Barefoot Manager

On the consuming class and the destitutes

2012-01-29T01:08:00.000-08:00

I make my way through the security and the large crowd gathered to watch a movie shooting. I pass by (now) familiar names-KFC, Taco Bell, Casio, Pizza Hut, Samsung, etc. I go to the box office and take out my Phone and check the booking number of the movie that I have booked online. I enter it into a touch enabled monitor. It throws out the ticket and I enter the movie hall. There are a couple of foreigners sipping on Minute Maid. I look around and I see people busy on their Blackberries and Iphones.
So I am at a multiplex in a mall situated in a very middle class locality in Bangalore. I am there to watch "The Descendants". The tickets are obscenely expensive. The minimum is Rs 260 and the maximum is Rs 350. The last row has these leather couches which turn into 180 degree recliners. All those recliners are taken. As the movie begins, I realise that the car Clooney drives, the phone he uses,etc are all available in India. And used by the so called "middle class".
So whats the point? The point is that the consuming middle class has increasingly become global. In 2005, Mckinsey had divided the Indian market into the "global indians" and the "aspiring class" and some more segments. In less than six years, my guess is that a large part the "aspiring class" is now part of the" global Indian" segment. This is co inciding with the recession in the developed countries.
One part on why businesses are restless with Indian policy makers is largely because of fewer opportunities available elsewhere in the globe. In an age when companies are filing for bankruptcy over a weekend, businesses are getting very impatient with Indian policymakers.

So while the middle class educated Indians are enjoying the fruits of their labour, it is a disturbing trend about the" have nots". In developed countries, the have-nots have started believing that they will now become "have never". In India that pessimism is not there as yet. But it will only be a matter of time before the middle class will be accused of being parasitic.Of not having done enough to ensure that income disparity is reduced.

In that regard, opportunities for the less fortunate should be made available. In my own case, I have been extremely fortunate to have been given the opportunity and choice by a "welfare" state. The whole of my education was subsidised by the government. So it is surprising that many of us are for privatising large part of the education system. Perhaps we are more proud of IIPMs than IIMs!

We need to understand that most of us today who are working in top notch companies, having globe trotting careers are a product of a welfare state and maybe brought up by a generation of parents who believed education was the best investment! And that education was available to all who were willing to work hard.

While we can be extremely proud that most of us are living a life comparable to those of the developed world, we need to be on a constant vigil to avoid the mess that they find themselves in today!

Aligning

2012-01-25T09:09:00.000-08:00

If you keep hearing this word too often at your workplace or on a project you are spearheading, be sure that tough times lie ahead."Nitin, we need to align XYZ...." or "Going ahead, ABC Dept would need to be aligned". You can bet on it that pace of work will significantly reduce once you start aligning people.

Does that mean aligning people should not be done? Isnt it prudent to involve people so that everyone is aware of what you are upto? Certainly. But not when its related to innovation or a shift from the "normal". Aligning people should be limited to "FYI". Sad but true, top managers who have a bias for action will not waste their energy in aligning people which includes "buy-ins".

In fact one has to realise that most meetings which are held in organisations to discuss proposals are merely an attempt to give autocracy a facade of democracy. And in an increasingly fast environment, aligning people may be a waste of time and resources. More importantly, it can paralyse an organisation on a certain project leading to low motivation, lack of focus and procrastination.

Week 2 of '12

2012-01-15T09:45:00.001-08:00

As I sit in my small room in Bangalore to write about the past one week, I realise that the road to achieve excellence is a tough one. If the first week ended with a presentation to the Marketing Director, this week had me present the findings of my research to the Managing Director. Honestly, I did not expect to be in front of Rajeev Bakshi (our MD) within seven months in the job. But that is a perk one gets when one works with the Strategy Head.

He was satisfied with our work. But then, as my boss told me later, managers have a bias for action. So as per Rajeev's advice, we got into the execution mode and made a prototype of the project which will go live next week.

This meant that another weekend was spent in the office. The extremely asocial life that I lead now affords me the luxury of spending most of my waking hours in office. But I am not sure how long will this work life be sustainable. As long as I am enjoying what I am doing, it pretty much does not matter.

This week, I started getting "pings" and calls from my juniors from IRMA. Even those who never spoke to me! I realised that they now enter that phase where certain tough calls have to be made. In other words, its placement season. The question they asked me was largely revolving around " How should I prepare for METRO?". Surprising since the two years in IRMA should have prepared you for all the jobs in the market. But then we dont live in an ideal world. Rather than matching the job to our skills, we tend to match our skills for the jobs. This of course leads to job discontent in the long run.

However, I refrain from giving such advice personally. I realise that its a tough period for them. And I also realise that post placement, they will realise that even this event like the one getting into IRMA are small and even negligible to the larger role that so many other things will come to play in our lives!

Hopefully, the next sunday I blog, I will have executed a pretty good pilot with some good results! Amen to that!

The week that was....

2012-01-08T05:22:00.000-08:00

It has been a long time since I blogged. Perhaps my life is not as exciting as it was in IRMA. Or maybe I have fewer issues to write about. But the time is right to start off blogging again. Perhaps 2012 will be laden with events, experiences that will push me to note them down here.

I was in Mumbai for the New Year. No particular reason to be there except to be with the family. Also, I realised I had not taken any leave and most of it would lapse. Hence I took a couple of days off and went home. The break was much needed as the first week of the new year was going to be very hectic.

Currently, I am working with the Strategy Head on a business plan. The market analysis was to be presented to the Marketing Director. Hence most of my waking hours were spent in the office. The presentation went off smoothly. If the week was hectic, the weekend was as lazy as it could get.

Hopefully, the the remaining 51 weeks would be as productive as this week was. With some books lined up for reading, I think it is time to read, and apply it to my life;professional and personal as well.

What is the 'Purpose'?

2011-11-06T01:22:00.000-07:00

An IRMAN in a corporate job can lead to some difficult questions. I have had the opportunity of bumping into some eminent alumni at airports, but avoided interacting with them for the fear of revealing to them where I work.

That is less disconcerting than the questions I ask myself every night. "What is the purpose?" is something that the Prof KVR, one of IRMA's legendary professors once told us to ask ourselves. If the purpose is ensuring a good bank balance, then probably we are not doing something right. That is more or less achieved once you pass out of a good B school and you are lucky to be living in a high growth economy.

I think the question "What is the purpose?" is less philosophical than most of us think. It is in fact a very pertinent question for managers. There is no definite answer. But it is a question we must answer. Managers in the current scheme of things are as powerful as heads of nation states and religious leaders. As leaders of coporations, they wield immense power. As the financial crisis of 2008 showed, managers can create havoc if they do not manage properly.

For the last two months, I have been in an operations role handling activities of a New Store Opening for my company. As I handle warehousing which means ensuring that the right goods arrive at the right time, the purpose is to ensure that goods worth more than 10 million are in my store and on the shelves. This involves working with manual labourers. The bigger purpose as a manager, is to reduce drudgery. It is to ensure smooth operations. It is basically to follow basic principles of management. Most of us do not care if the manual labourers work 14 hours a day. Or if we keep the truck waiting at the dock because my documentation process is slow. But it affects all of us. For example, I see truck drivers who have transported goods from far off places. They are deprived of sleep and proper food. The only thing they are concerned is about unloading the goods and leaving. If as a manager, I keep them waiting because my documentation process is time consuming, it affects them adversly. We all hear about truck accidents dont we?

So the purpose as a manager is to reduce drudgery, to make life easy for those who are working for me. Because in the scheme of things, they will only follow directions. As a manager the purpose is to give directions which ensures effectiveness and make work little less stressful while being aligned to the company goals.

Management jargon demystified- A corporate newbies guide for MBA aspirants

2011-09-30T23:22:00.000-07:00

"What have you specialized in?" is a common question that people ask freshly minted MBAs. The answer to that one is usually marketing, operations, HR, finance, etc. Some even specialise in strategy! However, once you pass out from a B school and enter an organisation reality hits you! The above management functions take on a whole new meaning. This is roughly what they mean to me after having been in an organisation for 4 months.

Marketing = Selling my company's value proposition/offer (and not a product) to kirana stores in slums of Mumbai! Now, not even Kotler can help me with that.
Operations= Spending twelve hours in the Goods Receiving Area with truck drivers for company.
Strategy= Making ppts with interesting charts and diagrams and talking GAS ( similar to the "we are selling an offer and not a product mentioned above)

On a serious note, I think an MBA tag makes it even tougher to gain acceptance in the organisation. Humility and empathy are the most important traits required for winning the trust of many in the organisation who believe that a mere MBA is not sufficient and will always look to point out flaws in your work. So while an MBA might ensure a hefty pay packet and a great start designation wise, it also invites ire and discontent of many for the same reason.

Harish Hande-The man who lights up lives!

2011-09-08T12:25:00.001-07:00

It was sometime in Jan 2010 that Ifirst heard about SELCO. One our alumnus, Thomas Pullenkav was on a panel which was discussing social entrepreneurship during IRMA’s B school fest Udaan.

Thomas was one of the first employees of SELCO. His talk on his (then) company was fascinating. After the panel, SELCO was an organization everyone wanted to intern at for the summers. However, some practical difficulties ruled out SELCO for me. Their stipend minus accommodation in Bangalore was a disappointment. Also, they wanted engineers! One of my batchmates did intern at SELCO and had a good experience.

SELCO again came up when a doctoral student at IRMA gave a lecture on social entrepreneurship. SELCO was used to discuss the issues surrounding scaling of a “social enterprise”. In one more panel discussion, Prof. Sriram pointed out the stringent process that Harish Hande followed in accepting capital from various sources particularly the for profit venture funds. A case study in the rural marketing class drove home the point that SELCO’s business model was something that had many people fall in love with it.

Therefore I was extremely happy when news about Hande receiving the Magsaysay award reached me. That he has received this honour in a short period of time (SELCO has been in existence since 1995) is an indication of the wonderful impact that he has had on the communities whom he sought to serve when he set up SELCO.

India needs many more Harish Handes!

Life in a METRO....

2011-08-23T09:09:00.000-07:00

....has been about travel, travel and some more travel.

I have been living out of a suitcase for more than a month. And since this travel is undertaken all alone, it gets very, very boring at times. The learning curve is very steep. And that counts more than anything else!

Personally, it has dawned on me that I will have to live alone for some time to come. It does help that one of your siblings lives in the same vicinity as you do in a new city. Since my roommate, my office colleagues and friends are the same set of people, it helps to get away and spend some time with someone who knows you since birth!

Also realised that I have, more or less, been out of sync with friends from home. And hence I suddenly find myself completely on a new base to build new and hopefully more long lasting friendships! I alsways questioned the rationale of long term relationships and in my case I have been proved right as far as friendships are concerned.

But life must go on and it will.....

Missing from blogging....

2011-08-08T05:42:00.000-07:00

Apologies for not blogging earlier. In fact, there is so much to write but some technical and logistical problems prevent me from publishing posts. These include but not limited to

NO NET. I am not a great believer in blogging during my office hours. In Bangalore, I do not have a personal laptop nor a net connection.
I am living out of a suitcase for the last month or so. Been on the road to Delhi, Jaipur, Bombay. My company laptop does not allow me to log on via a wi fi connection.
And maybe I have not tried hard enough.

So as I sit in a small cafe in a dingy alley in Jaipur surrounded by phoren tourists, I vow that I shall find a way to update this blog more often. Worst case scenario is September 1st week, when I head home to Mumbai for a quarter. My personal laptop and a wi fi connection awaits there. Maybe then there would be deluge of postings...in case if anyone is still interested in reading what I write.

First Impressons of Bengaluru...

2011-06-22T11:00:00.000-07:00

Very good weather, love it !!!

Auto guys are no match for the Mumbai autowallahs...The bangalore guys just rip you off

The authorities seem to be in love with speed breakers. They even put up speed breakers on fly overs.

People are very friendly. I guess that is a trait common to all parts of India.

Shifting to Bengaluru......

2011-05-24T01:16:00.000-07:00

...for better livelihood opportunities!!!

EPW edition on Cash Transfers

2011-05-22T11:30:00.001-07:00

This week's edition of the EPW is devoted to Cash Transfers as a policy measure. It contains several articles which are for and against the move towards cash transfers.
The debates on cash transfers have intensified in the last one year. Highly satisfying to see that I worked on a project in a course at IRMA on this cash transfer aspect.

The Govt. phobia at IIMs

2011-05-16T00:14:00.000-07:00

The IIMs want the government out of their affairs. What this will do is that the IIMs will become no more than a placement agency for Indian and more so for foreign business houses.
The IIMs will be completely dependent on the industry for meeting expenditure. I am afraid this will lead to a real loss of "autonomy". There is a conspiracy theory ( conspiracy since I have only heard this from the alumni) about a B school in the eastern part of the country which give out favourable reviews of rehabilitation projects of mining companies only because a large part of revenue is derived from these companies which conduct MDPs for their executives in this B school.
The IIMs have to realise that they are a "management"institute and not a Business school. They also conduct research studies which are supposed to be unbiased and in line with the best interests of the society. This will be lost as they depend on large corporations for revenue generation.
When the government is extending a warm welcome to professionals from private sector (Nandan Nilekani of UIDAI, Arun Maira in the Planning Commission), why are the IIMs so keen on getting the government out of their affairs.
Also, the IIMs especially A, took on Murli Manohar Joshi when he decided to reduce fees. The same IIMs did not even complain when Arjun Singh autocratically and cunningly raised the quotas for OBCs. All of them increased their intake quietly.
There is a protest though against this vocal desire of getting "autonomy". Prof. TT Rammohan, a senior faculty member of IIMA has questioned the rationale of asking the government to leave the IIMs to run on their own.
I think it time the IIMs delve into some introspection and there would be no better guiding light than the vision of each IIM which would always look at IIMs as more than just producing managers for business houses.

Jean Dreze on Conditional Cash Transfers

2011-05-11T06:38:00.000-07:00

Jean Dreze in an Indian Express article is not too gung-ho about cash transfers. He does raise some interesting issues. But, given the excitement of UID being a panacea for leakage issues, I see Cash Transfers being a reality pretty soon.

'We are Poor but so Many'-The Story of Self Employed Women In India

2011-05-11T02:50:00.000-07:00

Ela Bhatt is an extra-ordinary personality. Her life long dedication towards upliftment of self-employed women has been appreciated and honoured all around the world. Hence, when I received a copy of her memoir (We are Poor but so Many/OUP/INR 345), I enthusiastically started to read it. And read one must, if one has to appreciate the determination, innovativeness and doggedness of self employed women in today's economy. One also appreciates how much is to be done for ensuring that a large section of society, no less productive and no less hardworking than the 'organised sector' does not get a raw deal in our quest for achieving high economic growth.
The book starts with Elaben (in Gujarat, women are addressed as ben meaning sister) recounting how, a lawyer brought up in a rich family, was attracted towards working for the self employed women due to her huband's own work towards the poorer sections of society.
As a lawyer, Elaben started her career in the Textile Labour Association (TLA) in 1955. During the strikes, she realised what an important role women played in ensuring that households get by with minimum income. When the men of the house were out attending rallies, the women carried out odd jobs to make ends meet. Yet, no one recognised this vital role! This led her to form SEWA (Self Employed Women's Association) in 1972.
The book goes on to recount struggles against the bureaucracy (the registrar not ready to form the co-operative since the women were illiterate), the Government (SEWA has been known to take a different stand than the one taken by Modi during and after the riots), market actors (medical shop owners issuing physical threats to women manning the SEWA medical shops), etc.
The book is divided into various chapters on the basis of the occupation of its members and on the interventions. It is amazing to see how women engaged in occupations like rag picking, garment stitching, hawking groceries, mid wives, etc have come together to uplift themselves.
One can feel that Elaben has understated her own efforts.Nowhere one can find Elaben glorifying her own work. In fact, her co-workers who came from backgrounds similar to the members of the union provided her the strength to carry on the good work.
In fact the idea of owning one's bank came from a member who when told by Elaben that a bank requires a considerable amount of money retorted "We are Poor, But so Many"! The work done
by her co workers is immense. That many of them were illiterate and poor accentuates their contribution in building such a large organisation.
SEWA has also benefited from professionals who usually came down as interns from top Universities but stayed back and have made a meaningful contribution to SEWA. So you have Renana Jabvala who came with degress from Yale and Harvard to conduct a study but never left. Jayshree Vyas, a CA who is the MD of the Bank. Mirai Chatterjee, that wonderful personality who won many an admirer when she came for a pre placement talk at IRMA, with a Harvard and John Hopkins degree who looks at the health co-operative, etc.
What comes through in the book is this-inspite of SEWA being such an established name, it still has to struggle to get the administration and the bureaucracy's support for its programmes. One can only wonder the difficulties that smaller NGOs/producer companies, etc have to go through for undertaking their activities.
Also, all our social security measures for labour are directed at the organised sector. This sector does not constitute more than 10% of our workforce. The remaining part constitutes the "unorganised" sector. This sector is responsible for the "low cost" economy. They are all around us. And yet there is no adequate social security measures for this vast section of our population.
Hence, Elaben philosophically asks in the end " In India where a majority of workers fall outside of this current definition of work, perhaps it is time we asked, what is Karma?"

( Prof. Sriram has written a beautiful and personal review of the same book which can be accessed here)

The Vodafone Experience

2011-05-06T07:13:00.000-07:00

Since I am on a "customer providing feedback" spree, let me recount my experience with Vodafone. Now, there have been several experiences but I will limit myself to the latest experience.
Vodafone, and I am sure this will be true of other operators also, does not care about pre-paid customers.The ARPU (Average Revenue Per User) in the prepaid category would not be more than 15% of that of the post paid category. I would hazard a guess that Vodafone is in fact making losses on the prepaid category. I arrive at this conclusion since it charges 50 paise for three minutes when you talk to a customer care executive. This is free for post paid customers. Also, 9 out of 10 times, a pre paid customer will never be able to connect to the customer care executive. When you press the number which, as the IVRS tells you, will connect to the customer care executive, you are merely sent back to the original menu!
Now, last week the operator did not activate my internet services. I was forced to call the customer service guys from my Dad's phone (which is a post paid connection) and tell them about the non-activation of the service. A week and several calls later, they were as clueless as I was. The standard answer I got was "It will start tonight". So I finally forced them to register a complaint and give me a docket number. Now, the executive will try his level best not to give you a docket number. Not by trying to resolve the issue but merely frustating you. The main weapon is keeping you on hold for more than half an hour.
After receiving the docket number, I shot off a mail to the nodal officer. Now the minute you write to the nodal officer, these guys suddenly start treating you like a valuable customer. A series of calls later, they fixed my problem and sent me a mail stating the same.
So, it is not necessary to believe that multi nationals are a cut above the rest when providing customer services. Imagine what would have happened if I did not have access to a post paid connection and I did not have the free time to pursue this issue with them.
A neo-classical economist would obviously tell me that I would rationally move onto another operator. And more so now, since switching costs are relatively low given the introduction of MNP (Mobile Number Portability). But, I will not as I believe that "the known devil is better than the unknown devil"

The SBI customer experience

2011-05-05T09:52:00.000-07:00

Since I would be starting my career next month, I thought I might as well do some financial planning. The first step was to open a PPF (Public Provident Fund) account. One can open a PPF account at the Post Office (you can do it through an agent as well) and at an SBI Branch.
I decided to open one through the SBI since it provides the facility of electronic transfer through my savings bank account.
The branch below my building does not conduct this business and hence I had to go to a fairly distant SBI to open an account. This is my experience with the "Banker to every Indian"
There is one lady who is only responsible for the PPF business. She was very kind and helped me fill the form (not that it is a difficult one). I filled it up and gave it to her with proof of identity and proof of residence (Hail Weber's bureaucracy). Surprisingly, she cannot check the documents. For that one has to go to the "operations" manager. Now this guy goes through the documents at his own pace. In the meantime, he has all the officers coming to him for permissions regarding allowances for certain deviations. HE is the BOSS. He also finds time to call up customers and ask them if they have indeed sent some person (a domestic help) with a cheque. He checks my documents and then logs on to my SB account. Surprisingly, he doesnt find my signature in their records! He asks me whether I had faced cases of cheques being dishonoured. I say a yes only to find him asking me the reason given by my Branch. A bit shocked, I said that the reason given was "signature does not match with original". The fact was that they had never scanned my signature. For the past two years, they have dishonoured three of four high value cheques. I decided to go to my branch once this PPF business was over.
After verifying my documents, he tells me to go back to the lady and fill up a pay in slip. I do the needful and before I could submit the documents to the lady for opening up the account, I find that she has gone for lunch. After half an hour, I go to her and she opens up an account. I thought that was it. But she tells me to go back to the operations manager and take an account number. I go back to the manager and he tells me to come back next week as the branch manager is not there!! I protest and he asks me to give a cheque ( I had intended to give cash)! I give him the cheque and he tells me to come back next week. Resigned to my fate, I give back the documents to the lady and ask her whether the PPF account would be automatically linked to my online profile. She answers in the negative and points to another person in the bank. Tired of documention, I tell her I will do that next week and head back to my SB account branch to resolve the signature issue.
At my branch, the operations manager checks my account, and with an indifference attitude, tells me to fill one more form. I enquire as to whether my PPF account cheque would bounce and he answers in the affirmative. A bit angry, I tell him to hasten the process of getting my signature on their records.
Today, I downloaded the Bank Code of Conduct and was planning to write a complaint. While the document was downloading, I logged into my SBI account and I see that a PPF account has been opened. They have transferred the amount to the account (so the cheque did not bounce) and the PPF account has been linked to my account.
Do these guys at the branch do this purposefully so that I can be delighted later and probably sign off a blog post, not as an irate customer but as a delighted one? I dont know!!

Playing with semantics

2011-04-29T02:21:00.000-07:00

In the highly popular book '1984', citizens of Oceania speak a language called "Newspeak". The book is about dystopia and the language was devised to meet the idealogical needs of Ingsoc, or English Socialism. The purpose of this language was to prevent free thought.Radical?

Not really because we see it happening around us today. In his book 'The economics of Innocent Fraud' noted economist and diplomat J.K.Galbriath points out in the chapter 'Renaming the system' how we have supplanted words to make certain systems more palatable to the general public. The most startling example is of course the substitution of the word "capitalism" by the word "Free Market". The word "free" is so positive that anyone will tend to believe that it is the best economic system in place and that any role of the state is undesirable and harmful.

As I think on similar lines, I see that the word "economic growth" is now used sparingly and is replaced "inclusive growth". Similarly, the word microfinance is hardly used. Financial inclusion is the buzz word among bankers and policy makers.

All in all, George Orwell was indeed someone who had good predicting ability!

IRMA Convocation-Photos and some words

2011-04-28T00:37:00.000-07:00

I finally convocated from the Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA). It was a wonderful experience to receive the angavastram and the degree from Y.K.Alagh and Vice President of India respectively.

What was even more exciting was the fact that I was on stage (like all my batchmates) and stalwarts including Prof. Sriram, Dr. Amrita Patel (Chairperson, NDDB), Rural Development Secretary of Gujarat Govt., Apurva Oza , CEO of AKRSP (I) and Y.V.Reddy, Former RBI governor were in the audience applauding the entire batch. A heady feeling for sure!!!!

Jean Dreze on Basu's idea:A more nuanced view

2011-04-23T05:20:00.000-07:00

Unlike Sainath who wrote a very shallow article against Basu's idea about harassment bribes, economist John Dreze, a member of the National Advisory Council has a trenchant article against the idea published in the Indian Express.

P Sainath on Kaushik Basu's idea

2011-04-22T12:12:00.000-07:00

My earlier post on the harassment bribes idea by Kaushik Basu had a comment deriding the idea.

P.Sainath, the rural affairs editor of Hindu has criticized the entire idea in a column he wrote for the Hindu.

Read the comments that readers have left below that article. And you understand why P Sainath is really no more than a journalist who likes to whip up sentiments and emotions and nothing more ala the television anchors on news channels.

How fast food chains enhance decision making ability

2011-04-21T00:57:00.001-07:00

In emerging economies, fast food chains like Mcdonalds, Dominos Pizza,et al have come under attack for destroying local food habits and americanisation of culture. In fact, there is a slow food movement against the fast food onslaught which has been started in Europe. Of course in India, all these chains had to adapt their menus to meet the Indian taste bud requirements.
Even though they have a limited menu, the choices they give in terms of product bundling (Ever faced with the "Sir, would you like a soft drink?" and you answer yes and then he asks you for the brand,the size(small, medium ,large) and then he does the same for your fries, sauces , etc?) is enormous.
In fact, this seemingly endless choice even made the great Prof. Yunus fear American restaurants when he was a Fulbright Scholar. He says in his book 'Banker to the Poor'(pp43) on how he was given so many choices when he had ordered for eggs at a restaurant.
The most funny rant of such endless choice comes from the movie "You got Mail" starring Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks. Joe Fox played by Tom Hanks has this take on Starbucks in the movie

The whole purpose of places like Starbucks is for people with no decision-making ability whatsoever to make six decisions just to buy one cup of coffee. Short, tall, light, dark, caf, decaf, low-fat, non-fat, etc. So people who don't know what the hell they're doing or who on earth they are can, for only $2.95, get not just a cup of coffee but an absolutely defining sense of self: Tall. Decaf. Cappuccino.

(Disclaimer: The post is on a lighter vein. Except watching "Food Inc" and newspaper articles which cover such protests I really am not well informed on such protests.)

Harassment Bribes: Kaushik Basu's new idea

2011-04-18T10:57:00.000-07:00

The 2G scam and the Anna Hazare movement has galvanised the media and large sections of the population to lash out at the powers that be against corruption.However, all I could hear was criticism (even at the jan lok pal bill) and no constructive argument on how to curb corruption. Until of course, Kaushik Basu's trenchant working paper titled "Why for a class of bribes, the Act of Giving a bribe should be treated as legal" came out on the finance ministry's website
Its a very well written paper. He argues that bribe givers who are forced to give bribes to receive legal entitlements should not be treated as criminals. Currently the law does not distinguish between bribe giver and bribe taker. Basu says that incidence of such bribes (he calls them "harassment bribes") will go down once the bribe giver is given legal immunity. Under this scenario, since the interests of the bribe giver and the bribe taker are orthogonal, the bribe giver will want to report such instances of harassment bribes because he will no longer be considered as abetting the act of bribery and also he will receive the amount he gave to the bribe taker. In other words, the comfort zone that currently exists between the two parties will not exist under the proposed change.
Of course, he states that in case of non-harassment bribes, the bribe giver should not have legal immunity but the punishment meted out to the bribe taker should be substantially higher.
Of course, there are caveats in place. Basu says that giving such immunity will not lead to complete disappearance of bribes in our society.Other important steps like use of e-technology to minimise the interface between the public servant and the citizen would be helpful in curbing corruption. Also, it is only when we build up values of honesty and integrity in society will be there a great reduction in corruption. Of course, Basu does contend that economics as a subject considers human beings as endlessly self-seeking.But he does provide evidence that we are not always endlessly self-seeking and that market economies (which we are trying to build) will not be efficient unless human beings are endowed with a minimal amount of integrity and pro-sociality.

(For those interested in reading the full working paper, here is the link)

Har Galli main Hoga ek IIM

2011-04-16T11:42:00.000-07:00

IIMs are part of the great Indian middle class (with the hike in fees, maybe the upper middle class) dream. Since only few of us can manage to get into it, there have been several people who have started their own Institutes and made a killing!
Since the brains sitting in Delhi believe growth is the panacea for all ills, they have gone about setting up IIMs everywhere. Ranchi, Shillong, Rohtak, Trichy (and I used to think Anand is remote), etc are where these IIMs have been set up or will be set up.
I always thought setting up an IIM is a tough task! In fact, I thought it was a romantic task when you set up an educational institution as big as an IIM.
The romanticism is captured in what Ravi J Mathai, founding Director of IIMA and founding member of IRMA has said "Building of an Educational Institution is an act of Faith, faith in your beliefs, in your vision, in those whom you work and in their accomplishments
Wonder any of the founding directors of current IIMs will feel the same way

Speeches by the top guys at RBI

2011-04-12T00:36:00.000-07:00

The RBI has a "speeches" link on its website which hosts the speeches given by RBI governor and the deputy governors. The speeches surely help in understanding various aspects of finance and economic concepts including topics like inflation, inclusive growth, etc. The most interesting one was by the RBI Governor where he spoke on the dilemma of Central Banker's communication strategy to the general public.

Dr V.Kurien

2011-04-01T06:40:00.000-07:00

It's surprising that in these two years I have hardly mentioned Dr. V. Kurien in my blog postings.I have had the good fortune of interacting with him once. Though his health has deteriorated he was very affectionate and was more than happy to answer our questions and submit to our demands of numerous photographs and autographs.
At IRMA, Dr. Kurien finds mention only during the induction week when the Amul Story is screened. Of course, some courses like Management of co-operatives and Rural Development Interventions include articles which have been written by the great man.
It is a sad fact that most people recollect his unceremonious exit from IRMA rather than the efforts that he put into this great institute.His exit of course was always mired in secrecy. Until Prof. KVR explained the circumstances in which he was forced to leave IRMA.
There are several stories about the great man. I cannot substantiate how much of it is true and how much of it has been made up. The story of how when a faculty member repeated verbatim the mission of IRMA,while disagreeing to a decision of Dr. Kurien was told by the great man " I am the mission of IRMA, so please sit down" is always told with great amusement.He deliberately made the paths to our hostel blocks long and winding instead of straight and short to make us realise that in life there are not shortcuts to success. His driver recounted how he used to tap the pillars of IRMA while it was being constructed to check if the correct proportion of materials was used.
Today as I leave IRMA, there is an overwhelming sense of sadness. This only after living here for two years. I can only imagine what the great man must have gone through when he was asked to leave after having built and nurtured this institution for 25 years!!
Like all other IRMAns, I too have a great sense of gratitude towards the milkman of India.I thank him for making me part of this great history which he and Tribhovandas Patel scripted! Thank you Dadu! And I wish you well!

Abhijith Banerjee bats for DCT

2011-03-28T05:44:00.000-07:00

Today's Indian Express carries an op-ed by economist Abhijith Banerjee on direct cash transfers.Abhijith Banerjee is at the Jameel Poverty Lab at MIT. He along with Esther Dufelo had come out with a paper sometime last year on microfinance where they challenged the conventional wisdom of microfinance being an effective tool in poverty alleviation.
In this article he talks about UID making DCT much easier. With such support for DCT, I think DCT will be a reality sooner than later!

Takeaway from IRMA

2011-03-27T12:12:00.000-07:00

I have completed all my academic requirements last week. Unless any faculty member is a sadist, I shall receive my PRM degree from the Vice President of India in the last week of April.
So what are the key takeaways for a PRM graduate? I list down some of them. Of course each person will have his/her own takeaways. But this is my blog and hence my takeaways
1.Excellence in everything that you do- The institute expects you to deliver excellence everytime and in everything. This quality can be seen in all the institutions that Dr. Kurien built. Also, given the stupendous achievements of our alumni, excellence is a hygiene factor in any IRMAns work!
2.Ambiguity is fine- What is rural? what is the difference between rural management and development studies? Globalisation or localisation? Are most issues "either or" or "and" issues? These questions always confronts a student when he is doing his coursework. Further, he faces so many paradoxes in the field. This prepares him for the ambiguity that every manager will face in his worklife. Thus, an IRMAN develops a high tolerance to ambiguity.
3.Integrity- I am saddened by the fact many of my batchmates resorted to unethical practices in exams. But IRMA is known to produce managers of integrity. And Integrity does pay in the long run.While one might say that people with integrity will lose the race, the truth is that they are running a different and a more fulfilling race.
4.The "Sector"- I am not joining an organisation which is a "sector" organisation. But as one of the best professors in IRMA, Prof KVR told us, it really doesnt matter where we go as long as we do our work with integrity, excellence and discipline. I am not a great supporter of this sector romance.Work as long as you get the kick out of it.
5.Get on the field- I know of some idiots who believe that only the fieldwork segment should have the village stay. They prefer to do their internships in cities. My takeaway is that more time you send in rural and semi-urban areas, the more you will be able to differentiate yourself from the normal MBAs.
6. Beauty lies in the simplicity- We had this rubbish band coming to IRMA and perform for a large sum of money. Their tantrums were absolutely stupid. And then there were Magsaysay awardees, padma winners who came across as people who followed the doctrine of "simple living, high thinking". A lesson in humility is definitely a key takeaway!
Finally, after a serious illness and consequent hospitalisation, taking care of ones health is a key takeaway. I have lost precious time due to sickness issues. Hence, health is truly wealth.And in a place like IRMA, there is certainly no time to recuperate and expect to not lose out on the academics.
Of course, these are many more takeaways. But suffice to say, that these two years has been a tremendous learning experience! And I shall forever remain indebted to IRMA for this!

Prof.Bhagwati on the Yunus mess

2011-03-27T11:36:00.000-07:00

Prof. Bhagwati has an interesting view on the recent dismissal of Prof.Yunus from Grameen by the Bangladesh Government.
What I liked about the article were the kind words used for the SEWA Bank and its founder Elaben. Since I am reading her autobiography, I strongly endorse Prof.Bhagwati's view on the bank!

Two good blogs

2011-03-22T13:36:00.000-07:00

Though I maintain a blog, I normally do not read blogs. Reading on a laptop is uncomfortable for me. However I liked these two blogs mentioned below
1.This blog of Ajit Chaudhuri makes for an interesting read.I do not think he maintains it now, but the collection of posts is very nice. Ajit is an alumnus of IRMA and is country head for a UK based donor agency. He comes to IRMA every year for sharing his experiences on monitoring and evaluation of projects, his personal experiences in relief work and making us evaluate live projects which his agency is planning to fund. I found him to be very engaging and interesting person. The best part of his sessions was the one on relief work. He had a stint with Care India set up by the India Today Group which undertook relief work post disasters. He spoke on setting up a hospital in Kashmir post the earthquake, working on an island post tsunami and being disconnected with the world for a period of two months, etc.His insights ranged from why one should never travel with security forces in Kashmir, how the Hizbul terrorist outfit will send volunteers for relief work and not the Lashkar, and how the Indian government planned an irrigation project in Rajasthan with the intent of making it the first barrier of defence in case our neighbour attacked us. The funny part was that the entire project was funded by the World Bank!

2.The second blog is again by an IRMA alumnus, Avinashkishore who is currently at Harvard doing his Phd. I had attended his presentation last July where he spoke about the causes of agricultural stagnation in Bihar. His blog is excellent for its Bihar coverage. Also, some of the links that he gives are very good and make for interesting read!

Reading List for the Summer

2011-03-21T12:47:00.000-07:00

Faultlines By Raghuram Rajan (Have gone through some chapters but never could sit down and complete it)
The Ascent of Money by Nial Ferguson.
The Effective Executive by Peter Drucker
Fair Trade for All by Joseph Stiglitz
Standing my Ground by Mathew Hayden
We are Poor but so many by Ela Bhatt
When the Penny Drops by R Gopalkrishnan

Getting a book for a steal

2011-03-21T06:26:00.000-07:00

I have always been a big fan of Australian batsman Mathew Hayden. Hence, I was keen to get my hands on his autobiography "Standing my ground". However the hard cover edition was available for Rs 600 at book stores in Mumbai.
In Anand, I usually order books at flipkart.com or infibeam.com. They usually have great discounts on offer. This time however, flipkart was selling it at around Rs 550. When I checked infibeam, the price listed was Rs 150 and a discount of Rs 30 was given! I was shocked and hurriedly booked a copy. There was some delay from their end citing reasons of the book being out of stock. However, a phone call and a mail later, I received the book. The price on the website now is Rs 599!
I am not sure whether it was a mistake or a deliberate pricing strategy. My guess would be the former! But who cares, I got it for a steal!

Kiran Karnik at IRMA

2011-03-18T12:15:00.000-07:00

Just came back from a talk by Kiran Karnik, former President of NASSCOM.He spoke on issues of rural development and role of technology in poverty alleviation. He also touched on issues of social entrepreneurship and innovation.
He spoke of how UID would help in plugging leakages (largely through direct cash transfers) that are hampering effective delivery of welfare schemes. In the Q and A round that followed, I asked him about the role technology can play in identifying the the "poor". How do we solve the inclusion and exclusion problem that arises while preparing BPL lists. He was candid enough to admit that technology had a very limited role. In fact, he rightly stated that problem of exclusion is more serious than the problem of inclusion in the BPL lists.
I think identifying the poor is one of the biggest challenges we face.Universalisation is not the answer as it will lead to fiscal deficit issues!
However, it was an interesting and a nice talk with someone who has played a big role in building India's image as a global outsourcing hub!

An Evening with the Amtes

2011-03-16T12:29:00.000-07:00

I have been fortunate to meet and interact with two Ramon Magsaysay awardees during my time at IRMA. Last year I met Dr.Kurien who inspite of his bad health was as witty and may I say as proud as ever!
Today evening, we had the wonderful opportunity to interact with Prakash and Mandakini Amte who won the Magsaysay award in 2008 for community leadership for their work in Gadchiroli district. Son and daughter-in-law of the legendary Baba Amte, the Amte couple has worked with the tribals in one of the most impoverished district of Maharashtra for the last three decades.
Dr.Amte spoke of the hardships they faced when they started hemalkasa.They lived on rice, dal and some pickle for 12 years as other items were not available due to lack of infrastructure.They were serving a community which had not interacted with any other part of society. They lived on snakes, rats and red ants. Starvation deaths were normal.Immense personal sacrifices (though they dont call it sacrifice) were also made. Their son was educated in the same school they had started and had problems completing his MBBS.But the grit, commitment never wavered.
Today they have built a hospital, school which has resulted in the tribal community having their first doctors, surgeons, engineers, lawyers, etc and an orphanage for wild animals.Videos of the family playing with leopards and snakes revealed the symbiotic relationship the family had with the environment.
Extremely humble and simple, the Amte family won everyone's hearts. That one can remain so humble and simple inspite of so many achievements is indeed humbling and remarkable

Testing times at IRMA

2011-03-05T00:54:00.000-08:00

I am not talking about the silly quizzes that they take here, but about the difficult time I am having in spending these remaining days at IRMA.
In his book on Jamsethji Tata, RM Lala described the great man's ability to spot some good quality in every person he met whether be it friend or foe.
My inability to do the same with some people around me has made me start a countdown of the number of days that I will be spending here.
Or maybe its just one of the mood swings that I have wherein I detest sight of people and I start sulking about everything and anything.
I hope it gets resolved soon as I have started missing classes for the same reason.Dont want an I due to my mood swings!!

NAFED:A State owned co operative!!

2011-03-04T04:39:00.000-08:00

Today's Business Standard carries an article stating that the Central Govt. will provide a guarantee worth Rs 1200 crore to NAFED. NAFED is an agri-produce marketing co-operative. One gets to hear about NAFED when prices of commodities rise.The govt usually depends on NAFED to procure high-price commodities and sell them through govt.channels at reasonable prices.The fact that NAFED is used largely for keeping prices in check gives one the impression that it has urban consumer interests in mind rather than interests of its members i.e. farmers. In fact the bias towards urban consumers vis-a-vis producers has a long history which an IRMA alumnus Avinash Kishore highlights in one of his blog posting.
NAFED also acts as the canalising agency for agri-products in India.
Inspite of this, it has performed very badly.And hence the 1200 crore package. What is shocking is that there is a plan for the Agriculture Ministry to own 51% of the co-operative till this guarantee is present.
The reason that AMUL has succeeded is because Dr.Kurien kept ministers and bureaucrats at arm's length. He never allowed them to interfere in the functioning of co-operatives.And today, Amul is Asia's biggest food brand!
How can a co-operative be owned by the government? It is silly and disgraceful.So much for a farmer's co-operative, as the launch page of its website states!

Why IRMA?

2011-03-02T23:03:00.000-08:00

Andre Beteille,the wisest man in India, as Ramchandra Guha calls him, was at IRMA to deliver a talk on "The Middle Class." Suffice to say that it was one of the finest speeches I have ever heard in my life.
One quote of the renowned sociologist aptly captures the differentiating factor that IRMAns have compared to other B, R or D schools.

The Indian intelligentsia has somewhat mixed attitudes towards the Indian village. While educated Indians are inclined to think or at least speak well of the village, they do not show much inclination for the company of villagers

IRMA ensures that company of villagers in a village setting is provided to understand the issues with a sensitive and empathetic mind.

Success Stories by NGOs

2011-03-02T22:46:00.000-08:00

If you are a donor agency, you will receive pamphlets of various types of NGOs for funding requests. The most essential component of that pamphlet would be "case studies of success stories". In fact, one of my batchmates went all the way to Indonesia to document "success stories" of ILO interventions.
In the development world, case studies are preferred over quantitative methods. This is because outcome is as important as output. So you will have "before-after" stories of distressed farmers, widows, and all those of our society who are defined with that derogatory term- "beneficiaries". My strategy Professor, Prof.DPM has a better term. He calls them "community of interest".
Anyway, I was always suspect of such case studies.Many NGOs might just exaggerate benefits provided in order to alleviate donor concerns about how their money is being spent.There are very few donor agencies (SRTT is definitely one) which have a long term approach to poverty alleviation. Most donor agencies are similar to venture capital/private equity investors as far as time horizon is concerned.
I have always been suspect of "claims" made by NGOs. Except large NGOs like BAIF (whose work in Nandurbar I have closely watched for two months), PRADAN, AKRSP and some others, I will always take the "success stories" with a pinch of salt.

Education and Rural Development: Some unintended consequences

2011-03-02T04:05:00.000-08:00

I attended a very provocative seminar by Prof. Tripathi who has been with Allahabad University in their Organisational Behaviour Department. The seminar was based on the preliminary findings of a study conducted by him which assessed the educational impact on development indicators. The indicators were economic, social, health, gender parity and political.
The study was conducted in 12 villages in Mawana located at Meerut.The study divided the 12 villages into groups of 4 villages each-classified as low , medium and high educational levels.
The findings were very surprising.Some of them were as follows
1. Though there is positive correlation between educational level and income at the aggregate level, the SC and minorities fare much worse in high educational level villages than in the low educational level villages on the income parameters.
2.Women participation fell markedly in villages which had high educational levels.
3.Preference for male child was significantly higher in high educational level villages.
The point that Prof. Tripathi made was that the largely neo liberal policy making encouraged education for prosperity rather than education for social transformation.
It was an interesting talk, especially for those in my batch who would be joining ICICI Foundation's Centre for Elementary Education.

Does any B school go this far?

2011-02-19T09:29:00.001-08:00

IRMA has always been different. One of the differentiating factors is the convocation ceremony. The attire is white kurta pyjama and an angavastram.
What matters is the meticulous care taken to pull off the event in a perfect manner. I was reminded of this when I read the below mail sent by a staff member to the entire batch.

Dear all,

As discussed with Mr. Ahmed Fawas, Class Representative of PRM-30, we have arranged the shoe-maker to come and take the measurement of chappal for Convocation 2011. He would be coming at 3.30 pm on Monday, the 21st February, 2011 at the IRMA Students' Mess.

We, therefore, request you all to be present in the campus during that period to facilitate them to have the measurement of your chappals.

Your cooperation is highly appreciated.

IRMA placment interviews

2011-02-19T09:21:00.001-08:00

A PRM 30 batch initiative, the link below is to the blog which has postings related to interview experiences of my batchmates.

http://irmaplacements.blogspot.com/

Leaving IRMA

2011-02-19T09:10:00.001-08:00

26th March 2011: I shall be giving the last exam at IRMA.Most of my batchmates would be leaving the same night. Some are headed home while some are going on a holiday.Most of us will come back to attend our convocation during the last week of April.
Though IRMA has been a tough place for me, I know that I will shed a tear or two when the time comes to say good bye.I always feel sad when I leave a place where I have stayed for some amount of time. I had moments of sadness whenever I left the districts where I had carried out my internships. This time too it will not be different.
Hence I decided that that I will stay back in IRMA for a week after my exams get over.I want to enjoy the campus without the rush.I want to get up late every day and go on a walk in the evening. I want put out a chair in the balcony and enjoy the sunset with a hot cup of coffee.
And I will do this all the seven days that I would be here!

The road less travelled...

2011-02-18T01:03:00.000-08:00

Usually, an MBA degree suppresses ones risk taking ability. This can be attributed to two reasons. First, most of us who enroll for a MBA degree have to take an education loan. Hence, one is eager to take up a good paying job to pay off that liability.
Second, the course structure itself largely focuses on risk mitigation. These two reasons prevent MBA passouts to start their own ventures and "create" jobs rather than ask for one.
I was always fascinated whenever I read about MBA students from top B schools who opted out of the placement process to start their own venture. Hence, I was delighted to read in DNA about two of my own batchmates who have taken a bold and brave decision to start their own ventures.
I hope and pray that they are successful in their ventures and that they are able to create wealth, not only for themselves but also for many others in society.

Finally, I managed to get ahead of the curve

2011-02-15T12:36:00.000-08:00

Perhaps the consultancies that did not shortlist me should read my blog.
Some months back I had written about direct cash transfers for rural development on my blog.It was part of my Rural Development Interventions course.I was glad to read that the government is serious about implementing it in the near future.
As I bid farewell to the "development" sector as we know it, I am proud that at least I was ahead of the curve on a particular issue.

Eating out at Amravati, Sangli, Latur.

2011-02-09T11:57:00.000-08:00

The wonderful thing about living in small towns is the good food one gets at cheap prices. Anand does not qualify as there are hardly any good value for money restaurants. But the ones mentioned in the title do.
In Amravati, the canteen of the Divisional Commissioner's Office is very good. For Rs 40 you have an unlimited thali which is very good.The curries served in Vidharbha region are usually laced with a lot of soya oil which can ruin the dish. But the canteen is usually moderate with its use of soya oil.He also makes palak wadas which were responsible for me gaining weight during my internship there.
In Sangli, there is a kitchen which is run by two women which is a five minute walk from Rajwada chowk. The kitchen has no name and operates out of a small gala in a building. It was unfortunate that I found this place during my latter period of stay there.The food, priced at Rs 30 for thali is awesome. It is as good if not better than home cooked food. What adds to the taste is the warmth the two women show when they serve you food. Though it is run for commercial considerations, they treat you as guests which adds to the taste of their food. Also in Sangli, is Ganesh Nashta located bang outside the police ground en route to Miraj.It reminds me of Amar Juice Centre though the variety is limited. Its the only place outside Mumbai which served very good Pav bhaji. But, its poha stands out. No wonder it is crowded throughout the day.
Latur has many breakfast centres spread all over Ausa Road. The one that I ate at was near the ICICI Branch.Its Onion Dosa at Rs 16 was just too good. Also on the same road was a home run tiffin service which for Rs 20 served amazingly soft chapatis.
It feels terrible that I did not write down the exact names and addresses of these places.If anyone who comes acorss this post and is visiting those places would have found it useful. But these are small towns and finding many of these places would be easy.
These places were the main reason that I was able to put on weight during my two internships at SRTT and ICICI Bank.

Impact!!!!

2011-02-04T00:58:00.000-08:00

As those who have tracked my blog posting might be aware, I had been to the Vidharbha region of Maharashtra for undertaking a study on tur dal for farmer communities.
Some days back, a senior of mine who works at Basix, had this posting on his FB profile.(Yes, I had to activate my profile again to get this)

Taking Stock 1

2011-02-01T02:22:00.000-08:00

In less than 4 days, I shall know where I am headed after IRMA.
In a little more than a month and half, I shall be passing out of the hallowed portals of IRMA.
It is time then to take stock of these two years.This series of postings will include all that I felt as I went through so many different experiences in my life. And a peek at the anxieties that I shall have when I pass out as an IRMAN.

IRMA Admissions-Some Views

2011-01-29T11:09:00.000-08:00

Its that time of the year when some 400 odd individuals come to IRMA campus to give their admission interviews. Some are here out of choice, some because the coveted IIM call evaded them and some who would treat it as a mock "live" interview for the bigger IIM interviews.
I have been giving/sharing gyan on cracking IRMA for the past two years. My contribution this year will be limited to the earlier post which has a link to a research paper on IRMA admissions. Two years of management + development fundas make u allergic to sites like pagalguy.
This post is more philosophical and less practical.This will certainly not help you in answering any question that the panel asks you during the D day.
1. Many get disappointed that most of their batchmates are not like the IRMANs shown in the "barefoot manager" video. In fact, most of your batchmates will start reading about Dr.Kurien a week before placements because ITC and Amul largely base their questions on his memoir "I too had a dream". But then Kurien himself gave a number to the students who would get into development and become Kuriens. That figure was around 5%. So in all likelihood ( as I vouch for my batch), you will 5 to 6 guys/gals who will venture onto development by choice.
2.Do not be disappointed if you do not get into IRMA. In fact any B school for that matter. As Gopalkrishnan, ED of Tata Sons states in his book, only 3% of learning happens in classroom. Its not important where you graduate from, but its very important of what you make of what you have got.
3.If you get into IRMA, you will convocate with many paradoxes. All fuzzy concepts and definitions will engulf your thought process.In fact, you will learn to appreciate these contradictions and maybe help you in better decision making.
4.Finally, the journey is a very lonely one. This is a personal reflection and any elucidation will not be helpful at all. Something that each one has to go through to appreciate it.
So, any IRMA aspirant who stumbles on to this site and has enough idle time to go through this post, my best wishes!

Cracking the IRMA Interview...

2011-01-27T09:05:00.000-08:00

While I (or anyone for that matter)may not be able to provide the perfect answer on how to crack the IRMA interview, the following link will be of more than academic interest for aspirants who will be coming to IRMA in the first of February to face a panel of faculty members to gain admission to this wonderful institute.
The link (given by my batchmate Uphar) is to a paper titled "A study of IRMA admissions" by Prof. M J Arul, ex-faculty of IRMA in the area of OB. Here is the link!

The Rajan Memorial Lecture by Prof.Sriram

2011-01-22T23:58:00.000-08:00

The Rajan Memorial Lecture is an annual event at IRMA instituted in the memory of T S Rajan, an alumnus of the institute who died in an accident.
This year we had Prof. Sriram as the speaker. An alumnus of IRMA Prof.Sriram is ex-faculty member of IRMA and IIMA. For those who track the microfinance sector, Prof. Sriram is regarded as one of the top researchers in this field. But he himself would agree that his interests are much wider than just microfinance.
The topic was an interesting one and was provocatively titled "Profit or Purpose:The dilemma of Social Enterprises ." The lecture was scheduled a day before Milaap which is the annual alumni meet of IRMA. One of the events during Milaap was a panel discussion on Social Entrepreneurship. Hence this lecture was perfect in its timing.
Prof. Sriram began by dividing social enterprises into three schools of thought. The first were pure not for profit enterprises (read NGOs) where purpose was the overriding concern. The promoters of such enterprises primarily played on the motivational aspects of employees who were largely payed below market determined wages. The problem, as Sriram saw it was that these institutions had issues of scalability.The other issue was that the since employees were payed below market determined wages, they would seek higher goals and achievements ( to make up for the low wages) and may force the organisation into a mission drift. The related concern was that the employees, when not allowed to grow, might end up in some sense "commercialising"the operations (though Sriram did not use the same language). Hence profits might trump the purpose.
The second form of social enterprise is community managed institutions-cooperatives. One cannot but appreciate co operatives when one studies at IRMA. Sriram argued that these are beautifully designed organisations which aligns profit and purpose to meet member interests. However, we do not look at such organisations as "social" because they are embedded deeply in the market system. Amul is a case in point. I wonder if a large section of the consumer base of Amul are aware that it is a producer owned organisation.In co operatives, the focus is on patronage and not on capital. However, Sriram did point out the "horizon problem" that arises because members force the co operative to increase current cash flows at the expense of future earning. Also there is denial of patronage when co operatives put aside a part of earnings as reserves.
The third form of social organisation is what Sriram calls the BOP school of thought. These are market based firms which seek to integrate the poor into the mainstream economy. They adhere to the double bottomline principle-doing well and doing good. But as instances in the microfinance sector (Sriram did not touch on this sector) reveal that one attracts great scrutiny when one seeks to achieve this double bottomline. So no one will question Arvind Mills selling organic cotton jeans in its stores but Fabindia will invite scrutiny if its sells garments or products not in tune with its "purpose". So as Sriram cogently put it, where you come from and where you are headed is very important for such organisations. Governance, then is the most important issue facing "social enterprises". But, as he conceded, it was easier said than done.
His talk was peppered with several examples for each type of enterprise. Some of the examples included Christian Medical College, Sankara Eyecare, Jaipur Foot, GCMMF, etc.
It was evident and as Sriram put it-he was hard selling co operatives. Not surprising for someone who was called the "co operative purist" of IRMA by Tushaar Shah in his book " Making Farmer Co operatives Successful"
Overall, it was a pleasure to hear Sriram for the first time. Not to mention the proud feeling of seeing one's senior hold forth so beautifully on a very fuzzy topic!

Brands that I dislike

2010-12-21T09:20:00.000-08:00

This is my personal view. And its completely based on my experience with these brands.
All these brands have been huge disappointments and I have vowed not to use them again in my life. These are not rankings as all have been equally disappointing
1.Nokia-Anyone who has been to a Nokia Service Centre will vouch for the pathetic service meted out. Now, I had a problem with my keypad. Even though the product was under warranty, they charged me INR 600 for the change of keypad invoking the "conditions apply" clause. I was fine with it. However, I realised something was amiss when I was not given the part which was replaced. Many emails to Nokia and many visits to the service centre didnt help.A year after this incident, I planned to buy a mobile.This was in April 2010.Around the same time, Nokia unveiled its smartphone E5.The launch date was May 2010.But delays at Nokia, which led to the ouster of many senior managers at the firm led to the E5 hitting the market in September. By then I had shelled out an extra 3k more than what I would have had for a E5 and bought a BB. And I am a BB convert. So no more Nokias for me!
2.Acer-My brother recommended and bought a Acer laptop for me. Two weeks later I had a white screem problem which persisted even after it had been to the service centre twice in one year. It still persists. But now, I dont trust the service nor the product. Most of acer products on my campus have problems related to battery charge or DVD drives.So Its goodbye to Acer!

Mumbai under construction....

2010-12-20T10:03:00.000-08:00

....is what I tweeted when I realised that getting from the east of Andheri to the West will take me more than an hour due to the many "under construction" projects in that area. Coupled with the fact that rickshaw and bus fares have increased by more than 20% since June,travelling in Mumbai has become a nightmare.
One has to brave the Metro construction, the skywalk, the two flyovers over the Andheri bridge while travelling from Andheri East to Andheri West.The fact that none of these projects get over on time adds to the woes.
We seriously need to time these projects and also ensure that this infrastructure is sufficient for a decade or more to prevent further upgrades. If not we will be left thinking that our government took Keynes suggestion of "digging holes and filling them again" a bit too seriously.

A hypothesis about migrants in Mumbai

2010-12-20T09:45:00.000-08:00

The issue of migrants in general and those from the north in Mumbai specifically has been a burning one for many years. The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) and the Shiv Sena have been at the forefront of attacking North Indian migrants who engage in different occupations in Mumbai.
Most of the north Indian migrants engage themselves in providing a host of services;from plying rickshaws and taxis to selling groceries,etc. Most of the security guards in the private sector are also from the northern states.
I like chatting up with these people whenever I get the opportunity to do so. The usual belief is that rural to urban migration happens due to non-availability of jobs in rural areas, stagnant agriculture due to a host of reasons, etc. However the people that I have spoken to come from districts that have abundant water supply and they also owned large tracts of arable land. So these guys who ply autorickshaws and sell groceries are not really deprived of water and land in their hometowns. In other words, it is not "distress migration"
The problem I believe is that agriculture is not seen as lucrative occupation. It is also not, I conjecture, seen as a "good enough" occupation.Its also not just about livelihoods. Lack of access to good quality education can also lead to people who are earning a decent income uproot their families and base themselves in urban ghettos.
If this is indeed the case, then we need to get the manufacturing sector on a high growth path. Jobs in cities are in the service sector and this sector cannot absorb the surplus labour currently in agriculture. Factories and consequent jobs on the shop floor are needed immediately.
If not, we will see overburdened cities crumbling against rising number of migrants.

Back to IRMA

2010-12-19T01:09:00.000-08:00

After being away from my abode for 7 weeks, I am back at h34! My final internship is over and just one term remains before I become part of the alumni.
What kept me away from blogging was the constant travel, no internet connection and sheer laziness! But I have loads to write about and that I shall in the coming days!

Why IRMA was a paradigm change in Management Education in India.

2010-10-21T11:11:00.000-07:00

The late Sumantra Ghoshal was onto something radically different when he wrote his last paper "Bad Management Theories are destroying good management practices". That paper made academicians in B-Schools squirm as Ghoshal put a lot of blame of Enron, Worldcom and other scandals at the doorsteps of B-Schools. In fact, it was implicit that managers have a larger role to play in society given that the organisations they work are sometimes bigger than many nation-states.But managers are not comfortable with that role.
In this context, Indian B schools seem to have had a head start. The Week magazine profiles some "top" B schools engaging with social issues.This is commendable if it is done with the same rigour that they apply to their other internships and classroom segments of MBA.The incidence and extent of sensitisation of the students is not easy to measure.
IRMA has been doing such things for the last three decades. In fact, when I read Ghoshal's article, I feel that he should have come to IRMA to realise that there is a Management Institute which seeks to imbibe qualities of a "true" manager and does not narrow a managers interests only to an organisation.
Only if IRMA is able to stem the loss in academic rigour, it can emerge as India's top mangement Institute displacing its richer cousin from Ahmedabad from its No1 position.

Updates....

2010-10-15T00:16:00.000-07:00

Its been a long time since I blogged. Some excuses include a viral which kept me in bed for a couple of days leading to a huge backlog of assignments, and studies. It also made me miss the debating competition at IIMA.My prize money for the quiz we won at IIMA is still pending. Someone at IIMA is not teaching customer satisfaction properly! They don't reply to mail nor do they answer calls. I thought 3k would not be a big amount to dispense with for future CEOs. But I stand corrected.
I am heading to ICICI for my winters. Specifically I shall be working with the Rural Finance department. Lets see how that goes. Been some time since I dressed up in formals and entered a corporate office!
My end terms end today. 4 terms over at IRMA and I realise that it is less than 4 months to go before I venture out as an IRMAn.
Besides this, I have a lot to write. Specifically, my views on IRMA (now that I have stayed here for a year and half, I think I can attempt writing about IRMA), the geela syndrome afflicting faculty members in a well known institute of rural management in western India and other mundane issues that one gets to see on my blog!
Now , I head off for my end term paper on Derivatives!

Heading to WIMWI for the weekend

2010-09-27T13:33:00.000-07:00

WIMWI aka IIMA for the following

Dear Nitin,
Congratulations! Your team has been selected for the next round of Bone of Contention. It will be held in IIM Ahmedabad's IMDC on October 2nd, 2010.

Somehow, me and my partner Trinadh have this knack of getting through to the big ones (remember Tata crucibles) with shoddy preparation. This time the number was around 200 entries and on top of that, we submitted it late!!!
Maybe they considered our 1st place in the marketing quiz and accepted it!
The elimination round was a 300 page up write up on FOR/AGAINST Telemarketing! We wrote FOR telemarketing...Pardon the rural bias..but this is what we wrote

Hello marketing executive! Are you listening? There is Bharat beyond India! To make it simple, India rests in its 6, 00,000 villages rather than a handful of metros. This bharat is now adding millions of mobile subscribers every month. Mobile is now part of the great Indian dream of roti kapda, makan.
Marketing companies are only focusing on urban customers. The same customer who already owns three credit cards, is called by five salespeople selling five different bank credit cards! And in rural hinterland, you have millions of customers who are waiting for loans, bikes, soaps, plasma TV! And some are rich enough to pay for foreign trips (Thomas Cook, are you listening?). And they are more trustworthy. Proof? 99% repayment in microfinance industry! And yet calls are made only to urban customers who are fed up and now have availed themselves of the Do not Disturb Service (DND). So let’s stop disturbing them! The rural consumer is waiting!
But we understand the problems of reaching out to these customers. They are spread over a large geographical area, and are not physically connected due to inadequate infrastructure! BUT, they have the ubiquitous mobile phone! And incoming is FREE!!
So what are you waiting for? Refresh your database, let the urban consumer enjoy his privacy, call up his rural brethren and he will not only entertain your call, but also ensure that it is a win-win-win situation. The agency gets the commission, the consumer gets the product/service and the marketing guys get their sales.
The late C.K.Prahalad gave us the identity of the fortune at the bottom of the pyramid; we just gave its phone number! Contact them to make your fortune.

Mare ghar jhanjar laxmi ke baje......

2010-09-25T14:22:00.000-07:00

Loosely translated it means "in my house, the bells of wealth ring". This is a line from the "Amul Song" which was featured in the 1976 movie "Manthan (The churning)"
I had heard about the movie before coming to IRMA. In IRMA, which probably has the longest induction process, given its unique status as a RM school, this is one of the several movies which is screened during the induction process.I watched it without applying any of the "collective action logic" or the co-operative logic that I was to learn later. I saw it again after it was used beautifully by Prof.Raju in his co-operative class. This time there was learning in viewing that movie.
The last time I saw the movie was when my sister, who believes that I am a one stop shop for everything rural, asked me whether I had watched "Peepli Live". And as any 'urban, middle class, more in the know of whats happening in USA than in rural India' person, went on a diatribe against the Barkha Dutts, and the Rajdeep Sardesais of the world.
Fresh as I was from my internship in Vidharbha, I was interested in watching that movie.And I did. However I could not appreciate the message (if there was any) from that movie. And in fact, it made me go back and watch Manthan again!
We have largely believed that rural India is one of poverty, despair and we conjure up images of wrinkled faces standing on dry patches of land looking upwards for some relief.Peepli Live showcases that! And that has been the case for a lot of rural reporting too.Credit of course goes to P Sainath for having started this crusade against State apathy in rural India.
Peepli Live is a story of despair! Manthan is about "collective might".It is not that rural India was all about prosperity in the 70s and the situation has worsened now.
There are enough success stories in the hinterland of people using collective action.Take Niyamgiri for example. However Mr. Gandhi flew off to Orissa and made it sound like that he and his mother were responsible for the verdict and not the collective might of the tribals.
I think we have been fed too much of "rural distress" that we will never be entertained with stories depicting rural prosperity. And that is why I urge those who watched Peepli Live to go and watch Manthan. And maybe we will appreciate that it is not always outside intervention, but self intitiated action that acts as a powerful catalyst for change.

I am still a management graduate

2010-09-21T01:20:00.000-07:00

Those reading my blog might be convinced I am a development wallah , I am essentially a management graduate!
Proof of that is the results of an IIMA marketing quiz held on the 20th of September 2010. (Please click on the picture to enlarge)

Corporate Social Responsibility: An effective business strategy

2010-09-18T10:39:00.000-07:00

Adam Smith, in his book ‘An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of Wealth of Nations’ wrote “It it not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest” (emphasis mine). That was in 1776 at the height of mercantilism marked by small scale producers using traditional means of production. Thus each man’s self interest manifest in the invisible hand of the market advanced public interest. Corporations, as we know them now, did not exist then.
However beginning from the late eighteenth century, the invisible hand of the market was tamed by “visible hand” of managers who came to work for large corporations. Today, many business corporations are larger than many nation states economies. They have assumed a dominant position in society. Instances of power abuse by corporations as seen in cases ranging from Enron to British Petroleum’s oil spill and not forgetting the “too big to fail” financial institutions, have created a negative image of corporations among members of society .
In light of such negativity surrounding business corporations, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is seen by people as an attempt by corporations to prevent backlash from governments at best and to create barriers to entry for new players at worst. (The latter part can be explained by an example of a big organisation lobbying for strict environmental stipulations so as to prevent smaller organisations from entering the business due to high capital costs of buying eco friendly machines). There are also those who feel CSR is nothing but a waste of money. They argue that the purpose of business is business. A corporation’s aim is to maximise shareholder value and any attempt to indulge in CSR is a symptom of the principal- agent problem as defined in agency theory (managers undertake CSR using shareholder money to further their own social and political interests).
The above views (one that sees CSR as nothing but a façade and the other as an agency theory problem) do have some merit. This is largely due to the fact that CSR is seen as a residual activity-something that is done after profits are earned and shareholders are rewarded; or as a Public Relations (PR) tool. Until organisations understand that CSR can become a source of sustained competitive advantage, and incorporate it in their business processes, the above views will continue to hold merit.
In light of above arguments, it is pertinent to ask, “What is CSR?” CSR can be defined as actions that appear to further some social good, beyond the interests of the firm and that which is required by law. Companies that are able to leverage this “social good” will earn higher profits when CSR is incorporated in the business strategy.
This requires a fundamental shift in how businesses view “business” and also how they perceive “CSR”. Business is not only about shareholders. The exclusive focus on shareholders has been criticised in management literature. In fact the view of CSR being a principal-agent problem has been negated by the stakeholder theory which views that firms have relationships with many constituent groups (society, employees, suppliers, customers) and that these stakeholders affect and are affected by the firm’s actions.
So how does CSR make an effective business strategy? If seen from the stakeholder theory, the ethical behaviour of firms will enable them to achieve a competitive advantage, because they will develop lasting, productive relationships with these stakeholders. Management researchers have argued that Corporate Social Performance (CSP) (CSP is wider term than CSR and also includes social responsiveness and social issues) can constitute a source of competitive advantage especially in high growth industries.
Reputation building is an integral part of strategy formulation. CSR helps companies build reputation. The success of the Tata group , Body Shop, Health Valley confirm the importance of CSR in reputation building which leads to sustained competitive advantage.
Also, CSR allows a firm to follow the differentiation strategy route to high profits. A firm can create a certain level of CSR by embodying its products with CSR attributes (such as pesticide free fruits) or by using CSR-related resources in its production process (using organic fertilizers).Thus CSR becomes a mechanism for differentiation. Firms are already doing it. In India, Fab India and Jaipur Rugs are doing it in the traditional crafts business. Globally, Body Shop follows CSR-related resources in its production process (no animal tests). These firms have been able to differentiate their product and charge premium prices.
The case of ITC e-choupal which eliminates middlemen and allows ITC to procure agricultural commodities directly from farmers is an example of CSR which is benefiting both-the farmer through high price realisation and ITC through consistent quality and reduced procurement costs. Thus CSR can also be used and in fact is being used as low cost strategy for competitive advantage.
In the labour market, it has been proved that firms in industries with skilled labour shortages have used CSR as a means to recruit and retain workers. Also CSR allows firms to build a good reputation in the eyes of government and regulators thus leading to a positive correlation between government contracts and the provision of CSR.
Thus it is evident that CSR when undertaken as part of business process creates value. Self enlightened managers will realise that business models like ITC e- choupal where ITC’s need for creating shareholder value is enmeshed with that of local communities in a mutually supportive, interlocking and interdependent partnership are the business models for the future. Merely paying lip service and writing a check has attracted severe criticism. It would therefore be correct to state that corporate philanthropy is bad CSR, making profits is good CSR. Models that enmesh business & community interests is the best CSR!

Direct Cash Transfers for Rural Development

2010-09-15T02:54:00.000-07:00

(As part of my RDI course project, my group chose an intervention to solve a development problem in rural India. The intervention was direct cash transfers. What is published below is the concept note submitted to the instructor. Though the feedback was positive, the real work begins now.Any suggestions, links are welcome)
DIRECT CASH TRANSFERS
There are few countries where the state and the policy and the intellectual community have been as committed to poverty reduction as India-both in terms of rhetoric and through a range of subsidies and an array of targeted poverty reduction programmes (Kapur, Mukhopadhyay and Subramanian 2008).The irony is that inspite of hundreds of schemes and thousands of crores of rupees being spent on poverty alleviation, the number of poor people in India is extremely high. Certainly, something has not worked.
While the State has exited several sectors of the economy after 1991, the delivery mechanism used for channelling welfare scheme benefits to the beneficiaries is still in the hands of the State. These delivery channels are controlled by the bureaucratic system and are seen as clogged pipes which have several attendant problems. There are several reports which point out the colossal waste of money in implementing the schemes. This is because most of the benefits do not reach the poor and also because administrative cost is very high .
Our intervention is simple yet radical in nature: Direct (or unconditional) cash transfers to the “beneficiaries” of various schemes of the government. We state that hard cash be handed out to the poor and let them decide what to do with it. We consider it to be one of the most extreme form of “bottom up approach” –an oft quoted word by policy makers who then go on to design “top down” programmes which never involve the poor.
The Objectives of the project is as follows:
1.Understand the current delivery mechanisms of various schemes in the Government and critically analyse them.
2.Build an argument for direct cash transfers. This is to answer those who see direct cash transfer as an idea which reflects great intellectual, policy and political eenui. See (Shah 2008) .
3.Compare direct cash transfers with conditional cash transfers and other similar schemes which seek to cut down leakages, corruption and other problems which plague the current scheme.
4.Analyse cases where direct cash transfers have been used.
5.Present the drawbacks of the intervention.

The methodology would include a comprehensive literature survey regarding the proposed intervention and several of its variants.

WORKS CITED
Jhabvala, Renana, and Guy Standing. “Targeting to the 'Poor':Clogged Pipes and Bureaucratic Blinkers.” Economic and Political Weekly, 26 June 2010: 239-245.

Kapur, Devesh, Partha Mukhopadhyay, and Arvind Subramanian. “The case for direct cash transfers to the Poor.” Economic & Political Weekly, 12 April 2008: 37-43.

Ministry of Finance, Govt. Of India. Economic Survey 2009-10. Annual Survey, New Delhi: Ministry of Finance, Govt. Of India, 2010.

Shah, Mihir. “Direct Cash Transfers:No Magic Bullet.” Economic & Political Weekly, 23 August 2008: 77-79.

I am not THE 'Nitin Pai'

2010-09-14T05:38:00.000-07:00

One of my friends sent me a link via an e-mail to an article written by Nitin Pai.
Though I have an interest in public policy , I am not as worthy as THE Nitin Pai to have the opportunity to interview famous people like Nandan Nilekani.
The only other common link we have is, according to a comment he left on a post of mine,a similar experience with Mani Shankar Iyer.

The poverty muddle makes it to the editorial

2010-09-09T14:02:00.000-07:00

M.K. Venu, Editor of Financial Express, presents his views on the "poverty muddle" in India in today's Indian Express.His criticism was restricted to the 27, 37, 70 per cent poverty figures being bandied about by the economists.
Though he does call for a people approach in estimating poverty, his article is silent on the "hows" of it.

More of the Same...again and again

2010-09-08T04:24:00.000-07:00

Its frustating! The number of rural poor is a staggering 22 crores (GoI figure). In terms of Rural Development Interventions, we commit the same mistakes again and again.
Take self employment programmes/missions and projects. First we had programmes like Training Rural Youth for Self-Employment (TRYSEM), Development of Women and Children in Rural Areas (DWCRA) under the Integrated Rural Development Programme of GoI.These programmes miserably failed as only 14% of poor households covered under the programme were able to cross the poverty line.
One of the reasons for failure was that, surprise surprise, they were seen as separate in nature and not INTEGRATED. Funny, since the programme itself was called INTEGRATED Rural Development Programme.In the late nineties, the babus in Delhi dovetailed all these programmes into a grandiose programme called "Swarnjayanti Gram Swarojgyari Yojana (SGSY)".
In SGSY, they blindly adopted the SHG model which had seen success in the microfinance sector. So the idea was to get all the poor (the households identified as poor) into groups of ten, adopt a cluster approach and provide backward and forward linkages to ensure these enterprises would become successful, self reliant, sustainable business enterprises.
The main difference between SGSY and IRDP was the emphasis on social mobilisation through the SHG approach.The babus thought that the SHG mobilisation is an easy thing to do and envisaged it being done by "prominent" NGOs.
The result? Everyone took a target approach and went on forming SHGs.No one knew how activities were to be chosen. In the end, the SGSY was plagued from problems like uneven spread of SHGs, high attrition rate, poor accessibility to credit,lack of training and capacity building, and lack of dedicated implementation structure.
So the babus recast SGSY into NRLM. The draft of this Mission is silent on why SGSY failed. And as Prof.Shylendra of IRMA says NRLM is merely a rehash of SGSY.
What that means is some more hundreds of crores will go down the drain without any tangible benefit to the poor of this country.
If we have to come out of this problem, we need radical measures to attain elimination of poverty. Merely addressing problems in the schemes, programmes, etc is treating the symptoms. We need to address the systemic issues, and these can only addressed through radical measures. If not addressed in time, extreme scenarios as seen in Dantewada will be a common sight in rural India.

Dare to think beyond IIMs..but not beyond IRMA..please!!

2010-09-07T04:56:00.000-07:00

Some mails just make you fall from the chair and roll onto the floor with laughter. This was one of them. It was from IIPM inviting business plans for their competition. I thought they had gone far enough by having Shahrukh Khan host a business quiz, but alas! Here is what the plan is all about..

IIPM's INCEPTION aims at finding a solution to end poverty through a business plan and hence the theme –‘A billion bootstraps–The Business solution to end poverty.’The vast untouched Indian consumers; not yet part of the urbanisation, represent an outsized business chance and challenge. The business and other associated economic challenges to reach and leverage this large market segment are enormously diverse and daunting in comparison to the presently exploited markets. It is definitely an unchartered territory in many facets. Yet, the opportunity is real and here.

Even a self confessed neo liberal like me scoffs at this proposal.As if the poor are waiting with money stuffed in their pockets waiting to "consume". Conceptually that is what they mean.And if that is the case, there is no poverty!
Certainly IIPM should add "free village trip" along with the "free laptop+global tour" to its promotional campaign.

Too Big to Fail-A book review

2010-09-05T13:53:00.000-07:00

This is the second book on Wall Street that I have read. The first one was "Barbarians at the Gate". That was about the madness surrounding the leveraged buyout of RJR-NABISCO. "Too big to Fail" by Andrew Ross Sorkin, a NYT reporter, is a book about madness at the systemic level.
This book covers the period from March 2008 when the first major institution Bear Stearns went under to the time the US Government decided to buy directly into banks, in effect nationalising them.
Its about the people at the top;Hank Paulson, US Treasury Secretary, Geithner, then the NY fed President, Ben Bernanke, the FED chairman and the CEOs of Banks that were considered "too big to fail"
The book covers the fall of four big finanical institutions during the finanical crisis and the role played by the government officials, wall street bankers and Congressmen in preventing another Great Depression by enacting the Troubled Assets Relief Programme (TARP).
The first one is Lehmann Brothers. In this the CEO, Dick Fuld is the villian. He has been portrayed as someone who was too proud to realise that his company will go under and resisted ideas of merging or being acquired by bigger banks. Till the realisation sunk in, Lehmann was in some way "forced" to declare bankruptcy by the government.
The next bank to face the music was Merill Lynch. This time however the guys at Merrill sold out to Bank Of America. Along with Merill, AIG was also into deep trouble and had to be helped out by the Federal Reserve, raising the issue of moral hazard.
After Merill, Morgan Stanley had to ask the Japanese company, Mitsubishi to help them out by selling a stake of USD 9 Billion. This amount could not be wired as it was a holiday in America and hence a check was written of the same amount.
The book uncovers the greed that one associates with Wall Street. Greed that undid a lot of bankers.
It gives a good account of how intertwined the financial system is, not only in terms of banking transactions but also in terms of people. One day, a bank is advisor to another bank, and the next day becomes a potential acquirer!
This crisis was yet another jolt to the "American Free Market System". Just like the Great Depression, this crisis required massive government intervention to normalise things.
Though its a 600 odd page book, its not heavy reading. Written in simple plain English without using complicated financial terms, this book is modelled on the "Barbarians at the Gate". A good read for those who want to understand how Wall Street works and how twenty odd people and the institutions they headed went to hell and back within a year!

A book I will never write

2010-09-04T11:09:00.000-07:00

Given the fact that I have not made many friends in IRMA, this is what a good friend of mine put for me in a video which depicted where our batch guys would end up.

Another lesson learnt at IRMA

2010-09-01T22:36:00.000-07:00

When a person is making a huge blunder, dont correct him......if he is so foolish to make that blunder, there is no point in correcting him!

BPL reconciliation statement

2010-08-31T10:49:00.000-07:00

In my earlier post, I spoke about how the Indian government identifies the BPL families who are then showered with all the benefits that will put many socialist countries to shame.
The BPL list is prepared by two departments. The Planning Commission estimates BPL numbers using the NSSO surveys. Here the criteria is only calorie intake. If a person earns enough money to consume 2400 calories of food in rural areas, he is not poor.This criteria will always produce a smaller BPL figure.
The Ministry of Rural Development has used a 13point list which includes sanitation, education, type of house to identify the poor households. Since one is using many variables and not just calorie intake to identify poverty, this figure will be higher than the one estimated by the Planning Commission.
Here is the irony. The figures put out by Ministry of Rural Development must not be higher than the one put out by the Planning Commission! This is absolutely ludicrous. So the whole exercise has been reduced to what my Professor says "BPL reconciliation process"
No wonder the eminent lawyer Nani Palkhiwala called Delhi a "thought free zone"

Living in the real world

2010-08-25T10:47:00.001-07:00

I came off facebook three weeks back. And it feels good. The effects of not being on a social network are visible. I blog more, sleep more and read more.And I also spend more time out on the campus grounds playing cricket and volleyball.
I do not miss facebook.It was making me too "impersonal".
I also use less of my laptop. I open it up only for checking mails for using MS Office.
It sure is a nice feeling.

Love

2010-08-18T05:34:00.001-07:00

To Love someone is to invite that person to live and grow with you.

One of the many pearls of wisdom shared by Prof. K.V. Raju in ethics class.
My take? Most of us forget the "growth" part.

Where are the Poor?

2010-08-16T13:32:00.000-07:00

A pretty useless and a stupid question to ask if it was pertaining to India. One just needs to step out of the house and one can see large swathes of poverty. Large sections of the Indian population are deprived of roti, kapda and makan.And if one were to believe the Multi-Dimensional Poverty Index, which will be featured in the upcoming UN Human Development Report, 55% of Indians are poor. Now this amounts to more than 55 crore people who are not able to live a decent life. What is more shameful is the fact that eight Indian states have more poor people than 26 poor African Nations.
The percentage of poor people in India changes according to yardsticks used to measure the poor people. So while MPI puts the figure at 55%, the Planning Commission puts it at 27%, and the Suresh Tendulkar Committee puts it at 37%. In fact the Labour Ministry had come out with a report which stated that 70% of working population in India earns less than INR 20 per day.
Some weeks back, Prof.Anirudh Krishna of Duke University gave a wonderful presentation on the work he had done on poverty in India. Rather then look at the poverty numbers as a stock variable, he looked at them as flow variables for his research. He was interested in finding out who are the poor people and how did they become poor, how many came out of poverty, how many went into poverty and the ones who came out of poverty, how far did they go from the poverty line as defined by various agencies. He resorted to a longitudinal study spread across several countries and years. Some of his work related to this is available here
IRMA's very own Prof. Shylendra also presented a seminar on the various issues surrounding the identification of poor.
Though knowing how many are poor and therefore helping them out is a larger social goal, the numbers of poor people and the variations across the board as seen above, have large implications while designing policies.
Most of our social welfare schemes have a "target based approach". The State and its agencies "target" the poor and give them benefits. These benefits are significant, ranging from free food, subsidized credit, free house, etc. Thus thousands of crores of rupees are allocated to schemes which are "target based". The logic behind targeting is simple. India is a "poor" country with limited resources. So the benefits should accrue to the poorest of the poor under welfare schemes.
Targeting has its own host of problems, which Guy Standing and Renana Jhabwala have pointed out in an EPW article last month. Ill just focus on the "identifying the poor" issues rather than discuss the merits and demerits of targeting.
So, since thousands of crores of public money is targeted at the poor, one should have a reliable list of poor people in India. However this is not the case. Every list called the "BPL (Below Poverty Line) list" suffers from Type 1 and Type 2 errors. In other words,exclusion of poor and problems of inclusion of non-poor have been a constant feature of BPL lists.
In India, the National Sample Survey Organisation does its own sample survey and comes out with a list of poor people.It is used by the Planning Commission. This list is based on a nutrient-based income poverty.
The Ministry of Rural Development has its own quinquennial surveys, the first of which was held in 1992 and was completely based on an income approach. In 1997 the survey took a expenditure approach in determining the BPL families. Both of these surveys had enormous type 1 and type 2 errors.
The 2002-03 survey was more elaborate in the sense that it prepared the list based on 13 items ranging from income to pairs of clothing, land holding, literacy, etc. SO in one sense, it was "multi-dimensional".However it had its own issues and was considered to be too complex. One can refer to Harsh Mander and Santosh Mehrotra's article in EPW (may 9 2009) which provides a good account of the 2002-03 survey methodology.
So what we have here is a complex system, set up to alleviate poverty.And the problems starts with this "target" approach which is resorted to by the policymakers.
This problem continues with the identifying the poor part of this approach as elucidated above.
In fact Indira Hirway, has rightly stated that targeting is not a statistical exercise, but is a major political activity. All these surveys have been designed without understanding the ground reality. Caste Structures, political affiliations, class structures are major issues which cannot be eliminated. The surveys designed so far ignore these realities and hence we have a list which is flawed and is denying crores of poor people entitlements which any "free country" would give its citizens in the 64th year of Independence.
My Professor at IRMA suggests that universalism is the answer. But for that I will have to wait for a week when that issue is taken up in my "Rural Development Intervention" class.

An evening with prominent IRMA alumni

2010-08-10T11:40:00.000-07:00

IRMA is in the midst of a "revisioning" exercise. So prominent personalities were called in for their views and opinion regarding the same. Mr.Vivekanandan of SIFFS and Mr.Sivakumar, CEO of ITC-ABD were the alumni who were part of this exercise.
Prof.Abhijeet Sen, member of the Planning Commission was also invited to this excerise.Some of the guys here were also talking about Vijay Mahajan being there.
The biggest name was Rahul Gandhi who quietly came and left without much fanfare.
Since two of the most famous alumni were present on campus, it was a wonderful opportunity to interact with them.
The more famous of the two is of course Mr.Sivakumar. He is the man behind ITC's e-choupal, a much celebrated business model of procuring agricultural produce (mainly soyabean) directly from farmers through choupals set up in villages.
This business model found itself as a case study in C.K.Prahalad's famous book "Fortune at the bottom of the pyramid". Mr.Sivakumar himself felt that "Fortune for the bottom of the pyramid" is more important than "fortune at the bottom of the pyramid".
Both of them spoke about life after IRMA, strengths and weaknesses of IRMAns and choices we would have to make when we step out of this institution. Mr.Sivakumar spoke about having a "larger purpose" in life which is essential in achieving success in life. This large purpose must go beyond salary, perks, and the like.
Mr.Vivekanadan too spoke about the changed environment in the last 30 years since he passed out of IRMA. He also spoke at length about his involvement with fishermen community in Kutch and their movement against the Adani group which was building the Mundhra port that had affected the fishermens' livelihoods.
Overall it was a nice interaction with some of the earliest IRMAns. I think such interaction with alumni should be made a regular feature as it only enriches one's understanding on the challenges faced by rural managers in the field

Wardha

2010-08-06T21:06:00.000-07:00

I wrote this on the 24th of June 2010 . It is part of my collection of posts regarding my OTS in the Vidharbha region of Maharashtra
I arrived in Wardha yesterday. It is an hour’s drive from Yeotmal. I am staying at a hotel called Harisons which is diagonally opposite the ST stand. Not a great hotel, but then it’s the best in this district. Unfortunately the wholesale market is also located opposite the ST stand which prevented me from exploring the town.
However six kilometers from Wardha ST Stand is Sewagram, where Mahatma Gandhi stayed for a long time. One can take a rickshaw from the ST stand which will cost Rs 10 per person. Be ready to share the rickshaw with 5 other passengers. Sewagram has an exhibition centre which houses a neat canteen and a souvenir shop which sells Khadi and organic products. The exhibition centre houses the stand which was used to transport Gandhi’s ashes. Through photos and miniature models, it traces the journey of a man who went from being Mohan to Mahatma.
The centre also has a book shop. Three books which I bought were Panchayati Raj by Mahatma Gandhi, Public Finance and our Poverty and Economy of Permanence both authored by J C Kumarappa. He was Chartered Accountant and an Economist who spent latter part of his life as a disciple of Gandhi. I also bought a kurta and a shirt from the shop.
The place which houses Bapu kuti or Gandhi’s house has been well maintained. It was a hamlet which housed Gandhi and his followers. It was self sufficient. It had cattle, and farming was also undertaken. Even today farming is undertaken on the one hundred acre land. All farming is organic.
The land belonged to the industrialist and eminent Gandhian Jamnalal Bajaj. Gandhi referred to him as his “fifth” son. In fact there is a large statue of Jamnalal Bajaj outside the ST stand. I was surprised to see this as we are not a country which admires industrialists, traders and businessmen.
After Mani Bhavan which was the Mahatma’s abode in Mumbai, this is the second house of the great man that I have been to. Staying so close to Ahmedabad, I guess Sabarmati Ashram would be the third house of the great man which I will visit in the coming year.
I now head back to Amravati. Probably a trip to Nagpur would be on the cards next week. Lets see what the largest town of Vidharbha has in store for me.

IndiaPay-An alternative in the making for Visa and Mastercard

2010-08-06T20:54:00.000-07:00

I have always been a fan of "Made in India" tags on products, processes and services that aim to compete with global players. I think the discourse on globalisation restricts India's role as a "market". A market where you can sell, with relative ease, shoddy products and services. Given the pent up demand among the 250 million odd middle class, one can literally get away by selling anything.
Hence when I read about a RBI backed payment processing platform called IndiaPay, it made me happy. Visa and Mastercard are payment processing platforms. As more and more Indians start using plastic money, the payment processing platforms will stand to make a lot of money.Today, nine out of ten card transactions are undertaken by Visa and Mastercard. A new player in the space may just drive down costs.
Also as more and more farmers are covered under the Kisan Credit Card,IndiaPay assumes that much more importance.
While Malaysia and China developed their own payment processing platforms in 1997 and 2002 respectively, India Pay will take another two years to hit the markets.

Back at IRMA

2010-07-29T09:59:00.000-07:00

I came back to a drenched IRMA campus this week. The presentations were spread over three days. Thankfully my presentations got over on the first day itself. Not much grilling by the evaluators. Not much by the fellow participants too.
The OTS was an interesting experience. It allowed me to visit five districts in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra. Thanks to a co operative Reporting Officer, I was given enough freedom to undertake the exercise at my own pace. This allowed me to understand the fine details of the tur dal business.
Now that the first year is over, second year is all about pursuing your area of interest. Unfortunately, I have not been able to boil down my area of interest. And this shows in the selection of electives. From brand management to international trade, from agri business to derivatives, I have my hands full this semester.
Specifically I am looking forward to the Economic Policy and Environment and International Trade electives.
Hopefully I will be much more disciplined than I was last year.

Yeotmal-The cotton city

2010-07-26T14:22:00.001-07:00

I was in Yeotmal for a couple of days interacting with retailers, wholesalers, and farmers as part of my project. The first day was spent in the urban areas. We stayed in a hotel called Revathi Pride. A decent hotel providing average customer service.Yeotmal is ninety seven kilometers from Amravati. It has a metre gauge railway line which reminded me of the lovely one coach train that used to stop at Sagar, my Mom's hometown.

Yeotmal is considered to be the place where cotton was first cultivated. Hence it is called as the cotton city. The city, like Amravati had several two wheeler showrooms. The absence of good public transport system for intra-city travel has given rise to this demand for two-wheelers. While the government gives away free bicycles to girls in villages, the girls in these towns can be seen travelling in two wheelers. This practice will only grow. Hoardings around the town were mainly about educational institutes. Advertisements on local channels were also dominated by these institutes which offered the traditional engineering courses. Institutes offering "new-age" courses in advertising, media were also present. Organised retail is absent here. Similar was the case in Akola. Kirana stores still dominate the scene. I think organized retail has a chance here. The buying habits of consumers, atleast in case of tur dal and chana dal, were seen to favour bulk buying. And price does play an important factor. Big Bazaar which is to commence operations in Amravati, will find it a good market.

The first day involved interacting with the wholesalers and the retailers. I was looking forward to the second day. This was to involve travelling to villages, and visiting haats. I was accompanied by the founder of Dilaasa, an NGO which is working in the villages of Yeotmal. We went to Ghatanji block and visited the haat. A haat is the weekly market which is set up on the road. Livestock to foodgrains, accessories to cosmetics everything is sold in these haats. Most of the times, one haat caters to four to five villages. My purpose was to investigate the presence of lakh ( a dal which is subsitituted for tur as it costs less). This dal, till last year was banned as it was seen to cause paralysis when consumed in large numbers. However this was consumed in rural areas of Chandrapur and Gadhchiroli without any cases of paralysis. After tests, this ban was lifted last year.

After visiting the haat, we headed to a village called in Ralegaon block of Yeotmal. We conducted a focused group discussion of around 10 farmers. It reminded me of my days in Toranmal. The fieldwork segment held me in good stead and the discussion went smoothly. The two month stay in Toranmal had made me more confident while interacting with farmers. Though I can never become one of them, the confidence that I usually display while presenting projects in IRMA, was displayed while asking questions and prompting honest answers from the farmers. This made me very happy.

Every village has that one farmer who is interested in what you are saying. Someone who is ready to take on the mantle to start the project. He is not the scheming rich farmer. Nor the rich trader of the village. He is educated and has seen his fair share of crop failures. He has seen many projects come and go without affecting the intended "beneficiaries". I was fortunate to meet such a farmer. He was interested in our discussion. He participated actively. And more importantly he was brutally honest.

As I took leave, he approached me and asked about the probability of starting a dal mill in Ralegaon district. I looked at him and told him that it was not in my hands. I have said that many times whenever I have stepped into a village for collecting data. I am waiting for the day when I will be able to take decisions which will have a positive impact on the villagers.

As we left the village and headed back to Yeotmal, I could see acres of land all ready for the rains. Some farmers were already sowing cotton seeds. Some were gazing at the sky;probably praying for a normal monsoon. I wish farming was as therapeutic as Farmville on FB is!

Came back to the hotel and saw DCH! After Kites, Rajneeti and Ravan, this was a refreshing change. Though India losing the dead rubber was a disappointment, the rural visit overshadowed the Indian loss.

Next stop was Wardha……which houses Sevagram, where the Mahatma lived! But that deserves a separate post.

Amravati

2010-06-18T22:31:00.000-07:00

Its the second largest town after Nagpur. Dont ask me on what basis. Thats what people tell me. Like all districts of Vidharbha, Amravati gives you its own taste of heat.There is a hill station called Chikaldhara. I have not been there yet.Most probably will go there in the coming weeks.
All the government offices and official residences of all the important bureaucrats are situated in one part of Amravati known as the Camp Area.I stay here.Some part of it is also called "Chaprasipura".
The most famous (absentee)resident of Amravati is Smt.Pratibha Patil. Her son was elected as MLA in the last Assembly elections. The Camp Area is very well maintained, with wide roads, no hawkers and proper street lighting.The area near the station, the place where the markets are located are much more crowded.The place also presents a good study of the transition taking place in such towns. In a space of around 200 metres, you have single brand outlets of Adidas, Levis, Levis Signature. These outlets compete with the old traditional garment outlets that must have been operating for several decades.
The place is flooded with theatres. Two weeks back a multiplex called e-orbit opened up.A Big Bazaar is on its way.It proves that the companies are now targeting these towns to maintain high growth rates.
My project work took me to Jawahar Gate which is a historical monument. It is as the name suggests a gate of probably a fort. There are no boards signifying its importance. Just a few meters down the road is something called "Jaisthamb Chowk". This again has some link with the Independence Struggle as the chowk has the date "15/07/1947" inscribed on it.
Finally,Marathi is hardly spoken here. Hindi is the most used language here.

The electronic media-Why we need regulation!!

2010-06-17T23:18:00.000-07:00

Its the second monsoon that I am not in Mumbai. I happened to catch the first heavy showers on television ensconed in a warm room at Akola.The proliferation of news channels made it difficult for me to escape their coverage on the Mumbai monsoons. The coverage of all news channels made it seem like Mumbai was hit by a cyclone. Certain points that stood out are given below
1.All news channels played the same footage again and again. They showed us Khar Subway and Milan Subway. For all Mumbaikars, it is not news that these subways get flooded every year.But it was made out to be a big incident by the news channels.
2.All areas covered by the news channels, Sion, Andheri, Wadala are known to be rain sensitive areas.They are a bad sample for the population i.e. Mumbai
Such news coverage is something that we have become used to. Making a mountain out of a molehill is now a core competency enjoyed by these news channels. Lambasting administrators and playing judge on a variety of issues is a skill that is a must for every news anchor. We need some serious regulation on these guys. They distort and influence the news to their liking. That their 26/11 coverage put security forces in danger is a well documented fact.
Free press should not be the excuse given by these TV channels to disseminate information which is biased and is intended to shock and create panic among its viewers. Its high time that the government looked into this matter and stepped in to control the hyper TV anchors and their producers!

OTS In the oven

2010-05-30T00:14:00.000-07:00

Its been a week since I left Mumbai and landed in Amravati for my summer internship.I am currently working on a project which has been funded by IFAD (channeled through the Government of Maharashtra) and SRTT (the organisation that I am interning with). The Project known as 'Convergence of Agricultural Interventions in Maharashtra' is also known as 'CAIM' (pronounced as Kayam which means forever in Marathi). The idea is that the farmers in Vidharbha will be kayam sukhi ( the sukhi comes from the 'Sukhi Baliraja Initiative' of SRTT which was dovetailed into CAIM) meaning 'forever in peace' after this project. Amen.
I am working out of the divisional Commissioner's office. The Additional Commissioner is the Project Director. Since he is busy with other matters of the State, they have appointed a Additional Project Director to carry out the day to day work of the Project.
First impressions of the district are fairly positive. Its hot but then its a national phenomena these days. Ever since Pratibha Patil was made the President of the Country, Amravati has undergone a positive change in terms of infrastructure. Her son is the MLA of this district.Since we work and stay in the part of Amravati which houses government offices and residences of all IAS and IPS officers, the roads are wide, well lit and maintained.
My project involves a lot of travel including a trip to Mumbai. First visit is on Tuesday which is to Hingoli. The purpose is to study a dal mill which is also involved in its own marketing.
Overall, its a decent project which allows me to explore Vidharbha and also study the working of IAS officers. That is a good enough output for two months.

The Year that was

2010-05-09T10:31:00.001-07:00

The third term exams got over yesterday. With that the first year at IRMA gets over. Just one more week and then I am off home.
Its been a different year to say the least. I came here with a bag full of clothes and dreams. Leaving with a bag full of clothes and some more dreams.
This was the most "learning" year for me. And most of it was related to ME and not to academics. I thought I had fewer weaknesses but life here revealed so many of them that I am kept busy working on them.
The highlight of the year was the two months that I spent in Toranmal and the Tata Crucible Finals in Mumbai. Both of them will remain etched in my memory for a long time to come.
I also realised that a vacation with family would never be so joyful as it turned out to be in September. The biggest disappoint was on loosing out on people who were extremely close to me. I am still coming to terms on those issues. But then life was never a smooth bed of roses.
All in all, its been a "different" year. A year that has definitely made me more stronger and more eager to take on the world.

C K Prahalad

2010-04-17T23:59:00.001-07:00

C K Prahalad was one of the few Indians who made a mark in the area of management science in the last century. He was along with Pankaj Ghemawat and Sumantra Ghoshal, the few Indians who were at the forefont of management science.
While he was always acknowledged as one of the top most management thinkers, what made him transcend the management field and be acknowledged as a great thinker was his seminal book "Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Eradicating Poverty through Profits".
Incidentally, this book was the first management book that I read five years back. The case that impressed me the most was the ITC e-choupal case. Funny that I am now writing this blog at a time when I am studying in an institution whose alumnus is responsible for creating the e-choupal revolution.
It is indeed a great loss to the field of management science. But ideas last longer than the man himself.
And Prahalad's ideas of "core competency" and "the BOP magic" will live on and help managers to demystify the complex environment in which they operate

The Dantewada massacre and us.....

2010-04-12T07:58:00.001-07:00

So they finally struck on a large scale. The Maoists suddenly made national headlines when they killed seventy five CRPF personnel in the Dantewada district of Chattisgarh.
The ET, the mouthpiece of corporate India reported the incident but also reported that FII inflows will not be affected by the incident. However FIIs related to mining companies might see some impact.
Most of us wont care. And several reasons for that;
1.Go out on streets of Mumbai or Delhi and ask people where Dantewada is and I bet 9 on 10 people will give the wrong answer, if they give one that is.
2. Unlike 26/11, this proxy war as called by many in the media is being played out in the forests of an economically backward state. Not in five star hotels.
3.Most of us believe its a simple case of us vs them. Even the hopelessly useless Shivarj Patil put it down to "misguided youth".
4.We (the urban population) have been fed a rich diet of corporates saving us from low economic growth.So the minerals in those areas suddenly belong to Shri Lakshmi Mittal and Shri Anil Agarwal. And we are so proud that Mr Mittal has an Indian passport. As if that qualifies every Indian as a heir to his wealth.
5.PC wants to have a dialogue with these maoists. Perhaps he should hear what Norman Borlaug said "You can't create a peaceful world on empty stomachs and misery".
The issue is development.......Imagine this... your neigbour is allowed to pluck all the mangoes from your backyard and sell them in the market. And you look at all the wealth that he has accumulated from this business. And you have nothing, absolutely nothing. Thats what these people are feeling. They have been pushed to a corner and now they have nothing to lose. We will go to hell, but we will take you with us is their motto. Life itself is living hell for them due to lack of development.
Some say tribals by nature are violent. Hell...I lived with the tribals for two months. They are the most friendly people I came across. They have their own set of rules which respects nature and human beings.
So I urge people to do some fact finding and introspect as to why simple villagers will suddenly take up arms and start killing people....And maybe we can then start a fairly logical dialogue on maoism/naxalism.

One dream fulfilled

2010-03-30T03:17:00.000-07:00

The Barefoot managers went to Mumbai to fulfill a dream of being the regional finalists of TATA crucible 2010.
Looking at the turnout of around 200 teams, hope faded. Not much preparation and mid term exams on our mind, we gave it a shot. As fate would have it, we got into the wildcard entry round.
JBIMS, 2 teams from NMIMS, SPJIMR and KJ Somaiya were the other contenders for a slot in the Finals. But then the barefoot managers played aggressively and made it to the regional finals!!!
Pretty disappointed that we could not make it to the national finals....But then 2011 beckons!!!
For a brief idea about the finals, look here.
And we will be on TV too!!!!

My first trip North

2010-03-19T11:44:00.000-07:00

Last week I had the opportunity to go to Delhi. One of the colleges there had shortlisted our B plan and the final round required our physical presence there.
This was my first trip North. A 14 hour journey in sleeper class was something that extremely discouraging. Before someone reminds me of my barefoot manager status, I would like to state that I am just not the kind of guy who can travel for a long time. And the way the railways treats the sleeper class people, someone should file a class action lawsuit against it.
We boarded the swaraj express from Baroda. Our coupe was different in the sense it was a cabin without the door. Our co passenger was of the opinion that it was the coupe which was meant for women travellers in the 80s.The railways, I have to say has been women friendly. From such coupes, to women compartments, to all ladies trains in Mumbai, women have been given many facilities.
Anyways, so our coupe had two frustated rural managers (rural manager is always frustated), one Sardar and his employee, a guju army man headed to Jammu and a Catholic priest based in Bhopal.
The journey was not as bad as I thought it would turn out to be thanks to the two punjabi guys. They went on talking about Missionaries in India getting cheques signed by Tony Blair, Kota being the next big thing, AC volvos plying between Punjab villages etc etc.
Prominent stops were Ratlam (known for its Ratlami sev) and Mathura (Mathura peda le lo).
We finally reached Delhi at 4 in the morning, got ripped by the auto guys (while going to and coming from the college) and had to sit down at the delhi station as the train was late by two hours.
Delhi station is dirty, over crowded and absolutely smelly. No station in Mumbai can be as dirty as the Delhi one. Maybe my Mumbai biasness shows here, but what the heck!!
Anyways the trip back was spent sleeping as I was too tired. We alighted at Godhra. Felt creepy and the eerie silence was adding to the feeling of being at a place which has had so much of implications for our country which is considered to be a secular one.
Took a ST bus to Anand and reached IRMA in the afternoon.
Not an eventful journey but an interesting one.

Some thoughts on the Inclusive growth chapter of the Economic Survey

2010-02-25T13:14:00.000-08:00

The Economic Survey was released today. To the ones who usually skip such “heavy” economic matters, an Economic Survey, according to an ET columnist Mythili Bhusnurmath are ready reckoners on the state of the economy during a year that is fast drawing to a close. Only to a far lesser extent can they be said to be a portent of what is likely to follow in the subsequent year. This is because they are largely a technical view of finance ministry technocrats. Thus to the extent Surveys are relatively divorced from the political ground realities that play a dominant role in decision-making by democratically elected governments, they also tend to be a little idealistic.
This year’s survey includes a chapter on inclusive growth. And I am very happy about it as increasingly there is disenchantment with the “high rates of growth” talk that usually crowds our newspapers. It is extremely naïve ( and I was naïve) to believe that high GDP rates of growth would automatically mitigate poverty and bring prosperity to large sections of Indians. But that of course is not true.
The increase in GDP is due to high growth in services and to some extent in industry. Services account for more than fifty per cent of our GDP and hence high growth rates in this sector will propel our GDP to high levels as well. Industry is doing well but since 80s its contribution to GDP has stagnated in the mid twenties.
The problem then lies in Agriculture. We have a sector which employs more than 60 per cent of our population and is projected to grow at .2 percent this year. It also contributes least to the GDP of our country. Now that leaves a huge section of our population staring at abject poverty. Farm output growth is projected at 0 per cent largely due to the drought that occurred last year. So this high GDP growth does not really matter to around 60 crore people of our country.
It’s a big deal for policy makers to include a chapter on inclusive growth as it reflects the realities that we confront today.
So what is inclusive growth? The survey mentions “A nation interested in inclusive growth views the same growth differently depending on whether the gains of the growth are heaped primarily on a small segment or shared widely by the population. The latter is cause for celebration but not the former. In other words, growth must not be treated as an end in itself but as an instrument for spreading prosperity to all. India’s own past experience and the experience of other nations suggests that growth is necessary for eradicating poverty but it is not a sufficient condition. In other words, policies for promoting growth need to be complemented with policies to ensure that more and more people join in the growth process and, further, that there are mechanisms in place to redistribute some of the gains to those who are unable to partake in the market process and, hence, get left behind.”
It is an acknowledgement of the fact that a large section of population needs to be integrated with the mainstream economy so that they too can enjoy the fruits of the high growth we are fortunate to witness in these times.
The chapter deals with the role of the government as an “enabler” which does not try to directly deliver to the citizens everything that they need. Instead, it (1) creates an enabling ethos for the market so that individual enterprise can flourish and citizens can, for the most part, provide for the needs of one another, and (2) steps in to help those who do not manage to do well for themselves, for there will always be individuals, no matter what the system, who need support and help. Hence we need a Government that, when it comes to the market, sets effective, incentive compatible rules and remains on the sidelines with minimal interference, and, at the same time, plays an important role in directly helping the poor by ensuring that they get basic education and health services and receive adequate nutrition and food.This rollback of the Government in the former will enable it to devote more energy and resources to and be more effective in the latter.
It elaborates how this can be done by focusing on specific issues like replacing the PDS with a “food voucher coupons”, advocating the same coupon approach in lieu of subsidy for fertilizers, etc. It also looks at bureaucratic delays and costs to buttress its point of advocating the “enabler” role of the government.
Overall it is a refreshing addition to the Economic Survey as it goes beyond sector wise discussion, and fascination with the short term numbers and takes a hard look at the long term.
If this post prods you to read that chapter, here is the link. http://beta.thehindu.com/multimedia/archive/00034/Economic_Survey-2_pd_34134a.pdf

For posterity

2010-02-19T03:51:00.000-08:00

After my fieldwork segment we had to submit a report which included "personal reflections." I wrote it at 4 in the morning after having forced myself to write 7000 words about a village which had a population of about 1500. That was in November. Yesterday I went through it again and was startled at what I wrote. Startled because I wrote exactly what I meant and reading it again made me aware that my views have changed. Not radically but yes they have changed. So I put it down here so that it remains for posterity.

“Village life is tough but the village people are nice.” This was the parting advice given by Prof H.S. Shylendra who was the pre-field work visitor to the Nandurbar District of Maharashtra.

My village Toranmal had a web presence by virtue of being the second highest hill station in the state. All the beautiful pictures on the various websites coupled with the tough life that awaited us created a lot of anxiety in me as I boarded the bus to my village.

In the village we were made to stay in a hut with minimum provisions of lighting, bedding and bathing. While a solar panel with a CFL light provided illumination in the night, my partner and I had to share a single cot. While a small portion of the hut was earmarked for bathing, there was no toilet facility.

Since it was a village in the forests, we had insects and snakes in our hut from time to time. Also unseasonal rains in the first week made us grow more anxious and scared.

As time progressed, we realized that we had been exposed to the minimum standard of living. While difficult in the beginning, I later adapted myself to the living conditions. I also realized how fortunate I was in terms of resource availability compared to the villagers. I now value clean drinking water, twenty four electricity and the education that was provided to me by my parents.

Interacting with the villagers was a unique experience. While I did possess an elementary understanding of Marathi, it was rendered useless in the village as the tribals spoke their own language called Nahali. Overcoming this barrier was the most difficult part of the fieldwork segment. The tribals by nature are a shy community and interactions with outsiders is negligible. Hence it took around two to three weeks for us to gain their trust and initiate information gathering.

Though a tourist spot, it seemed that the villagers were in a time capsule. I was surprised to know that most of them had not heard about terror attacks in Mumbai and an old man still thought Indira Gandhi to be the PM of the country. This was because the village did not have newspapers, there was no telephone network and the literacy rate was very low.

The tribals considered the forest to be the most important part of their lives. They worshipped the lion and the trees. Although dependence on the forests had decreased to a great extent they still considered the forest to be inextricably linked to their well being.

I was amazed at the knowledge of the tribals with respect to the forest produce. This knowledge had passed down from ancestors and was passed down by word of mouth. They knew the medicinal properties of the plants and the various uses of the trees available in the forest.

Government as expected was omnipresent in the village through various institutions. The number of schemes that were available to the villagers in spheres of education, health, food, and livelihood was commendable. However the implementation of these schemes was not done properly. While the physical infrastructure like buildings and facilities like ambulances were present, they were in a dilapidated condition.

The rampant absenteeism of government officials ranging from the talati to the panchayat secretary was a major deterrent to providing good governance to the village. This absenteeism existed because of apathy of the villagers and no supervision by senior administrative officials.

Polygamy, child marriage, tobacco addiction and liquor addiction were some problems that we came across in the village. Most of these problems had a social perspective to it. For someone who thought economic growth was the panacea for all problems, this fieldwork was an eye-opener.

We were fortunate to witness the holding of elections for the State Assembly during our village stay. Vote for cash and distribution of liquor to the villagers was a common phenomenon and was practiced by all political parties who had fielded candidates in that constituency.

The love and affection showered on us by the villagers was a unique experience. To befriend two people who are completely different from their community in terms of dressing, speaking, and lifestyle and make all efforts to make us comfortable without any expectations was very touching.

Some of my learnings that developed or were reinforced during the fieldwork segment are

1. Rural People are very hospitable and extremely loving especially towards people who come from outside and live with them.

2. Their simple life and minimum needs ensure that they live a happy life.

3. The government while delineating funds for rural development should monitor its implementation and efficacy. A bottom up approach would be more effective than a top down approach.

4. All livelihood interventions should be people focused. People should be involved in the planning as they are the best judges of their own lives.

5. The tribals are extremely shy people. This is misinterpreted as hostility. They are very hospitable and befriend you only after you have demonstrated your sincerity towards them and their friendship

6. I come from Mumbai. The only city in the state which does not have electricity cuts. In fact the rest of the state compromises on its power requirements so that the city of Mumbai lives upto its reputation of “a city that never sleeps”. This inequity and the anger was personally experienced during the village stay. It also drove home the point about the division that we now refer to as “Bharat vs India”.

7. We need to question the importance attached to Gross Domestic Product growth. Our consumption patterns cannot be replicated in rural areas. This will lead to huge environmental problems. Hence alternatives need to be developed to achieve the goal of poverty alleviation without adverse effects on the environment

This village trip was an excerise in humility. It has made me realize my good fortune of being brought up in a family which provided all the necessary resources required to lead a decent life. Most importantly it has raised several questions both personal and academic which I seek to answer during my stay at IRMA and beyond. The birth of these questions, some of which are presented above is my biggest gain for which I will be greatful to the people of Toranmal and to IRMA.

Superman....and Superwomen

2010-02-14T13:07:00.000-08:00

A year since my Dad fought back a life threatening disease. Reaffirmed my belief that I am a fighter's son.
Also realised that the two women in my life were superwomen.
Only hope that if and when I do fall for someone, she has some qualities of the superwomen in my life.
PS-I still think my brother is the most intelligent person I have met.

My People!!!

2010-01-30T10:55:00.001-08:00

How did I survive the two month fieldwork of IRMA? As Prof. Shylendra told us before the trip "Village life is tough but village people are nice." I could not agree more. So here are some people who made my two month stay as comfortable as it could get.

The kid's name is Ajith. Not a tribal name at all.He was named by the Primary Health Centre Nurse when he was born. An entertainer in the real sense of the term, playing cricket and football with him was something that I enjoyed a lot. He came across as very inquisitive as every kid does, and was particularly fond of my digital camera and mobile phone. I only hope he recognises me when I visit Toranmal next time.

Sakar Singh Chaudhary aka Gotiya dada was our immediate neighbour. A karmyogi who believes that his job in this life is to till his land, grow crops, drink alcohol, occassionally beat his wife and graze cows. For two months, he used to entertain us with his stories in the night and managed to call me "nithun" by the end of my two months stay. The village is made up of his family members and he knows everyone in the village. I only hope he is alive when I visit Toranmal next time.

Manisha and Ravindra Thakur. My hosts and caretakers for the two months. If it was not Manisha tai, my stay not have been as memorable and comfortable as it turned out to be. I owe an enormous sense of debt to this lady who is an embodiment of strength, will power and all the virtues of feminity which we associate our mothers with. From making her husband give up alcohol, earning an income by undertaking various livelihood activities, she was a person who I admire and look up to. I hope that she has been able to undertake all the livelihood activities which she was planning to and undertake them successfully.
These are some of the many who live in our villages, the ones who make news if they join the Maoists or commit suicide. It is a sad commentary on India, that after more than sixty years of Independence, we the educated class have managed to build cities feigning ignorance of the seventy crore people who toil and grow food for us.
Belated Happy Republic Day

Mani Shankar Aiyar ko gusaa kyon aata hain?

2010-01-23T22:51:00.001-08:00

IRMA's annual inter college fest "Udaan" had Shri. Mani Shankar Aiyar, Former Minister of Panchayati Raj, Sports and Youth Affairs, and Petroleum as the chief guest.
He is known for creating controversies (remember the Bhagat Singh controversy?) and also a sycophant of the Gandhi-Nehru Family.
He also ran into trouble as the Petroleum Minister when he was brave enough ( and I compliment him for that) to take an anti-Ambani stand and had got himself removed from that post.
He was also defeated in the last general elections.
So Mr. Aiyar, as a politician would, ranted about everything that is wrong with India for over an hour, how the India farmer should go on tilling his farm irrespective of whether that creates enough income or not, how liberalisation is bad, and also had time to take potshots at Mr Ambani ( very personal and very demeaning) and also at his Congress members especially PC.
His entire speech seemed as an attempt to vent his bitterness. He took potshots at IIMA students calling them "inferior creatures". Mr Aiyar left no one in his attack.
His speech is of a person who, post- 1991 has seen the shift of power from the corridors of Delhi to the markets, of how a uncouth Gujarati businessman unlike the suave and powerful orator, St Stephens and Cambridge educated Aiyar earned thousands of crores with help from the INC, had sons who could remove him from his ministry and he could not do a thing.
He spoke about creation of millions of women leaders at the village level post the empowerment of the PRIs. This would delight someone at IIMA, but not at IRMA where any PRM student would tell you that the women are just rubber stamps and the real leader is her husband or father-in-law. Maybe he should reserve such comments at the five-star hotels where he prefers to dine and tell his Americal and European friends on the romance of poverty. We at IRMA dont need that Sir. Thank you very much.
Such an undiplomatic speech coming from an ex-IFS officer makes me wonder how good he was in his job. Maybe sychophancy ruled then and hence he could rise in the ranks.
Surprisingly Mr.Aiyar is scheduled to address the "inferior creatures" at IIMB at their function. More surprising is the fact that he is addressing at a insitute who has this man in its Board of Governors.
Would love to hear his speech there!!! Good luck Mr.Aiyar.

The trip of a lifetime....

2009-12-04T07:45:00.000-08:00

IRMA's fieldwork segment is one of the most challenging for its participants. And while I left Anand with several apprenhensions I not only survived but enjoyed the entire two month stay.
The district we went to is one of the most feared places in IRMA as the previous batch had its participants being beaten out of the villages and some were hospitalised for various illnesses.
My village was an enchanting place. Though it was the second highest hill station in the state it was not as popular as some other hill stations.
On reaching the village, we were shown our house. A modest accommodation by any stretch of imagination. One cot, a small chulha, and a couple of chairs were provided by our host family. For the first couple of days, we had a small diya for illumination purpose. Later we were given a solar powered CFL light which was a boon for my partner and me.
The first week was a testing period for me. It was cold, the house had its share of visitors in the form of snakes, rats and the like. There was no toilet and I had to climb a small hill to answer nature's call. At one point in time I was frustated and wanted to pack my bags and leave. The unseasonal rains added to the misery.
But as time passed, I realised the inherent capacity of humans to adapt themselves to any situation. Suddenly I started feeling comfortable. So much so that when my fellow colleague ran away home, I preferred to stay back and enjoy the tough village life.
I realised that this would be the first and the last time I would get an opportunity to live such a kind of life which was devoid of electricity, sanitation, mobile coverage and the usual stress levels associated with IRMA and life.
Since I was living in a tribal village, I had the opportunity to interact with some of the most honest and simple people in this world. People who had not gone out of their small village, people who were content with what they had and people who lovingly shared their space, time and food with strangers like me.
I was also fortunate to participate in some of their rituals which were held deep in the forest at night. It was an unique experience as I had never been exposed to the tribal culture.
The village stay made me realize how lucky I was to have all the comforts which was not available to the villagers. These two months have made me humble and more tolerant towards non-availability of luxuries like electricity, internet if and when there is a problem.
I have also started questioning the efficacy of high GDP growth in alleviating poverty. None of the villages I visited in Nandurbar had been touched by this high growth rate. Also most problems afflicting the villages like addiction to tobacco, polygamy, child marriages, etc were social evils which required solutions outside the narrow domain of GDP growth.
While this visit has left deep impressions on me and my life, more importantly it has raised several questions like the one stated above. I will, in the course of my stay in IRMA and beyond pursue them to satisfy the curiosity.

From Mangalore to Sagara in a week

2009-09-19T12:24:00.000-07:00

My first family trip came to an end today. It was one of the most memorable trips ever.
We landed in Mangalore airport on Sunday. A very small airport, it is located on a hill and the rains had ensured that the airport was green as it could get. From Mangalore we went to Mulki and then to Karkala to pay obesiance to family deities. Karkala is known for its Jain temples and is most famous for the Gomateshwara statue. The tranquility of the place was unbelievable. From Karkala we went to Sagara which is my mother's hometown. The place is changing rapidly with commercial complexes replacing old houses. These complexes are multi storeyed and even have elevators in them. These are places which are going to experience exponential growth rates and will be engines of India's growth.
I also happened to visit my ancestoral farm. Ten acres of the farm was lush green with paddy. Only one crop is grown in a year. There is no rabi crop. The most surprising aspect was that there was no need for electricity as the entire farm was rain fed through canals. There was no need of pump sets. Also no pesticides or fertilisers were used. Only cow dung was used as manure. The only problem was the high labour wages prevailing in that area. Agricultural labour cost Rs 100 plus food for one day. Women were paid Rs 80 and food per day.
I also happened to visit a farm where the farmer generated his own electricity by installing his own hydro electric system. His monthly bill by using the state electricity board's electricity was a mere Rs 30. All his agricultural produce was organic and was sold to ISKCON. He never bought vegetables as he grew them in his farm. I had lunch at his home and realised what "fresh" meant in the real sense of the term.
His backyard had two streams whose water he harnessed for hydro electricity and for consumption purpose. A sight to marvel for city dwellers like us who install artificial water streams in our houses for tranquility.
Some other trips were to Jog falls, gudvi bird sanctuary and Harnemallu which is known for its adventure sports like kayaking, camping, trekking etc.
This trip made me realise that India has the potential to be a global tourist hub as it caters to every need and taste. If only the authorities act on the abysmal state of infrastructure and involve the local community in managing these places, we will earn billions of dollars in foreign exchange from foreign tourists.

Out of my comfort zone

2009-09-12T11:04:00.000-07:00

IRMA's strength lies in its demanding curriculum. The fieldwork segment is one of the most demanding of the components of PRM course. This component requires participants to spend two months in a village which is usually devoid of electricity, proper sanitation facilities, physical infrastructure and is situated in remote locations and accessibility to the near towns is difficult.
I will be heading to Toranmal village in Nandurbar district of Maharashtra this year. Toranmal is the second highest hill station in the state. We will be living in a hut which does not have any electricity. We have been asked to be careful of mosquitoes and tigers. Since it is a forest area tigers are sighted in that village.
Tiger repellant anyone?

Globalisation or Localisation???

2009-09-05T11:08:00.000-07:00

The last day of Term 1 was signed off by a seminar on Localisation by Dr. Helena Norberg-Hodge.
A Swedish environmentalist, Hodge has worked with communities in Ladakh and Leh for more than three decades. She believes that localisation and not globalisation is the way forward. Local products for local people.
As part of the interaction she showed us a movie titled "Paradise with side effects" where two Ladhaki women travel to UK and see the lifestyle in London. The crux was that the west is not paradise. And we (developing countries) should not follow their lifestyle. We need to have our own lifestyles that is community centric.
Also her post film discussions were centred around how globalisation was only big business, big economies etc etc. The usual ranting that one would expect at the World Social Forum.
To quote from her institution's website, isec.org.uk, "A consistent theme in ISEC's educational work is the need to shift direction - away from dependence on a global economy dominated by huge corporations and supranational institutions, towards economic structures that are more decentralised, diversified, and ecological. One way we disseminate this message is through lectures, seminars, and interviews with ISEC Director Helena Norberg-Hodge. We also organize workshops and conferences on global-to-local initiatives."

In these recessionary times one would have to be careful while talking about virtues of globalisation, but I believe that globalisation is no longer a 'either-or' phenomena. Globalisation is a movement which is here to stay. What matters is how to use this movement for larger good.
Localisation is an utopian concept. If local produce is used only for local community, it leads to higher costs and the overall community suffers as a result. What is local? Is it at the village level, district level, regional level or at the national level?
Coming to globalisation, is it only about big business? Do only big companies, MNCs win in globalisation? We in India followed "import substitution" for many decades post independence. What ensued was cheap quality products in short supply and at high prices. When the economy opened up in 1991, the domestic manufacturers suddenly found themselves competing with MNCs who flooded the market with better quality products and at lower prices. Did all domestic manufacturers close shop? Some did but India now boasts of companies like Infosys and Bharthi which were post 1991 companies.
There are ills about globalisation. If left to developed economies, it will become a highway where less developed economies are like cycles competing with the big trucks. We need to fine tune globalisation to make sure that everyone has access to opportunities to make a decent living.
Localisation is not something that will succeed.Good to hear and nice to dream about but something that is not workable at all...atleast not at the level to challenge globalisation.

And the pressure cooker has been switched off

2009-09-04T09:44:00.000-07:00

The first term at IRMA got over today. Three months of pressure. Apart from sundays, we were only allowed two days of holidays.
It is surprising the wide range of experiences that I had in these three months. Right from the one week in Moti Koral as part of induction work to the unsolvable Economics paper in the end term, it was a roller coaster ride.
From being thrown in mud water during janmashatami to submitting an assignment at 11:57 when the deadline was 12:00, it was a memorable ride. I no longer care about how bad a test went. Cause you know that the feeling would be shared among the entire batch.
From being praised for a presentation to being thrashed on another presentation, I have seen it all.
One more week of fieldwork preparation and I head home to do what I do best...sleep!!!!

Getting Professionals for Development Action.

2009-08-08T11:01:00.000-07:00

What would a person with a Masters in Engineering from MIT and a Management Degree from MIT's Sloan School of Management be doing in the field of rural development? But then Deep Joshi is different and has made a difference. He is currently in the news for being awarded the Ramon Magsaysay award which is considered as Asia's equivalent to the Noble Peace Prize.
Founder of PRADAN (Professional Assistance for Development Action), he was recognised for "his vision and leadership in bringing professionalism to the NGO movement in India, by effectively combining 'head' and 'heart' in the transformative development of rural communities," the Board of Trustees of the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation said in a press statement from its headquarters in Manila.
I first came across Deep Joshi's name in the list of directors' of IRMA. There was no organisation mentioned along with his name. The name came back when he won the Magsaysay award last week. And it has stuck with me now.
His mantra for achieving success among rural communities is ""Civil society needs to have both head and heart. If all you have is bleeding hearts, it wouldn't work. If you only have heads, then you are going to dictate solutions which do not touch the human chord."
His organisation has been able to convince IIM graduates to work for rural development and achieve high levels of satisfaction that no pay packet would have been able to give to young Management graduates. As Kurien said "Go where you are highly needed and not highly paid"
An inspiration to many of us who at some point in time would engage with rural development,Deep Joshi certainly deserves the Magsaysay award.

Obscene....or creative freedom

2009-07-28T13:07:00.000-07:00

After a long time I got this song on my ipod. Was and still is a terrific song.
But after hearing it I checked the lyrics online to reaffirm what I had heard.
And this is what the female in the song says

"coldboy dekhe mujhe
playboy chayre mujhe
sex mere tan mein haye
lips mere mun mein haye"

This was in 1995.....Pretty liberal eh...

Ishaan Awasthis in IRMA

2009-07-26T00:24:00.000-07:00

Just in case you do not know who Ishaan Awasthi is, he is the cute little dyslexic kid in TZP. Yeah the same kid who saw space shuttles animals coming out of his question papers.
I empathise with him. I felt exactly like him during the last three days. So did many other IRMANs of the 30th batch.
But I have learnt my lesson. I have been chastised. I will now try to study more. The key word being try.

Of tests, tests and tests

2009-07-14T10:22:00.000-07:00

Exams were a once- evey- six month affair. Here it is a daily affair. While some Professors are kind enough to hold announced quizzes, some prefer to have surprise ones. It does not matter actually as my grades are showing a decline irrespective of the quizzes being surprise ones or not. Not that they were high but then they were above the class average and then are hovering dangerously close to D levels.
I am still waiting for the F to come along. As say they say "Life without an F is a Lie"

WSJ unvelis a new initiative

2009-07-10T11:56:00.000-07:00

Looks like Investment Banking is passe......
WSJ in collaboration with Knowledge@Wharton has launched a new web page dedicated only to Rural India.