these reckless rattlers which are nothing but necessary evil. This is probably the only positive outcome of the OneLakhCar.
Traffic Indiscipline: Not all people who drive cars can ride bikes, probably because they never learnt to ride a bicycle (basic reason, reasons of relative safety keeps many off the roads). People who might otherwise not have driven because they could only afford a bike they could not ride, will be more inclined to drive. So, we will see more new drivers. For Indian drivers 'Driving is a privilege not a right' are words lost in the din. One can get a license to drive a car if he has a couple of hundred bucks in his pocket. With such abysmal regulation on who is given license to drive, the potential havoc caused by millions of more car drivers on roads leaves little to imagination.
Parking space and its effect on real estate: Go to the 'downtown' areas in any of the cities and you will notice that we just do not have the space to keep these cars. Even now, parking is not very economical, if available at all. Not just commercial parking, but personal parking too is important. How many of the builders with 600 apartments or more in a compound have actually planned for a car in every family? With such need for parking space, real estate prices will move north.
Environmental concerns: Emission levels will probably be low for a small engine like that of OneLakhCar's but only if the right fuel is used and the car is regularly tuned and maintained. What if adulterated and mixed (for economic benefit) fuel is used? People do it with a 1.75 Lakh rickshaw. Will they refrain from experimenting on a 1 Lakh Car? Pollution control is not as strictly enforced as required, except probably in the National Capital Region.
How will these cars be recycled (they will need to be at some point in time)? Most of the junked cars end up being cannibalised for spare parts (legal only in some cases) or their metal parts being melted and recycled. What will you do with millions of tonnes of composite frames and bodies of the OneLakhCars? Bio-degradable waste is itself difficult to dispose (for reasons of volume), where will we find space to dump composite bodies?
More cars, more green house emissions, more global warming. This outcome was always expected, but the OneLakhCar will only accelerate this process. No, I am not saying people should stop buying cars. Technologically advanced those maybe, but five times as many cars as in India are sold in the US itself. Why should Indians not be buying them? Fair, if India were not per-capita a 9th the size of the US. The thought that one million cars will be sold every year is mindboggling. Current annual car sales in India stand at about 600,000; there will be three times as many cars getting into Indian roads every year, if the TATAs meet their target.
Two-wheeler business will be worst hit, as repeat bike buyers are expected to be converted in to car buyers. Heavy pressure to push prices and costs down will only lead to planned declines in production of bikes and it will be no surprise if other companies too convert their facilities to make variants of the OneLakhCar. Renault has plans to bring out the $3000 car with Bajaj auto (talks with M&M fell through). The Renault car will be probably be more advanced than OneLakhCar in terms of safety as it has a higher tag.
In principle, Ratan Tata's dream of getting a car into every home may turn out to be a pyrrhic victory. The economical car may come at a big price for India in the long run. Rise in standard of living of socio-economic categories, as my untrained-in-economic-theories-mind perceives happens when the affordability of goods increases based on true increase in income to reach that level of affordability not when the level of affordability is brought down to existing levels of income. Commoditisation happens when the latter phenomenon is brought about. In a gimpy infrastructure, only the load on the system increases when commoditisation happens in items such as cars.Were these cars special in terms of environment-friendly technology such as electric or solar, the argument could have been reversed. Apparently, they are not.
Maybe I am being simply too biased against this car for some paranoia I cannot explain. Maybe it will not be so bad after all. Maybe I have not fathomed the adapting power of the Indian system. Then maybe, I am just dreaming!
2007-08-16
Would you buy a OneLakhCar? (Part-1)
TATAs are not blusterers and they have delivered in the past. Making it the 3rd largest player, TATA Motors has 17% marketshare in passenger car segment. Tata Motors has never had it this good in the last few years despite general declining sales in auto industry, commercial included. TATA Ace has bridged the gap of the 'perfect vehicle' for last-mile logistics, with its 1-tonner 'tempo' which is selling like hot cakes. Ace's commercial passenger cousin 'Magic' is similarly expected to set tracks on fire . One last tidbit: in commercial segment, TATAs have a whopping 65% share. Having put them in this perspective, it would be goosey to say TATAs have not read the market.
But in an upwardly mobile middle class, would a 1 Lakh Car be popular?
There are many dimensions one must consider before answering the question. Living in a city and seeing more and more newly-introduced models from Hyundai, Honda, Corolla, GM, Ford and MUL swoosh by on urban roads (I believe there is deep but random penetration in villages too), I have my reservations about this car. Rural market might be the target, but if the OneLakhCar is competing with Maruti800, one must take into consideration that the latter has seen steady decline in sales even in rural markets in the last two years.
When MUL came out with the original Maruti-Suzuki in the 80s, indeed, the objective was to bring home an affordable car for the common man and a 1 Lakh (or so) tag was acceptable at the time. And what a car it was with original Japanese engine and know-how! The bean car brought in a technological leap in auto industry. None of the indigenously built cars could match up to what Maruti-Suzuki offered. Be it size-wise performance, maintenance or economy of ownership. There is little that needs to be said about MUL's success. So, the idea behind Maruti was a noble one, if you know what I mean.
In principle, the intent behind the OneLakhCar seems to be less nobler (for lack of another term). Affordability seems to be the only criterion for this car. Of course, the TATA quality and brand will assure that the car is not made with cheap parts (brand equity based assumption), but price seems to be the only basis for differentiation, something that will not incite enthusiasm in every buyer.
To push down costs, there are bound to be compromises (within the realm of TATAs brand equity). Component manufacturers have invested capital hedging on the success of the car. Metal costs only rising, the body of the car is said to be of composite material rather than steel or aluminium. (This has been done before- the most elegant example being the sexy Corvette. But hey, they may not use the same stuff here!)Unofficial estimates put the margin-to-manufacturer at Rs.5000 per car. Further, based on work done by analysts, having invested Rs.6000 Crores, TATAs have to sell 1 million cars every year (and they plan to) for four years to break even. Is this possible?
Recent announcement that by year 2009, air-bags in new passenger cars will be no more optional but factory-fitted-mandatory, it is worth asking if the OneLakhCar has this cost built in. Or will it only be 1 Lakh ex factory? Costs toward Bharat IV and EURO III norms would no doubt have been built in.
What about the design? Speculation is rife on whether the car will be a Reva look-alike, Mini-Indica(!) or the Lankan MiniCar (a rounded Reva, I found out after some Googling). Whatever it is, on a 600cc engine, one cannot expect a huge frame. Then how will it be a four or five seater? I secede, I am not design-savvy.
There is a growing need for mobility given the changing lifestyles and lame public transport. The culture of using public transportation is slumping for several reasons, affordability not being the least of them. Mobikes and scooties if not cars fill parking lots of colleges and sometimes schools. The average price of mobikes has crossed Rs.50K, and that of high end indigenous bikes is closing in to Rs. 1 Lakh. Relative safety considerations and the aspirational value of a car would thereby sway a first time buyer or a two-wheeler owner toward the OneLakhCar.
So, there is a reasonable chance that the car will be popular since there is a huge market out there. And there is no offering in this segment right now.
(Coming up...what will happen if the OneLakhCar does its magic.)
TATAs are not blusterers and they have delivered in the past. Making it the 3rd largest player, TATA Motors has 17% marketshare in passenger car segment. Tata Motors has never had it this good in the last few years despite general declining sales in auto industry, commercial included. TATA Ace has bridged the gap of the 'perfect vehicle' for last-mile logistics, with its 1-tonner 'tempo' which is selling like hot cakes. Ace's commercial passenger cousin 'Magic' is similarly expected to set tracks on fire . One last tidbit: in commercial segment, TATAs have a whopping 65% share. Having put them in this perspective, it would be goosey to say TATAs have not read the market.
But in an upwardly mobile middle class, would a 1 Lakh Car be popular?
There are many dimensions one must consider before answering the question. Living in a city and seeing more and more newly-introduced models from Hyundai, Honda, Corolla, GM, Ford and MUL swoosh by on urban roads (I believe there is deep but random penetration in villages too), I have my reservations about this car. Rural market might be the target, but if the OneLakhCar is competing with Maruti800, one must take into consideration that the latter has seen steady decline in sales even in rural markets in the last two years.
When MUL came out with the original Maruti-Suzuki in the 80s, indeed, the objective was to bring home an affordable car for the common man and a 1 Lakh (or so) tag was acceptable at the time. And what a car it was with original Japanese engine and know-how! The bean car brought in a technological leap in auto industry. None of the indigenously built cars could match up to what Maruti-Suzuki offered. Be it size-wise performance, maintenance or economy of ownership. There is little that needs to be said about MUL's success. So, the idea behind Maruti was a noble one, if you know what I mean.
In principle, the intent behind the OneLakhCar seems to be less nobler (for lack of another term). Affordability seems to be the only criterion for this car. Of course, the TATA quality and brand will assure that the car is not made with cheap parts (brand equity based assumption), but price seems to be the only basis for differentiation, something that will not incite enthusiasm in every buyer.
To push down costs, there are bound to be compromises (within the realm of TATAs brand equity). Component manufacturers have invested capital hedging on the success of the car. Metal costs only rising, the body of the car is said to be of composite material rather than steel or aluminium. (This has been done before- the most elegant example being the sexy Corvette. But hey, they may not use the same stuff here!)Unofficial estimates put the margin-to-manufacturer at Rs.5000 per car. Further, based on work done by analysts, having invested Rs.6000 Crores, TATAs have to sell 1 million cars every year (and they plan to) for four years to break even. Is this possible?
Recent announcement that by year 2009, air-bags in new passenger cars will be no more optional but factory-fitted-mandatory, it is worth asking if the OneLakhCar has this cost built in. Or will it only be 1 Lakh ex factory? Costs toward Bharat IV and EURO III norms would no doubt have been built in.
What about the design? Speculation is rife on whether the car will be a Reva look-alike, Mini-Indica(!) or the Lankan MiniCar (a rounded Reva, I found out after some Googling). Whatever it is, on a 600cc engine, one cannot expect a huge frame. Then how will it be a four or five seater? I secede, I am not design-savvy.
There is a growing need for mobility given the changing lifestyles and lame public transport. The culture of using public transportation is slumping for several reasons, affordability not being the least of them. Mobikes and scooties if not cars fill parking lots of colleges and sometimes schools. The average price of mobikes has crossed Rs.50K, and that of high end indigenous bikes is closing in to Rs. 1 Lakh. Relative safety considerations and the aspirational value of a car would thereby sway a first time buyer or a two-wheeler owner toward the OneLakhCar.
So, there is a reasonable chance that the car will be popular since there is a huge market out there. And there is no offering in this segment right now.
(Coming up...what will happen if the OneLakhCar does its magic.)
2007-08-15
6 things that will make India an icon in the next 60 years:
India's Diamond Jubilee of independence is no small occasion. 'Life starts at 60', '60 and sexier' are themes newspapers and other media are enthusing people with. So, what will happen in the next sixty (any other number misses the point) years is a fair question.
We do not like to think about future, as in really think; own much less our country's. This is just the reason why national events incite thought on futurity. I should not miss out on riding this wave lest my daily pursuits subdue my enthusiasm to express what my mind is able to grasp in this festivity.
Enough has been written about achievements of and lacunae in The Great Indian system, but it needs to be noted that India has reached certain high stratum of economy, industrialisation and quality of living. Of course, we (much less all of us) are not 'there' yet, but we have come a long way. Compare with various other countries that have achieved independence with or after India and you will see how much Indian Democratic principles have stood the test of 60 years; all this is given.
To get 'there' and become an icon, there are certain things India needs to refocus on. In my opinion:
1. REDEFINE LITERACY: The current numbers are enough to make us look good in surveys, but they serve no practical purpose. Choosing leaders based on their mandate is unheard of in India. There are a handful of popular, dynastic, and historic political parties in the limelight and rest is all horse-trading. The power to swing numbers lies with the rural and semi-urban population, but majority of it is not truly literate. People we elect are not true leaders. So, what we get as a government is a group of compromised political players. Political debate as a part of election campaign in this scenario is reduced to a farce, not that it even happens. It all comes back to literacy or the lack of it.
2. RURAL UPLIFTMENT: Today, the PM announced a Rs 25000 Crore benefit package for farmers. This is a great gift, if it reaches those who need it. Late Rajiv Gandhi said that out of every rupee allocated to rural benefit, only 40 paisa reaches those who need it. The focus needs to be intensified on inclusivity of the poor into mainstream economy. When the poorest of the poor have subsistence as a daily goal, education, better health and growth lose relevance. Rural health centers and rural school system need to be revamped decentralised for execution (IAS, Civil services, alliances with NGOs).
3. INFRASTRUCTURE: There is nothing required to say here.
4. DEMOLISH RESERVATION not related to economic status: The Gujjar agitation earlier this year is the worst example of what reservation system has become. That apart, the government is not able to explain the basis of the new magic-number 27. Those who need opportunity are not those who belong to a particular caste or tribe, but those who do not have the money to enable them to come within reach of such opportunities. Yes, most of such people do belong to certain communities, but then those who reap benefits from the existing system (the rich among those communities) are not exactly those who need them (your guess). And the current system also marginalises the poor in communities not on the list of beneficiaries.
5. EMPOWER PEOPLE and bring accountability: Right to Information Act is one of the most significant policies India has adopted since that of liberalisation. What is still lacking is the accountability with someone to act on the information that could be sought. Much is also directly linked to corruption. In the lack of a judicio-legal system that is accountable to punish the guilty, there is not much one can expect from administrative perspective; it is a vicious cycle. To begin with, the Home Ministry and the allied bodies should publish annual reports on benefits accrued from ongoing efforts on e-governance efforts etc.-much like what corporates do at AGMs. But who will watch the gatekeeper?
6. ABOLISH REGIONALISM: India can wish forever to be a true 21st century icon in business and global politics and further even to be a part of the UNSC, but there will no realisation of it until regionalism and caste politics (reservation system too) exist. Particularly, regionalism as on lines of national integration has taken big strides since liberalisation (e.g. many techies, students and other migrants from rest of India are comfortable living in Bangalore, Pune or Hyderabad to name a few cities not withstanding specific infrastructure issues), but naxalism with different names is rampant in most states of India. Unless such sentiments are put to rest, India's efforts at becoming an icon will be cheapened.
Given that Indian population is only growing younger, I think India will not need something as draconian as China's one-child-policy for the next couple of decades, so I am not putting it in this list.
The above are high-level themes on which focus is needed. Action-ising them is the need of the hour. And the more literate, technocratic and academic leaders we have sitting in the Parliament House the better. Unless there is greater political debate antedating elections, my sole objective during next elections would continue to be to topple the incumbent as I will continue to have no idea what he has done or others are planning to do.
There is hope, because despite everything India as she enters the 'sensational sixties' is a thriving globalised democratic young nation with an enviable (economic) growth rate.
Be sure to gain more perspective on this subject at Kiran's blog with his post.
India's Diamond Jubilee of independence is no small occasion. 'Life starts at 60', '60 and sexier' are themes newspapers and other media are enthusing people with. So, what will happen in the next sixty (any other number misses the point) years is a fair question.
We do not like to think about future, as in really think; own much less our country's. This is just the reason why national events incite thought on futurity. I should not miss out on riding this wave lest my daily pursuits subdue my enthusiasm to express what my mind is able to grasp in this festivity.
Enough has been written about achievements of and lacunae in The Great Indian system, but it needs to be noted that India has reached certain high stratum of economy, industrialisation and quality of living. Of course, we (much less all of us) are not 'there' yet, but we have come a long way. Compare with various other countries that have achieved independence with or after India and you will see how much Indian Democratic principles have stood the test of 60 years; all this is given.
To get 'there' and become an icon, there are certain things India needs to refocus on. In my opinion:
1. REDEFINE LITERACY: The current numbers are enough to make us look good in surveys, but they serve no practical purpose. Choosing leaders based on their mandate is unheard of in India. There are a handful of popular, dynastic, and historic political parties in the limelight and rest is all horse-trading. The power to swing numbers lies with the rural and semi-urban population, but majority of it is not truly literate. People we elect are not true leaders. So, what we get as a government is a group of compromised political players. Political debate as a part of election campaign in this scenario is reduced to a farce, not that it even happens. It all comes back to literacy or the lack of it.
2. RURAL UPLIFTMENT: Today, the PM announced a Rs 25000 Crore benefit package for farmers. This is a great gift, if it reaches those who need it. Late Rajiv Gandhi said that out of every rupee allocated to rural benefit, only 40 paisa reaches those who need it. The focus needs to be intensified on inclusivity of the poor into mainstream economy. When the poorest of the poor have subsistence as a daily goal, education, better health and growth lose relevance. Rural health centers and rural school system need to be revamped decentralised for execution (IAS, Civil services, alliances with NGOs).
3. INFRASTRUCTURE: There is nothing required to say here.
4. DEMOLISH RESERVATION not related to economic status: The Gujjar agitation earlier this year is the worst example of what reservation system has become. That apart, the government is not able to explain the basis of the new magic-number 27. Those who need opportunity are not those who belong to a particular caste or tribe, but those who do not have the money to enable them to come within reach of such opportunities. Yes, most of such people do belong to certain communities, but then those who reap benefits from the existing system (the rich among those communities) are not exactly those who need them (your guess). And the current system also marginalises the poor in communities not on the list of beneficiaries.
5. EMPOWER PEOPLE and bring accountability: Right to Information Act is one of the most significant policies India has adopted since that of liberalisation. What is still lacking is the accountability with someone to act on the information that could be sought. Much is also directly linked to corruption. In the lack of a judicio-legal system that is accountable to punish the guilty, there is not much one can expect from administrative perspective; it is a vicious cycle. To begin with, the Home Ministry and the allied bodies should publish annual reports on benefits accrued from ongoing efforts on e-governance efforts etc.-much like what corporates do at AGMs. But who will watch the gatekeeper?
6. ABOLISH REGIONALISM: India can wish forever to be a true 21st century icon in business and global politics and further even to be a part of the UNSC, but there will no realisation of it until regionalism and caste politics (reservation system too) exist. Particularly, regionalism as on lines of national integration has taken big strides since liberalisation (e.g. many techies, students and other migrants from rest of India are comfortable living in Bangalore, Pune or Hyderabad to name a few cities not withstanding specific infrastructure issues), but naxalism with different names is rampant in most states of India. Unless such sentiments are put to rest, India's efforts at becoming an icon will be cheapened.
Given that Indian population is only growing younger, I think India will not need something as draconian as China's one-child-policy for the next couple of decades, so I am not putting it in this list.
The above are high-level themes on which focus is needed. Action-ising them is the need of the hour. And the more literate, technocratic and academic leaders we have sitting in the Parliament House the better. Unless there is greater political debate antedating elections, my sole objective during next elections would continue to be to topple the incumbent as I will continue to have no idea what he has done or others are planning to do.
There is hope, because despite everything India as she enters the 'sensational sixties' is a thriving globalised democratic young nation with an enviable (economic) growth rate.
Be sure to gain more perspective on this subject at Kiran's blog with his post.
2007-08-10
The flip side of organised retailing
"9th Aug celebrated as 'Quit Retail Day'".This day was famously known as Quit India Day (circa 1942). But "FDI Watch India" and "Vyapaar Aur Rozgar Bachao Andolan" have given it their own flavour. Even if this was expected, the creativity and the intensity of the message sent by juxtaposing the two events is surprising.
The biggest fear among those resisting the Indian Retail Revolution is that of loss of jobs or displacement. The 200 Billion Dollar retail industry in India is highly segmented right now. Only 4%, expectedly, of this is truly organised in the way we see Foodworlds, Fabmalls, Monday to Sundays, Ahmed Bazaar (Bangalore), Shopper Stops, Westsides etc which are chains or corporation, sometimes even listed. The number might also include goverment-run Janatha Bazaars. The remaining share includes the gamut of sellers at all levels who are located near your home or street. I am not sure if the Sabjiwala who rings your door bell is counted at all. Nevertheless, selling remains the biggest occupation in India with 11 stores per 1000 persons. This is a huge number considering that China has 6 and USA 3.8. "What will happen to all these people?" is a question that cannot be ignored and is a common refrain today.
In the past, India has seen huge displacements, be it during industrialisation during the early Five Year plans or urbanisation that followed it and which continues today, or the IT and ITes revolution that is gripping youth today. Of course, the challenge of displacement from ITeS is at a different level altogether (acedemia and R&D bodies fretting the trend involving loss of qualified engineers and science graduates to high-paying jobs) while that in question is in a more basic stratum.
But one must not ignore the fact that these changes have happened over the years, if not decades and Retail Revolution will be no different, even if technology enables it to bring about changes faster. In addition to technological enablement, acceptance and inertia to life style changes play a great role in moulding mindsets.
Organised retailing will create its own opprtunities. To fill the boardroom-to-field gap, companies always look for local subject matter experts. Who better than middlemen can fill this gap? Sure, one can follow the principle of 'try to beat 'em, if you don't want to join them', but that is a diffent argument. Contract farming will provide farmers opportunities with ensured income. New job streams are already cropping up what with Retail Sales executive diplomas and Degrees in Store planning making rounds in newspaper classifieds. People With a little sensitivity, interest (or need) and attitude can easily find avenues in in-store salesmanship. With growing organisation in retail will come more back-end operations. Employment opportunities in the bottom layer will see the most growth.
There are other long term effects one can foresee changing the way we live in the next decade or so, as a direct consequence of the type of set-up organised retailing will require. Since food, especially seasonal, will slowly become independent of local climatic conditions (already happening for some items) with perennial supplies planned for and achieved, food processing will gain prominence. Food processing and preservation is what will help corporations maintain their stock levels and meet demands across geographies.
Almost all of us eat fresh produce, today. It may not be so easily available once processed foods become a norm. Canned-everything is what most American families shop for and live on (emphasis on organic and fresh produce is the reaction to this phenomenon). Today, we can find Rasgulla's and baby corn with Indian labels. These cans will more and more commonly hold tomatoes, spinach and carrots to name a few, something that we would find too convinient to ignore. Talk to DINKs and SINKs living in nuclear families and you get a perspective on how consumption of ready-to-eat foods is gaining prevelance.
All these changes are inevitable. How the Indian system adapts to it is the area of concern. India will move forward, urban Indians will move faster. Only a good system-social support, health, judicial, legal- will ensure uniform growth in all socio-economic categories . Government should enforce policies that bring accountability for and quick addressal of genuine concerns people could have out of corporatisation of retailing. Vocational training programs will ensure that opportunities flow equally to all geographies of India and strata of society.
There is little point in being protectionist about the Retail Revolution. Energies need to be focussed on enabling the Indian system to handle the inevitable changes which have the potential to transform the way we live now.
"9th Aug celebrated as 'Quit Retail Day'".This day was famously known as Quit India Day (circa 1942). But "FDI Watch India" and "Vyapaar Aur Rozgar Bachao Andolan" have given it their own flavour. Even if this was expected, the creativity and the intensity of the message sent by juxtaposing the two events is surprising.
The biggest fear among those resisting the Indian Retail Revolution is that of loss of jobs or displacement. The 200 Billion Dollar retail industry in India is highly segmented right now. Only 4%, expectedly, of this is truly organised in the way we see Foodworlds, Fabmalls, Monday to Sundays, Ahmed Bazaar (Bangalore), Shopper Stops, Westsides etc which are chains or corporation, sometimes even listed. The number might also include goverment-run Janatha Bazaars. The remaining share includes the gamut of sellers at all levels who are located near your home or street. I am not sure if the Sabjiwala who rings your door bell is counted at all. Nevertheless, selling remains the biggest occupation in India with 11 stores per 1000 persons. This is a huge number considering that China has 6 and USA 3.8. "What will happen to all these people?" is a question that cannot be ignored and is a common refrain today.
In the past, India has seen huge displacements, be it during industrialisation during the early Five Year plans or urbanisation that followed it and which continues today, or the IT and ITes revolution that is gripping youth today. Of course, the challenge of displacement from ITeS is at a different level altogether (acedemia and R&D bodies fretting the trend involving loss of qualified engineers and science graduates to high-paying jobs) while that in question is in a more basic stratum.
But one must not ignore the fact that these changes have happened over the years, if not decades and Retail Revolution will be no different, even if technology enables it to bring about changes faster. In addition to technological enablement, acceptance and inertia to life style changes play a great role in moulding mindsets.
Organised retailing will create its own opprtunities. To fill the boardroom-to-field gap, companies always look for local subject matter experts. Who better than middlemen can fill this gap? Sure, one can follow the principle of 'try to beat 'em, if you don't want to join them', but that is a diffent argument. Contract farming will provide farmers opportunities with ensured income. New job streams are already cropping up what with Retail Sales executive diplomas and Degrees in Store planning making rounds in newspaper classifieds. People With a little sensitivity, interest (or need) and attitude can easily find avenues in in-store salesmanship. With growing organisation in retail will come more back-end operations. Employment opportunities in the bottom layer will see the most growth.
There are other long term effects one can foresee changing the way we live in the next decade or so, as a direct consequence of the type of set-up organised retailing will require. Since food, especially seasonal, will slowly become independent of local climatic conditions (already happening for some items) with perennial supplies planned for and achieved, food processing will gain prominence. Food processing and preservation is what will help corporations maintain their stock levels and meet demands across geographies.
Almost all of us eat fresh produce, today. It may not be so easily available once processed foods become a norm. Canned-everything is what most American families shop for and live on (emphasis on organic and fresh produce is the reaction to this phenomenon). Today, we can find Rasgulla's and baby corn with Indian labels. These cans will more and more commonly hold tomatoes, spinach and carrots to name a few, something that we would find too convinient to ignore. Talk to DINKs and SINKs living in nuclear families and you get a perspective on how consumption of ready-to-eat foods is gaining prevelance.
All these changes are inevitable. How the Indian system adapts to it is the area of concern. India will move forward, urban Indians will move faster. Only a good system-social support, health, judicial, legal- will ensure uniform growth in all socio-economic categories . Government should enforce policies that bring accountability for and quick addressal of genuine concerns people could have out of corporatisation of retailing. Vocational training programs will ensure that opportunities flow equally to all geographies of India and strata of society.
There is little point in being protectionist about the Retail Revolution. Energies need to be focussed on enabling the Indian system to handle the inevitable changes which have the potential to transform the way we live now.
2007-08-08
A case for Organized Retailing:
The Bhart-Walmart Cash 'n' Carry alliance with a 50-50 joint venture arrangement is now official. There are mixed emotions around this announcement with traders crying foul and FMCG people welcoming the move. While the traders will be affected on grounds of relative combined buying power of the duo and consequent fall in their own profitability, FMCG players like HUL are optimistic about the huge volumes this organization will generate.
While doubts have been widely cast on whether Wal-Mart-like retailing would work in India, it is altogether another question whether dewy-eyed Indian players are not already showing ambitions of emulating the US retail behemoth. Subhiksha and Reliance Fresh are only waiting to see the results of their low-hanging-fruit experiments with retail models, before launching off on bigger formats. APMCs in Bangalore protested earlier this week, governments move to amend APMC act to accommodate contract farming. Reliance collection centers in proximity to farmers have already induced a lot of fear in the traders. Indian retailers can play but foreign players cannot? Seems like we are deliberately un-leveling the field here.
While Kerala has announced on national television that it will do anything to prevent Reliance from entering God's own country, new models are being experimented in parts of Mumbai and some towns in Gujarat. In order to beat Reliance at its game, scores of store owners have formed clusters within parts of towns in order to increase their buying power. Each of these clusters will ensure similar formats so that locals in a part of the city get same price, assortments and layouts in all stores in a cluster. On closer look this is nothing but the bottom-up evolution of a chain. If the likes of Reliance pump money from their coffers and roll out store designs from their boardrooms, local merchants are pooling in together to form their own little corporation (co-operative?). If the clusters have a uniform design and operations are directed by a group of cooperative-heads, the personal touch of the local kirana owner is anyway lost. To maintain their cash flows (cooperatives can be assumed to have no huge caissons); the kirana owner's personal credit policy disappears. With the corporatisation of the local cluster (bound to happen), the individual kirana owners will lose their ownership. They would be encouraged to sit and home and count their share of the profits. Whether this model is sustainable, only time can tell.
The current times can lead to germination of Indianised models of organized retailing. It is possible that something innovative may come out of the churning happening right now. Kerala's might be a knee-jerk reaction and in time laws might be amended when the success of oragnised retailing generates happiness in the public in the rest of the country. But, these are early times and it may be several before any such things happen.
Now coming to a basic question...will organized retailing succeed in India?
Firstly, the need for organized retailing will keep the ball rolling. Not as self-defeating a statements as it seems, since India is probably one of the few countries where in one corner farmers kill themselves unable to make profits from their surplus (causing too low selling prices), while people in another die waiting for rations to arrive. FAO has capacity to store, but not the capability to maintain its storages. Public distribution system is a shame, what with kerosene, sugar and grain mafia degrading local distribution efforts. More than 35% of the produce, especially in grains and staples rots and gets wasted. There is a dire need for better mechanism to move food grains from source to destination. Oraganised retailing can provide just this bridge.
Secondly, the prices of commodities can be more controlled with better facilities and distribution systems that will be set-up by the big players. Investments made by such retailers in storage facilities will ensure constant supply of goods, especially foods, throughout the year. Fluctuations in prices (typically, they shoot up in monsoon) will be reduced and more uniformity in price and quality can be achieved. This may not happen overnight, but some form of stability in each of these dimensions can be achieved with a sustained effort of organized retailing.
APMC regime is largely hierarchical. Between the farmer and the consumer, one can expect at least 4-5 levels of agencies or middlemen, who add to the cost of goods- especially grains and fruits. To both the ends- farmer and consumer- there is little benefit. Reliance Retails has set-up collection centers in proximity to producers. One must remember that farming in India is not land intensive as in North America and some other parts of the world. In India, it is labor intensive with large number of farmers owning small patches of land producing, in some cases, largest quantities of fruits and grains in the world. To an average farmer, a reduction in the cost of transportation will make a large difference. So, instead of going a longer distance to an APMC Mandi and auctioning his produce, he would prefer to go the short distance to a predictable-price-offering at a nearby Reliance Collection Center. This ploy may already be smelt by APMCs and they may (being a government-run agency? But, let's give them the benefit of the doubt) set-up their own proximity mandi's or react by providing predictability in pricing, but in the end it will be only competition where consumer and farmer would benefit. This can be third benefit of the organized retail network.
Private sector players, and not in the least foreign chains, have the muscle and the know-how to set-up efficient supply chain systems, invest in forecasting and logistics systems to make 'all that' happen. The crawling and creeping corrupt public system has not done much in this regard in the last half-century of its existence. Yes, the e-governance is just taking off, but the attitudes and motives of those who run the system require a lot of overhaul, before any sweetness can be derived from the e-governance efforts.
Lastly, an economic benefit of allowing foreign retail chains in India is the increase in volume of exports. Currently, Wal-Mart sources about $600M from India. Compare that with USD 27B that China exports to only Wal-Mart. If Wal-Mart opens stores in India, the giant's India sourcing would grow multiple folds in a couple of years. And Wal-Mart is only the most significant example.
Flip side of the coin... (Next time).
The Bhart-Walmart Cash 'n' Carry alliance with a 50-50 joint venture arrangement is now official. There are mixed emotions around this announcement with traders crying foul and FMCG people welcoming the move. While the traders will be affected on grounds of relative combined buying power of the duo and consequent fall in their own profitability, FMCG players like HUL are optimistic about the huge volumes this organization will generate.
While doubts have been widely cast on whether Wal-Mart-like retailing would work in India, it is altogether another question whether dewy-eyed Indian players are not already showing ambitions of emulating the US retail behemoth. Subhiksha and Reliance Fresh are only waiting to see the results of their low-hanging-fruit experiments with retail models, before launching off on bigger formats. APMCs in Bangalore protested earlier this week, governments move to amend APMC act to accommodate contract farming. Reliance collection centers in proximity to farmers have already induced a lot of fear in the traders. Indian retailers can play but foreign players cannot? Seems like we are deliberately un-leveling the field here.
While Kerala has announced on national television that it will do anything to prevent Reliance from entering God's own country, new models are being experimented in parts of Mumbai and some towns in Gujarat. In order to beat Reliance at its game, scores of store owners have formed clusters within parts of towns in order to increase their buying power. Each of these clusters will ensure similar formats so that locals in a part of the city get same price, assortments and layouts in all stores in a cluster. On closer look this is nothing but the bottom-up evolution of a chain. If the likes of Reliance pump money from their coffers and roll out store designs from their boardrooms, local merchants are pooling in together to form their own little corporation (co-operative?). If the clusters have a uniform design and operations are directed by a group of cooperative-heads, the personal touch of the local kirana owner is anyway lost. To maintain their cash flows (cooperatives can be assumed to have no huge caissons); the kirana owner's personal credit policy disappears. With the corporatisation of the local cluster (bound to happen), the individual kirana owners will lose their ownership. They would be encouraged to sit and home and count their share of the profits. Whether this model is sustainable, only time can tell.
The current times can lead to germination of Indianised models of organized retailing. It is possible that something innovative may come out of the churning happening right now. Kerala's might be a knee-jerk reaction and in time laws might be amended when the success of oragnised retailing generates happiness in the public in the rest of the country. But, these are early times and it may be several before any such things happen.
Now coming to a basic question...will organized retailing succeed in India?
Firstly, the need for organized retailing will keep the ball rolling. Not as self-defeating a statements as it seems, since India is probably one of the few countries where in one corner farmers kill themselves unable to make profits from their surplus (causing too low selling prices), while people in another die waiting for rations to arrive. FAO has capacity to store, but not the capability to maintain its storages. Public distribution system is a shame, what with kerosene, sugar and grain mafia degrading local distribution efforts. More than 35% of the produce, especially in grains and staples rots and gets wasted. There is a dire need for better mechanism to move food grains from source to destination. Oraganised retailing can provide just this bridge.
Secondly, the prices of commodities can be more controlled with better facilities and distribution systems that will be set-up by the big players. Investments made by such retailers in storage facilities will ensure constant supply of goods, especially foods, throughout the year. Fluctuations in prices (typically, they shoot up in monsoon) will be reduced and more uniformity in price and quality can be achieved. This may not happen overnight, but some form of stability in each of these dimensions can be achieved with a sustained effort of organized retailing.
APMC regime is largely hierarchical. Between the farmer and the consumer, one can expect at least 4-5 levels of agencies or middlemen, who add to the cost of goods- especially grains and fruits. To both the ends- farmer and consumer- there is little benefit. Reliance Retails has set-up collection centers in proximity to producers. One must remember that farming in India is not land intensive as in North America and some other parts of the world. In India, it is labor intensive with large number of farmers owning small patches of land producing, in some cases, largest quantities of fruits and grains in the world. To an average farmer, a reduction in the cost of transportation will make a large difference. So, instead of going a longer distance to an APMC Mandi and auctioning his produce, he would prefer to go the short distance to a predictable-price-offering at a nearby Reliance Collection Center. This ploy may already be smelt by APMCs and they may (being a government-run agency? But, let's give them the benefit of the doubt) set-up their own proximity mandi's or react by providing predictability in pricing, but in the end it will be only competition where consumer and farmer would benefit. This can be third benefit of the organized retail network.
Private sector players, and not in the least foreign chains, have the muscle and the know-how to set-up efficient supply chain systems, invest in forecasting and logistics systems to make 'all that' happen. The crawling and creeping corrupt public system has not done much in this regard in the last half-century of its existence. Yes, the e-governance is just taking off, but the attitudes and motives of those who run the system require a lot of overhaul, before any sweetness can be derived from the e-governance efforts.
Lastly, an economic benefit of allowing foreign retail chains in India is the increase in volume of exports. Currently, Wal-Mart sources about $600M from India. Compare that with USD 27B that China exports to only Wal-Mart. If Wal-Mart opens stores in India, the giant's India sourcing would grow multiple folds in a couple of years. And Wal-Mart is only the most significant example.
Flip side of the coin... (Next time).
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