'Now, wouldn't I like to be the president of India?' was the first thought that came to my mind when I heard our president had completed her first sub-sonic sortie. Atleast, then, I would get to fly in a Sukhoi and tick one of the hundred things to do before I die. Not even those who spend a lifetime in the Air Force get a chance like this.
But, what was the president doing in a Sukhoi in the first place? Is this the 21st century version of the traditional guard of honour inspection? May be it is one of the perks of being a president in a non-federal democracy. I am sure the prez plays a key role of upholding the constitutional processes, but, unless there is an emergency, the president does not need to pull any rabbits out of their hat. So, what do you do after you have settled down in your job? Scale new heights...literally?
But really, what was the motive behind riding a Sukhoi? It could not be a political statement (except help raise Left's eyebrows), no sir. Once in office, our president hardly need make any political manoeuvers unless instigated by a drastic turn of events- man made or otherwise. Officially, there is no obligation to prove geriatric fitness for aeronautical worklife. Maybe there is such a thing as first ladies' and gents' club out there that I am not aware of that is trying to set precedents for presidents.
At the end of the sortie, the president clarified that while she is (now, all the more) confident that women can do it (a Sukhoi-esque task), she would rather the government sorted out the moral and social feasibility of letting women into active fighter-jet airtime combat duty. From what I gathered from an ex-army lady, most countries, India included, are not there yet. So, it could not be about encouraging women into the armed forces, could it? If it is, then it is pretty expensive advertisement.
What could the common man be thinking? While we are blown away by our president's gutsiness, are masses thinking whether they will get blown away to bits in an act of alien cowardice. While lucky officials relish unusually fantastic funflights, do masses wonder where the next meal will come from, will their hut survive the next floods or their fields the next drought? Does the middle class wonder whether Earth is turning lunar the way potholes on roads expand and vehicles jump over metro construction debris as if locomoting in 1/6th gravity? What are all those cabinet ministers, MPs and MLAs thinking about the austerity measures government was insisting upon, oh so loudly, just weeks ago? May be they think they should tweet more often?
At an individual level, there is awe, respect and some green eye here. But seriously, what was the president doing in a Sukhoi? The president, having conquered the G-forces now wishes to break the sound barrier. I hope the voice of concern of the masses reaches the president's ears at the speed of sound.
"Confusious (sic) say: President that break sound barrier, going too fast for its people"
Showing posts with label Policy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Policy. Show all posts
2007-11-02
Side-effects of globalisation
In the book 'The World is Flat", read short review here, Thomas Friedman illustrated globalisation via scores of, well, global firms, and one of them was Dell Inc. The supply chain intricacies at Dell lent themselves to the emergence of 'Dell Theory of Conflicts'. Like the book, my experience with Dell, albeit post-purchase, is no less speckled with side-effects of globalisation.
The story begins with the occurrence of a problem that turned my laptop into a lemon, defined here. I have been using a Dell Inspiron 5160 for close to three years now.This should tell you that with the basic warranty long expired and without extended or global warranty I am vulnerable. And until recently, I was oblivious to the existence of #M1004. This is the error code Dell-ians see on the BIOS screen after their laptop is 'preventively shutdown to avoid damage due to overheating'.
I saw this error for the first time few months ago,soon after I upgraded the RAM four times over to 2 GB. I was hoping to get more out of my laptop. I was getting more heat out of it, alright! This paralysed my normal usage of the laptop, since the preventive shutdown happened at 70 degree C, which was reached within 40 minutes of operation. Thus began my research on the problem that had fortunately or unfortunately eluded me since the laptop had arrived at my doorstep. Googling #M1004 gave me more than I had expected. Dell 5150 and 1150 were doomed as far as I could see in online forums.5160, though an evolved version of 5150 with 'fixes to avoid overheating' and at least did not 'melt' or 'explode', still suffered from bad ventilation design. More research told me that the motherboard-heat-sink combo were defective and there were class action suits in Canada and the US. Apparently, even the devout Dell-ians were peeved.
Recently I learnt that, since early 2006, Dell had been replacing the defective hardware for free (one time only). Wow and Oops!"Wow!" because the combo hardware costs close to Rs 25K (half the cost of laptop) and it requires substantial commitment from Dell to replace it for hundreds of thousands of laptops sold out of the Inspiron lot. while I also know that from Dell's point of view a case-by-case replacement would be cheaper than a recall. "Oops!" because I m now living in India and my laptop has a US warranty which has expired.
So, I started tracing the steps followed by many to gain temporary or in some cases permanent relief. BIOS upgrade came first. Version 8 of the BIOS cought to optimise fan operation. But it did not help. Cleaning the vents and heat sink was the next possibility. With more research, I learnt to open a Dell Laptop and was amazed at how neatly so much is packed in 1.5 inch thickness (5160 has older design). I stopped short of opening the heat sink assembly. My gut told me that I should contact Dell India and find out what they can do; give me some the minimum coverage at least.
I was surprised by the support Dell gave me. I placed an online request, to which I got a response within 10 hours. As far as the US ownership was concerned, I was told that I could initiate a transfer to Dell India. That would eventually happen, but meanwhile I could run hardware diagnostic tests (I had told Dell India that I am an advanced computer user, hadn't I?). After sharing the results with Dell India, I not only got a phone call confirming the problem but was also , hold your breath, told that Dell would replace the motherboard and heat sink for free!
That I got such good service ought be a side effect of globalisation. Of course, with significant Indian operations, offering service to Indian customers is but imperative. Having made the original purchase in the US probably gave me some edge for getting prompt service; but I have a feeling I would have got it even otherwise. I am saying this based on the fact that last year Nikon India had replaced a defective power module, post warranty, in my digital camera. (They did charge me a service and shipping fee). Nikon USA had at that time made free replacement for cameras within warranty period. Both the pieces of equipment had been widely acknowledged as being defective; in case of Dell, leading to class action suits in North America. But to benefit from an America lawsuit sitting in India?
The ease with which all transactions happened tells a lot about the CRM commitment global companies ought to provide, irrespective of customers' global location. Global companies have to put more effort in giving one face to their brands. They cannot discriminate, because an Indian customer today can be a customer in the US tomorrow or, the day after, one in Japan. American regulatory system ensure compliance to frameworks for resolving to conflicts between sellers and buyers. Be it in the BRIC or other emerging economy nations, buyers are more aware and more enabled, not just by information, read as Internet, but also by the expectations they have from brands. They have the money to buy top brand items. If you are paying top dollar, literally, you deserve top dollar service. This is evident in other popular examples such as the Dell's global replacement of laptop batteries and more recently Nokia's worldwide replacement of certain cellphone batteries.
Hopefully the new heat sink and motherboard will perform better. Whatever the side effect, I am happy Dell customer now. #M1004 anyone?
The story begins with the occurrence of a problem that turned my laptop into a lemon, defined here. I have been using a Dell Inspiron 5160 for close to three years now.This should tell you that with the basic warranty long expired and without extended or global warranty I am vulnerable. And until recently, I was oblivious to the existence of #M1004. This is the error code Dell-ians see on the BIOS screen after their laptop is 'preventively shutdown to avoid damage due to overheating'.
I saw this error for the first time few months ago,soon after I upgraded the RAM four times over to 2 GB. I was hoping to get more out of my laptop. I was getting more heat out of it, alright! This paralysed my normal usage of the laptop, since the preventive shutdown happened at 70 degree C, which was reached within 40 minutes of operation. Thus began my research on the problem that had fortunately or unfortunately eluded me since the laptop had arrived at my doorstep. Googling #M1004 gave me more than I had expected. Dell 5150 and 1150 were doomed as far as I could see in online forums.5160, though an evolved version of 5150 with 'fixes to avoid overheating' and at least did not 'melt' or 'explode', still suffered from bad ventilation design. More research told me that the motherboard-heat-sink combo were defective and there were class action suits in Canada and the US. Apparently, even the devout Dell-ians were peeved.
Recently I learnt that, since early 2006, Dell had been replacing the defective hardware for free (one time only). Wow and Oops!"Wow!" because the combo hardware costs close to Rs 25K (half the cost of laptop) and it requires substantial commitment from Dell to replace it for hundreds of thousands of laptops sold out of the Inspiron lot. while I also know that from Dell's point of view a case-by-case replacement would be cheaper than a recall. "Oops!" because I m now living in India and my laptop has a US warranty which has expired.
So, I started tracing the steps followed by many to gain temporary or in some cases permanent relief. BIOS upgrade came first. Version 8 of the BIOS cought to optimise fan operation. But it did not help. Cleaning the vents and heat sink was the next possibility. With more research, I learnt to open a Dell Laptop and was amazed at how neatly so much is packed in 1.5 inch thickness (5160 has older design). I stopped short of opening the heat sink assembly. My gut told me that I should contact Dell India and find out what they can do; give me some the minimum coverage at least.
I was surprised by the support Dell gave me. I placed an online request, to which I got a response within 10 hours. As far as the US ownership was concerned, I was told that I could initiate a transfer to Dell India. That would eventually happen, but meanwhile I could run hardware diagnostic tests (I had told Dell India that I am an advanced computer user, hadn't I?). After sharing the results with Dell India, I not only got a phone call confirming the problem but was also , hold your breath, told that Dell would replace the motherboard and heat sink for free!
That I got such good service ought be a side effect of globalisation. Of course, with significant Indian operations, offering service to Indian customers is but imperative. Having made the original purchase in the US probably gave me some edge for getting prompt service; but I have a feeling I would have got it even otherwise. I am saying this based on the fact that last year Nikon India had replaced a defective power module, post warranty, in my digital camera. (They did charge me a service and shipping fee). Nikon USA had at that time made free replacement for cameras within warranty period. Both the pieces of equipment had been widely acknowledged as being defective; in case of Dell, leading to class action suits in North America. But to benefit from an America lawsuit sitting in India?
The ease with which all transactions happened tells a lot about the CRM commitment global companies ought to provide, irrespective of customers' global location. Global companies have to put more effort in giving one face to their brands. They cannot discriminate, because an Indian customer today can be a customer in the US tomorrow or, the day after, one in Japan. American regulatory system ensure compliance to frameworks for resolving to conflicts between sellers and buyers. Be it in the BRIC or other emerging economy nations, buyers are more aware and more enabled, not just by information, read as Internet, but also by the expectations they have from brands. They have the money to buy top brand items. If you are paying top dollar, literally, you deserve top dollar service. This is evident in other popular examples such as the Dell's global replacement of laptop batteries and more recently Nokia's worldwide replacement of certain cellphone batteries.
Hopefully the new heat sink and motherboard will perform better. Whatever the side effect, I am happy Dell customer now. #M1004 anyone?
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).
2006-05-08
Red hot chilly:
Radio Mirchi (RM), a welcome entrant to Bangalore's music-starved skies was featured in TOI today. The article, tucked away in page 3 of the main paper, basically said that within 1 week of official launch, the radio station had a listnership of 33% compared to the locally bred Radio City (RC) at 21%. The results were gathered from a 240-sample cartrack survey which involved asking drivers of cars at traffic lights about the station they were listening to at the time. The survey was conducted by IMRB and sponsored by...Radio Mirchi! Isn't that 'sakkath haat magaa' ?!? So, much for the article.
Anyway, there can be several reasons for this rise is popularity. One, the station itself is new (locally) and there is definitely going to be a sampling stage, where people are try to check out the 'hot'ness (sic) claimed by the station. You cannot base your survey on the data collected in this period only. Secondly, the station also comes well timed in mid-summer when people are always looking for something new to cool them down; a hot channel included. But there are some things that set RM away from RC that we're are used to listening through awfully dragging urban driving and traffic jams.One, it has a very local touch. A lot of RJ-ing is in Kannada, a move welcomed by locals who have to crave to listen to Kannada on a Hinglish radio channel that has been RC. Also, Kannada was introduced on mostly because of some demands made in RCs infancy. The quality of 'sound' (a less significant factor) on RM was superior I found with the same settings on the equaliser of my car radio. The mix of songs is also pretty nice, but one misses English songs on RM.
But I guess that is where RM stops on the favor scale. RC is way mature when it comes to concepts built around RJs that have become more familiar to Bangaloreans than their own neighbours. Sunaina, Darius, Rohit J and Barker and others have adapted well to the local tastes. Not only has RC well tuned their program schedule to match the vagaries of a Bangalore day, it also has introduced programs to give fillip to the local talent, which can be found in abundance. Compare the night time program schedules- RC has an all-international rollout after 9 in the evening as against an-all-Hindi-oldies broadcast on RM. Personally, I am not into the latter after a long day and a dinner.
RM has immature RJs, as they seem to have, taken the term 'youth' literally by
inducting green RJs who talk like they are talking only to school and college kids and also people with low wit. RM's RJ script seems to be a bit immaturish - what with the 3-hour-long tele-call-in themes on 'ways to kill mosquitoes', 'ways to talk your way out when busted copying at an exam' etc. That their fetish on mosquitoes only invited stupid responses is a an ode to RMs imagination.(I did not switch on 93.3 that evening).Long way to go before people of Bangalore are convinced that RM is' all about 'More Dhak Dhak, Less Bak Bak' (their toungue-in-cheek claim).
RCs till my preferred channel though I'd rather not end up with two similar channels. It may take sometime before genre-specific channels come up. Right now they cannot be sustained (unless paid, like Worldspace), especially since the local demand is greater for regional (read Kannada and Hindi) and Indy-pop-bhangra-etc Bollywood-type music.
Nevertheless, the need for more FM channels and more competition among Bangalore's two main channels is 'sakkath haat' right now.
Radio Mirchi (RM), a welcome entrant to Bangalore's music-starved skies was featured in TOI today. The article, tucked away in page 3 of the main paper, basically said that within 1 week of official launch, the radio station had a listnership of 33% compared to the locally bred Radio City (RC) at 21%. The results were gathered from a 240-sample cartrack survey which involved asking drivers of cars at traffic lights about the station they were listening to at the time. The survey was conducted by IMRB and sponsored by...Radio Mirchi! Isn't that 'sakkath haat magaa' ?!? So, much for the article.
Anyway, there can be several reasons for this rise is popularity. One, the station itself is new (locally) and there is definitely going to be a sampling stage, where people are try to check out the 'hot'ness (sic) claimed by the station. You cannot base your survey on the data collected in this period only. Secondly, the station also comes well timed in mid-summer when people are always looking for something new to cool them down; a hot channel included. But there are some things that set RM away from RC that we're are used to listening through awfully dragging urban driving and traffic jams.One, it has a very local touch. A lot of RJ-ing is in Kannada, a move welcomed by locals who have to crave to listen to Kannada on a Hinglish radio channel that has been RC. Also, Kannada was introduced on mostly because of some demands made in RCs infancy. The quality of 'sound' (a less significant factor) on RM was superior I found with the same settings on the equaliser of my car radio. The mix of songs is also pretty nice, but one misses English songs on RM.
But I guess that is where RM stops on the favor scale. RC is way mature when it comes to concepts built around RJs that have become more familiar to Bangaloreans than their own neighbours. Sunaina, Darius, Rohit J and Barker and others have adapted well to the local tastes. Not only has RC well tuned their program schedule to match the vagaries of a Bangalore day, it also has introduced programs to give fillip to the local talent, which can be found in abundance. Compare the night time program schedules- RC has an all-international rollout after 9 in the evening as against an-all-Hindi-oldies broadcast on RM. Personally, I am not into the latter after a long day and a dinner.
RM has immature RJs, as they seem to have, taken the term 'youth' literally by
inducting green RJs who talk like they are talking only to school and college kids and also people with low wit. RM's RJ script seems to be a bit immaturish - what with the 3-hour-long tele-call-in themes on 'ways to kill mosquitoes', 'ways to talk your way out when busted copying at an exam' etc. That their fetish on mosquitoes only invited stupid responses is a an ode to RMs imagination.(I did not switch on 93.3 that evening).Long way to go before people of Bangalore are convinced that RM is' all about 'More Dhak Dhak, Less Bak Bak' (their toungue-in-cheek claim).
RCs till my preferred channel though I'd rather not end up with two similar channels. It may take sometime before genre-specific channels come up. Right now they cannot be sustained (unless paid, like Worldspace), especially since the local demand is greater for regional (read Kannada and Hindi) and Indy-pop-bhangra-etc Bollywood-type music.
Nevertheless, the need for more FM channels and more competition among Bangalore's two main channels is 'sakkath haat' right now.
2006-03-27
Mandating HIV test before marriage?
We like to think we live an ideal world and try to create regulations that befit a well-oiled executive system. We have a done it again, this time to counter the dread of HIV. The government is contemplating on introducing an impractical law which will require the two people getting wedded to produce certificates pronouncing them uninfected by HIV.
What are we trying to prove by taking such a big bite? Introducing the law would mean that lab-facilities would be required to be set-up across the country. Do we have enough working primary health care centers (PHC) where this can be set-up? For the last 5 decades India has not been able to provide the type of penetration required to reach the 600 million who live in rural to remote areas.
Many PHCs exist only on records. Among the rest, a lot of them are either only 4-wall-and-a-roof enclosures or are manned by just a 'guard' with nothing more to offer. The lacuna in the need and the 'feed' of PHCs shows itself up whenever there is an epidemic or disaster like flood requiring relief operations. Recently, several TV channels also highlighted the lack of accountability and seriousness with which critical cases of H5N1 were handled in Maharashtra.
Seeing the falling female to male ratio in several states, mainly owing to female infanticide and female-foeticide, GoI introduced a ban on ultrasound tests determining the sex of the unborn. But today, especially in the northern states like Haryana, the sex of the foetus is the worst kept secret. The fault lies only partly with advances in technology which has made ultrasound equipment mobile and compact. The bigger issue is that of determining accountability and penalizing the set-up that condones such tests. The thought behind this is noble, undeniably and should be enforced as strictly as possible. I have no recommendations for repealing this law. But what is the point if there is no tracking mechanism in place which ensures that failures in compliance are not punished sufficiently enough for them to act as deterrents to future incidents? In the last 12 years since the law was introduced, there has been 1 conviction in Delhi, recently.
There is no tracking mechanism even to continuously identify the fate of the HIV infected people in the country, so how far will the certification of people wrt their infected status succeed or help. How difficult would it be to obtain an 'uninfected' certification? As easy it would be to buy a lunch for one.
The idea behind the law does not seem to be aimed at spreading awareness about HIV and the consequential AIDS disease. The governments - state and central are already doing much in terms of this by media messages and short documentaries shown in movie theatres. NGOs are doing their bit by educating the people in street plays and village meetings. If the government thinks much is not happening, it only makes sense to improve efforts to educate the masses. Why leap when small steps are what will get you there and the leap only opens more cans of worms?
What good is a certificate? The current level of advancements in curing the disease do not promise a full recovery, but only a slowing down of the immuno-dificiency process. What would a certificate do to help this? Is it more important then that while we spread the news about how the disease can kill, we should also educate people about how to deal with people who have contracted it? A mandated certificate can easily become a tool of oppression for the victim of the disease. There is bound to be stigmatisation of the person, probable loss of growth opportunities if not loss of employment itself. This, on top of the problems that the disease itself brings along with it.
While it may be argued that it might even be easier to talk about it 'because there is a law', there is bound to be an air of complacency around the whole process. It is therefore important that people are made aware of the dangers of the disease. If they do it 'just because there is a law' for it, there is bound to be a licensed spread of the disease, a counter affect to what was originally intended.
The Indian ‘system’ is not prepared for dealing correctly with an HIV certificate accompanying a marriage certificate.
We like to think we live an ideal world and try to create regulations that befit a well-oiled executive system. We have a done it again, this time to counter the dread of HIV. The government is contemplating on introducing an impractical law which will require the two people getting wedded to produce certificates pronouncing them uninfected by HIV.
What are we trying to prove by taking such a big bite? Introducing the law would mean that lab-facilities would be required to be set-up across the country. Do we have enough working primary health care centers (PHC) where this can be set-up? For the last 5 decades India has not been able to provide the type of penetration required to reach the 600 million who live in rural to remote areas.
Many PHCs exist only on records. Among the rest, a lot of them are either only 4-wall-and-a-roof enclosures or are manned by just a 'guard' with nothing more to offer. The lacuna in the need and the 'feed' of PHCs shows itself up whenever there is an epidemic or disaster like flood requiring relief operations. Recently, several TV channels also highlighted the lack of accountability and seriousness with which critical cases of H5N1 were handled in Maharashtra.
Seeing the falling female to male ratio in several states, mainly owing to female infanticide and female-foeticide, GoI introduced a ban on ultrasound tests determining the sex of the unborn. But today, especially in the northern states like Haryana, the sex of the foetus is the worst kept secret. The fault lies only partly with advances in technology which has made ultrasound equipment mobile and compact. The bigger issue is that of determining accountability and penalizing the set-up that condones such tests. The thought behind this is noble, undeniably and should be enforced as strictly as possible. I have no recommendations for repealing this law. But what is the point if there is no tracking mechanism in place which ensures that failures in compliance are not punished sufficiently enough for them to act as deterrents to future incidents? In the last 12 years since the law was introduced, there has been 1 conviction in Delhi, recently.
There is no tracking mechanism even to continuously identify the fate of the HIV infected people in the country, so how far will the certification of people wrt their infected status succeed or help. How difficult would it be to obtain an 'uninfected' certification? As easy it would be to buy a lunch for one.
The idea behind the law does not seem to be aimed at spreading awareness about HIV and the consequential AIDS disease. The governments - state and central are already doing much in terms of this by media messages and short documentaries shown in movie theatres. NGOs are doing their bit by educating the people in street plays and village meetings. If the government thinks much is not happening, it only makes sense to improve efforts to educate the masses. Why leap when small steps are what will get you there and the leap only opens more cans of worms?
What good is a certificate? The current level of advancements in curing the disease do not promise a full recovery, but only a slowing down of the immuno-dificiency process. What would a certificate do to help this? Is it more important then that while we spread the news about how the disease can kill, we should also educate people about how to deal with people who have contracted it? A mandated certificate can easily become a tool of oppression for the victim of the disease. There is bound to be stigmatisation of the person, probable loss of growth opportunities if not loss of employment itself. This, on top of the problems that the disease itself brings along with it.
While it may be argued that it might even be easier to talk about it 'because there is a law', there is bound to be an air of complacency around the whole process. It is therefore important that people are made aware of the dangers of the disease. If they do it 'just because there is a law' for it, there is bound to be a licensed spread of the disease, a counter affect to what was originally intended.
The Indian ‘system’ is not prepared for dealing correctly with an HIV certificate accompanying a marriage certificate.
2006-03-20
Tom-tom-ing the tonne of a salary:
For the last few weeks, newspapers have been flashing news about the high-end salaries that the placement process in BIG business schools have been attracting. The sensation such news has generated has certainly not disappointed the 'placement deans' of the colleges.
It's free publicity, at the least, for the schools trying to one-up each other just as it is a tribute to the ROI factor for the schools to rave about. While such news might only consolidate the position of the premier schools in the country namely
the IIMs, the set of schools in the immediately next level of ranking have much to talk about. It is always musical chairs for the 'other best colleges' recognition and the schools do not think twice about putting up names of students who have got the best salaries.
Sensation is also created by media when they publish stories on salaries for overseas placements at Indian B-shools. While the dollar salary itself may be a staggering amount, the exhange-rate based conversion, that ignores purchasing power parity, gives a very unrealistic impression about the 'value' of an MBA job. While a salary of USD 150K may sound very realistic,and is among the best in the world, the converted amount of 70 Lakhs or so hardly meets the truth when applied to a fresh MBA graduate. It may also give an incorrect idea about the salaries at other Indian 'MBA jobs'.
The couple of beneficiary-genetlemen who have voiced their concerned on these lines have touched the right chord with other job winners this year. In the Indian context where the salary of an eligible 'boy' or 'girl' is closely viewed for marriages,
publishing such news also causes discomfort to the families involved. This, notwithstanding pesky relatives who are suddenly gleeful at the remarkable success of their 'dear one'.
Rising crime against IT community ought to raise a flag for proliferation of 'targetted crime'. Every now and then local newspapers carry stories about IT people stalked into ATMs, waylaid and drugged and robbed at knifepoint etc, across the new metros. IT people are regulary warned by their employers to practise personal safety and some are even introducing them to the concept of self-defense. They are also regularly warned by the companies not to advertise themselves by way of displaying their IDs and company batches etc. Targetted crime is not restricted to IT people, though it makes news as more young people are the victims. Industrialists have been at the receiving end for as long as one can remember. Organized criminals are always on the watch for identifying new victims and news such as the 'highest salary' tagged along with a name and photo only compromises the safety of the benefeciary or the likes of her.
The dean of IIMB has been quick to respond to the pleas of the students by announcing that they would not have press sessions post-placement from the next year. This should lay to rest any discomfort students may have felt discussing their salary which is considered a very private notion. Personally, I have not discussed the details of my salary with anyone, except my wife and parents/immediate family.
Without compromising on the sensitivities of the students, schools can actually publish statistics on salaries from the placements process. Mean, median and standard deviation numbers for the salaries could be published even on the school
websites, which many foreign schools do. Such data could be separately published for Indian job offers and overseas job offers just so that the readers get the right perspective. This should also keep the media happy as they are always comparing
B-schools for general benefit of the students without sensationalisation of a very private notion- one's salary.
For the last few weeks, newspapers have been flashing news about the high-end salaries that the placement process in BIG business schools have been attracting. The sensation such news has generated has certainly not disappointed the 'placement deans' of the colleges.
It's free publicity, at the least, for the schools trying to one-up each other just as it is a tribute to the ROI factor for the schools to rave about. While such news might only consolidate the position of the premier schools in the country namely
the IIMs, the set of schools in the immediately next level of ranking have much to talk about. It is always musical chairs for the 'other best colleges' recognition and the schools do not think twice about putting up names of students who have got the best salaries.
Sensation is also created by media when they publish stories on salaries for overseas placements at Indian B-shools. While the dollar salary itself may be a staggering amount, the exhange-rate based conversion, that ignores purchasing power parity, gives a very unrealistic impression about the 'value' of an MBA job. While a salary of USD 150K may sound very realistic,and is among the best in the world, the converted amount of 70 Lakhs or so hardly meets the truth when applied to a fresh MBA graduate. It may also give an incorrect idea about the salaries at other Indian 'MBA jobs'.
The couple of beneficiary-genetlemen who have voiced their concerned on these lines have touched the right chord with other job winners this year. In the Indian context where the salary of an eligible 'boy' or 'girl' is closely viewed for marriages,
publishing such news also causes discomfort to the families involved. This, notwithstanding pesky relatives who are suddenly gleeful at the remarkable success of their 'dear one'.
Rising crime against IT community ought to raise a flag for proliferation of 'targetted crime'. Every now and then local newspapers carry stories about IT people stalked into ATMs, waylaid and drugged and robbed at knifepoint etc, across the new metros. IT people are regulary warned by their employers to practise personal safety and some are even introducing them to the concept of self-defense. They are also regularly warned by the companies not to advertise themselves by way of displaying their IDs and company batches etc. Targetted crime is not restricted to IT people, though it makes news as more young people are the victims. Industrialists have been at the receiving end for as long as one can remember. Organized criminals are always on the watch for identifying new victims and news such as the 'highest salary' tagged along with a name and photo only compromises the safety of the benefeciary or the likes of her.
The dean of IIMB has been quick to respond to the pleas of the students by announcing that they would not have press sessions post-placement from the next year. This should lay to rest any discomfort students may have felt discussing their salary which is considered a very private notion. Personally, I have not discussed the details of my salary with anyone, except my wife and parents/immediate family.
Without compromising on the sensitivities of the students, schools can actually publish statistics on salaries from the placements process. Mean, median and standard deviation numbers for the salaries could be published even on the school
websites, which many foreign schools do. Such data could be separately published for Indian job offers and overseas job offers just so that the readers get the right perspective. This should also keep the media happy as they are always comparing
B-schools for general benefit of the students without sensationalisation of a very private notion- one's salary.
2006-03-14
Choking competition or just shooting the messenger?
A new move by the Department of Posts (DoP) is aimed at putting global logistics giants out of business in India. The likes of UPS, DHL and Blue Dart are a worried lot fearing a cut in 50% of their business in India and other smaller players are keeping their fingers crossed against a decision that might just make them close their shops.
The DoP is contemplating on introducing a law that prohibits private courier companies from carrying letters or packages lighter than 500 gms. This essentially means they private courier companies would not be allowed to carry letters/documents and small packages. In today's scenario Indian businesses rely heavily on private courier companies to carry all sorts of documents and deliver packages to their and consumers' door steps. There is greater accountability and reliability with the private companies. The move would means that books, gizmos, magazines, and anything else which can fit into a 'small package' will now be delivered solely by the Indian Postal service (IPS). We all know how fast this service has been. The slowly growing B2C e-commerce is likely to suffer a set-back.
The only service that can compare itself for speed provided by the private couriers is the Express Mail Service or EMS and it is a premium service offered by IPS. While the postal service may have the largest network, it by no means has the sophistication that the private players have been able to build into their offerings. Features like tracking a package in real time from the minute it is picked up till the minute it is delivered are some distance away, yet, for IPS. The private players also offer value added insurance features that users often find convenient. The promise of timely delivery has been unmatched by the IPS, so far.
While the ministry has been rationalizing this move as being done to amend an archaic law, about 108 years old, there has been no reason provided for why the competition should be effectively stymied all for amending a law? Why the IPS should be given an effective monopoly on light-weight packages. The implementation of the act would be against the spirit of restricting monopoly. The Postal department has been tight-lapped about it since the industry has started dissenting the move.
The act in a long shot will only give wrong signals to the FIIs who are bracing themselves for a tremendous growth that they foresee in India's pacing liberal economy. With the decisions on FDI in retail impending, and likes of Wal-mart trying to gain foothold in the Indian market, the move is bound to be unpopular with the prospective investors.
It is likely that the move may not happen the way it has been currently announced to be implemented. But the department and the Competition Ministry should work in coordination before voicing out amendments that are bound to be anti-private sector and purport to choking competition.
A new move by the Department of Posts (DoP) is aimed at putting global logistics giants out of business in India. The likes of UPS, DHL and Blue Dart are a worried lot fearing a cut in 50% of their business in India and other smaller players are keeping their fingers crossed against a decision that might just make them close their shops.
The DoP is contemplating on introducing a law that prohibits private courier companies from carrying letters or packages lighter than 500 gms. This essentially means they private courier companies would not be allowed to carry letters/documents and small packages. In today's scenario Indian businesses rely heavily on private courier companies to carry all sorts of documents and deliver packages to their and consumers' door steps. There is greater accountability and reliability with the private companies. The move would means that books, gizmos, magazines, and anything else which can fit into a 'small package' will now be delivered solely by the Indian Postal service (IPS). We all know how fast this service has been. The slowly growing B2C e-commerce is likely to suffer a set-back.
The only service that can compare itself for speed provided by the private couriers is the Express Mail Service or EMS and it is a premium service offered by IPS. While the postal service may have the largest network, it by no means has the sophistication that the private players have been able to build into their offerings. Features like tracking a package in real time from the minute it is picked up till the minute it is delivered are some distance away, yet, for IPS. The private players also offer value added insurance features that users often find convenient. The promise of timely delivery has been unmatched by the IPS, so far.
While the ministry has been rationalizing this move as being done to amend an archaic law, about 108 years old, there has been no reason provided for why the competition should be effectively stymied all for amending a law? Why the IPS should be given an effective monopoly on light-weight packages. The implementation of the act would be against the spirit of restricting monopoly. The Postal department has been tight-lapped about it since the industry has started dissenting the move.
The act in a long shot will only give wrong signals to the FIIs who are bracing themselves for a tremendous growth that they foresee in India's pacing liberal economy. With the decisions on FDI in retail impending, and likes of Wal-mart trying to gain foothold in the Indian market, the move is bound to be unpopular with the prospective investors.
It is likely that the move may not happen the way it has been currently announced to be implemented. But the department and the Competition Ministry should work in coordination before voicing out amendments that are bound to be anti-private sector and purport to choking competition.
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