Cause marketing

"The business of business is business"
                                                      -Milton Friedman

 "I have never met a person who can change the world with out my money."


As a society, we mastered the skill of skepticism. And who can say that skepticism is bad.It actually helps us to identify the right choices most of the times.

But the skeptic customer can sometimes be the most loyal customer and once if we can grab him,he will be loyal. Confused? Simple! He is skeptic anyway so he won't go to another marketer that easily.

The funda is clear.Never believe in prosumers, who will adapt everything at the first sight.These are the guys who will fall in love at first sight.No guarantee about the number of  first sights they encounter in their life. So, if you are a traditional business, they will make u bleed and so try to get the skeptic consumer,he will be brand loyal for some time.Hence the base for break-even is skeptic consumer.


"I have never met a person who can change the world with out my money."

I have heard this roughly 4 years back from a not-so-known person but it is back of my mind from then on. I was actually thinking of how to win over these people to make them donate for the right-cause. These kind of people are very skeptic.They are not the people who believe in everything we speak.These are not the guys who get emotional at everything they see in life.


Simply,these are not the people who pull out wallets at the first sight of beggars. They have their own funda of charity.

Then the question is "How to get the money from these guys when you are genuine?"

Dhaval(CEO,Give India) in his "Cause marketing" says there is a way.The way is to apply the principles of "Cause marketing".He tries to explain with the example of "Jaago rey"Tea campaign and uses "Social responsibility activities" of Makemytrip to support his arguments.

I dont want to make this blog lengthier and at the same time, really want to write about this cause marketing.So, will write a second blog on this soon.

Reminiscence- Aravind Eye care systems

In late December-2011, when the train reached Madurai; a gentle breeze greeted 450+ battalion. Its the place of Goddess Meenakshi and to reach there, we almost did an adventure of speeding in more pace than a oncoming storm.Now,for me and many in the battalion, Madurai is no more an important religious place.

When I used to think about Social-entrepreneurship, it was simply a high-level NGO which speaks of malice in the society and cries for the money and just put a face that they are good things so they are not growing.

There came an attitudinal change. Aravind  Eye care systems were introduced. Believe me, now whenever I think of a perfect business or a business which is actually stick to its vision,Aravind Eye care systems cross my mind. Thanks to Dr.S.Aravind, who didn't give a Gyan speech but made us think beyond the walls of physical miracle before our eyes.He touched my imagination and one way he advised not to force self to do things because in long run force remains and beauty vanishes.

The words of Dr.V started resounding in his speech,"There must be something beautiful in doing things." Its difficult.I can't imagine a billionaire coming up saying 'I built this beauty.' He simply says,'I built an empire' and the underlying indication is he is an emperor. I may sound illogical but I used to feel business and beauty are contradictory and they cant coexist.

Now, let me stop the talking and let me show you a video.One of my favorite video and forget not to praise the charm of lady and glow in her eyes and behind it all, there is a man who built a system which is extra-efficient and he is "Dr.V"

Here is the video and do share your thoughts

Its always not about which side we take...!

Till a few months back, I was hearing the concerns and complaints of fellow veterinarians (especially in Khammam district of Andhra Pradesh) about the effects of BT cotton on the over all health of dairy animals and small ruminants(Sheep and Goat). Even I prescribed the detoxicants assuming the effect of cotton fields as they grazed in BT cotton fields. Among veterinarians, a few argued, its the rampant use of fertilizers in Bt cotton fields and a few argued about the toxins in the form of proteins being developed in BT cotton. Though I don't know about the right argument; I am a direct witness of the BT cotton on animal health.

There were times when the cotton farmers suicides were a daily news item. At certain places of Andhra pradesh,there were panic situations and as usual the political mantra was ex gratia and at that time, as I learned(open to interpretations), every one was numb about the advent of  BT cotton. The hands were shook with that big boss to bring in the technology and the story followed. But can we deny the fact that cotton farmers suicides came down? The cotton farming is a relatively stable business now. 

There is political angle to every problem in India. Last year, AP Government couldn't supply the cotton seeds and there were several gimmicks associated with it and not going into details of it; I infer that farmers are willing to grow cotton. Now what do we call it? Lack of public participation-its not really right to conclude. I'm not saying that whatever Government proposes is right but do we expect utopia in every situation.Its a democracy but even in democracies, its always sense of possibilities which should prevail. 

Now, yes its about the BRAI bill which caught my attention and these are my instant flow of thoughts............

(To be continued...)

3 things to do before A.P Assembly polls-2014(for rural areas)

To my best of belief and judgement, present ruling congress Government should do these 3 things in/for rural areas before going to 2014 polls. Leaving the thought of whether they will win/lose; it can be helpful as a damage mitigation measures or can set an example for next coming Government.

1) Immediately they should go for panchayat elections and they should conduct them fairly without thinking about winning/losing it.If they win,they can take it a chance to project a few more good policies into place and if they lose,they have to accept the defeat and has to commit themselves for pro-people policies.By doing this,they will get the stopped Central Government funds for basic sanitation,drinking water and street lights. Along with this they have to commit at least Rs.1000/voter to the Gram Panchayats in 2013-14 budget.They should not ear mark at least Rs.300/voter to any particular activity thus giving a Gram Sabha a chance to decide their priorities. They should deploy a few special officers to look into this at every stage and social audit should be conducted at least once in 3 months till 2014.

2) In agriculture,they should release the subsidy amount of loans immediately, even at the cost of stopping educational camps like Rythu Chaitanya Yatralu, Palle badi etc .They should pay the subsidy amount of loans to banks in time so that they can stop charging the farmers the full interest on loans. The bank managers should be given strict instructions not to ask deposits from a farmer when he had his loan amount still not repaid.

3)Final move should come in the form of starting the insurance scheme for every one suffering from ill-health and I believe,it will be a game-changer for Congress party as 108 and Arogyasri has brought Y.S.R back to power in 2009. The logic that the present pension scheme and P.D.S scheme of Government is neither satisfying the needs nor satiety of  many people and our white ration card system in shambles,they have to start the insurance scheme for frequently affecting diseases like Diarrhoea,Fever,Malaria etc., and they should notify certain clinics along with Government hospitals and  hospitals irrespective of being Government/Private can claim the amount for the treatment they have given. Certain Special Officers(Chosen meticulously) should be deployed at District level and major towns of the District to look after this and social audit to be conducted once in 3 months for this (More study needs to be done and can be solidified after 2014)

Getting it right...!

                                 "If truth has to triumph,we must first ensure that it doesn't kill."

         The suicide of Aaron Swartz can serve as an wake up call for the international community. For India,we have several wake up calls earlier but the things didn't change much.Though Indian situations differ with Aaron's case,I take this opportunity to look at Indian things.
        
        In 2003,SatyendraNath Dubey was murdered as he exposed the corruption in the construction of Golden Quadrilateral.It was followed by the murder of Shanmugan Manjunath in 2005 and it followed by many more.

        There are several loop holes in our governance,public system and these murders in some way reflect them. The corruption of Golden Quadrilateral is highlighted by Dubey's murder but we should equally remember that Larsen & Turbo has given sub-contracts to incompetent contractors. This particular thing exposes the loop holes of our governance.

         Recently,the case of Salman Khurseed's N.G.O accusing it of faking the beneficiaries names,not organizing camps etc., but it should be widely known that it happens with many of the welfare departments of Government both at central and state level.Hyping figures is one more common phenomenon with our Government departments and many N.G.O's.

        The solution is to institutionalize checks and balances rather than burdening a few honest courageous people.The citizens charters should be established and widely publicized and social audit in regular intervals for all the government offices and N.G.O's should be conducted and a local ombudsman system should be brought in with enough teeth.Apart from this, improper power should be stopped through decentralization of power.

      The truth should triumph,the burden on a few individuals should be lessened and collective institutionalized corrective action should be promoted.

You know how it feels

You know how it feels,when I come to know that I live in the same nation where people rape till death.
You know how it feels,When all it matters to a tribe of people is their power and their progeny's future.
You know how it feels,when you take money from some business house to decide our fate.
You know how it feels, when I sit idle doing non-sense when a young generation out there is fighting for dignity.
You know,how it feels when a police officer comments on a girls rape as disguised prostitution.

You know,how it feels when a few bargain for commission and cuts when people are dying with hunger.
You know,how it feels when conscience questions, 'Is this the nation you inherited?','Is this the nation Swami vivekananda,C.R.Das,Netaji,bhaghat dreamt ?
It feels like banging some thing,some one;it feels rest less, it feels like learning to operate a gun and it feels like crying and it feels like crying.
The more horrible is involuntarily imagining my near and dear in the girls being raped.
I cant help it and I couldn't concentrate on my work from last 1 hour.I'm help less.

Politics is the art and scope of possibilities

                                  "Politics is the art and scope of possibilities"

                  Arvind Kejriwal, a cogent orator and an impeccable strategist is catching the public attention and     as the nation was looking for a hope, a stage has been set for a new kind of politics and if there is any person who has took the complete advantage of this is Kejriwal, himself.

                 The man with simple looks and fine ideas is naturally a better leader. He wrote in 'Swaraaj' about self-governance, giving power to local bodies and village budgets.The fathers of our constitution couldn't give much freedom to villages keeping those day circumstances in mind.
 
                Now the time has ripe for many things and people are ready to follow a leadership of honest origins and sensitivity and Arvind is banking on it but the real question is, Is his approach right? Could he lead this movement in future with the same momentum? Does his perfectionist stand will help to take right measures to build a right nation?

             This nation in many ways is a paradox. We believe our system as a pseudo-democracy largely controlled by opportunist-politicians and crowny-capitalists. Arvind  believes the same and  has spoken of over-hauling the system in mere 10 days after he gets into power.If it happens,world history will have a page for miracle.A miracle larger than the collapse of Berlin wall.

           In the same nation,the media has utmost freedom,the people are free to pursue their interests and they can hit streets whenever they want.They can burn any effigy of their choice and they can bring any one to power and they can throw any one from power peacefully. More than this,this nation had seen a brilliant set of political reforms in the recent past. Majority of this political reforms have taken place with out people hitting the streets and irony is the majority of people didn't even know about these political reforms. All the memory can catch is RTI.

         Before taking on some one,its important to understand, who are the victims? and who are the culprits? and in Indian system, we largely find victims rather than culprits.The politicians and capitalists,whom the general public hate a lot are victims. If the system was right always,they would have been right in many ways. Now if you speak of punishing every one even not leaving the victims may work for some time but its end results will be unfair for the majority.

         Instead of concentrating on past happenings, blame-games, if Kejriwal team can think about right policy implementation and instead of entertaining people with plenty of issues,if they can concentrate on taking up the few issues and fight till the end will make a sense,if they want to institutionalize the honesty.
 
       Its not a 3 hour film which can be shot in an year or so and released for a week in a theater and then count your collections based on the entertainment you provided to the people and in films you can create as many villians as you want but the nations can't be build in an year or you can't run a 'change reel' for an odd 3 hours.It needs unending patience and if you keep on telling people that we will change the nation pretty soon, there is a chance of killing the movement in the same time-frame they are visualizing.

      The perfectionist stand will definitely not help as the politics is the art and scope of possibilities. We cant run the show as we want. We need to run it as per the possibilities. If you keep on building pressure on victims,who may be in power now; it deteriorate things rather than helping the things.Some one need to learn of making the way brick-by-brick and i.e., an amendment after amendment.

       Definitely, we need a nation where right and instant justice will be the pillars of our governance but at the same time we need to understand that we don't need a nation only for prosecutions and punishments.

         The think-tank of Kejriwal team has to introspect this question-What the end result we want out of this movement in both the best and the worst case?Biting more than what your mouth can afford is suicidal and in this nation its pretty possible to build a silent and strong revolution and Arvind and his team has every advantage now.

         



               

LOOK DOWN

NEVER LOOK DOWN UPON ANYONE

The Indian Socialism

It will be difficult for any one to implement two different ideas at the same time. After 1991,India has been facing the difficulty.We can't give away the Socialism for different reasons nor we can completely stick to capitalism.

The exemptions offered to profit-making corporates indicate our capitalism and the freebies given to normal public indicate our socialism .Does this sort of capitalism and socialism is delivering results? The magnitude of freebies is rampantly geeting increased and same the case with the revenue foregone.

The socialism, we adopted  may be the reason behind the increment of inflation rate.The socialism we adopted is unable to increase the standard of living.Any support should not stay for too long.The support should be provided to the people to let them make their own course of living.The socialism should also help to increase the skill of people involved.

Are we able to achieve the desired results through our socialism?

The caste

The unique system in India which evolved politically is caste system.The heated arguments about elimination of caste is on the board every now and then. The main argument behind denying caste is in support of equality among citizens.

The caste in many parts of rural India is an identity. A few cooperative societies in rural India turns into caste-defined elections and the particular caste participates in elections to elect the president for their caste proudly.

The caste is in flesh and blood of many people in rural India.The segregation of villages into colonies based on caste  is quite evident. Its an identity. The eating habits of a few sects of people may differ from other villagers but they living in their own colony and eating their desired food doesn't affect others and its a win-win situations for every one. It can be compared in other issues too.

Certain  bureaucrats has always tried to go to the depressed classes first like the first bore well in the village to be in the depressed classes colony or over head water tank near to the depressed classes etc.,Other caste might have denied to go to that place but they tried.

Always caste played an important role in implementation of government schemes and poverty studies can be amalgmated with caste studies. Does the argument to eliminate caste fit in ? or a deep study on the trends of poverty and other parameters along with caste will fit in?

The crisis

A little problem between two villagers becomes problem of two political parties in no time. This is common observation for any person who lives near to Indian villages for at least 6 months. Sometimes, the political party leaders standing behind persons do good as our beauracratic system needs stimulation every now and then.

Politicians always play a great role in attracting attention and their main agenda is to mobilize people, attract more people .For this, they have to take a stand in every conflict. Whenever a political party tried to take a mid-way on any issue, people rejected them. Whatever the issue it is, our main stream political parties has put an outstanding efforts to reap benefits out of it and it’s an amazing job altogether.

 Majority of the people in the villages are affiliated to one or other political party? This point can't be ignored when we speak about change in this nation. So, if we establish a new political party, full of ethics and people empowerment as agenda, we are going to bring the right change in the nation. Will it happen that way?

First thing, any new political party coming into the zone has to bank on voters in the village to win and 90% vote bank is already affiliated to already existing political party. So getting them to the new path is very difficult because many of our village voters are loyal to the leaders. No one is going to believe a new party because every party at the time of emergence speaks of values and they will tend to corrupt day by day.

So a new political party bringing the CHANGE is a myth. What can be the solution for our value- crisis in the political system?

Some reflections before I arrive at the time of speaking out....!

In 10 months,some sentences I heard,
"Many issues in the system remains unnoticed.So No problem,we can commit mistakes."
"Government works on Paper"
"Its not honesty which will be awarded,its diplomacy."
"The money should go to the person who bears risk if any thing goes wrong.Don't name it corruption."
... "Local Governments are always local."
"If you start seeking clarifications,there will be many so better not seek any."
"We are not here to do benefit to anyone.We are here simply to carry on our work."
"You may not be knowing.Your seniors know everything."
..........Much more...........content banned,regulated and stopped...!

My counter take on education

Before 3 years,When I tried to study the Indian education system in a constructive way,it was giving me interest and at that time I didn't see it as a real problem of India,may be lack of sensitivity or failing in understanding this diverse experiment called India.

Yesterday,in group discussion I made a very interesting statement(it's interesting for me :-) i.e., 'this nation has failed because we tried to educate traditionally' and this is the real-outburst.I don't know that I can make this statement.How can you really expect a statement from a guy who has written to governor to implement a comprehensive system of taking help from well-educated students to educate children and asked to ignore the people who crossed 20 years.Now,I'm changing my thinking and that statement witnesses that.Education is much needed evil in this nation but not learning of alphabets,signatures or reading panchatantra stories.

I know,people are going to take a toil on my words and I also know that I have to check the sustainability of my thoughts.'Whether reading Panchatantra stories or R.K.Narayan or say cartoons' is necessary to guide your inner creativity or paper crafts are going to teach the slum child about innovation? I won't say,"Definitely not" but my answer because of my present state of mind is "NO"

This nation needs skill not arts and if anyone proves me wrong in my argument, I really love to be proved wrong because I'm not comfortable with this thought but trying to understand the reality.Reality really sucks.I loved that film 'Taare Zameen par'.It's really good for that child because his father can afford a beautiful residental school for him and Amir Khan is on enough payments to afford his time but that is not real India.(I still love the film)


When I was trying to make some suggestions to the education system and when I have given a decent briefing right from independence,Gokhale's comission,vietnam and Cuba eduacation revolution,I remember those applause and everyone was happy with my study but today I feel,I'm failed and I was in the trap of people I read.That day,one of my friend has written a mail making a point about the importance of providing skills in schools and I made that point but with less emphasis.


We need 'Ranchos' of 3 idiots I'm not behind his intelligence or coolness.Remember the climax,he makes a flour-maker machine through Scooter power and also teaches children to innovate and this sort of innovation is needed.Education makes a real impact on any nation's future especially in a nation where population is the prosperity and it really makes me sick when I hear Rajiv education mission reports that 7 standard students are unable to solve 3 standard arithmetic and we have to work on it but don't prioritize it as first.Skill provision should be taking the first place in India and after that the need of arithmetic or newton's laws.

First they came..!

They came first for the Communists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist.

Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.

Then they came for me
and by that time no one was left to speak up.



High drama running around the country.It's my nation which suffered 20 lakh crores because of scams till this date from independence and every one should remember that these are the scams which came into light.Hongkong till 1970's was more or less same like today's India but with in 35-40 years Hong Kong has become one of the most honest nation.What happened in HongKong?

Why N.R.Narayana Murthy should attend round table conference on reforms?Why Ratan Tata accused an aviation minister?Why Nandan Nilekani became helpless? Sri sri Ravi shankar has joined the Anti-corruption movement.The loving Guru of many disciples who always talks of Love and compassion has to finally make this move for millions of poor in this nation.Every one knows that no country is completely free of corruption but the question is why is it rampant in India?


Lobbying is the biggest business in the world.Even Radia,the character artist of the present show was introduced by the former minister Ananth Kumar and she has every right to do her own business.The same with Burkha and Vir Sanghvi but why these lobbyists and journalists don't work for the public good in India?


Now comes the most important question.Why the entire nation woke up after 2 years of every thing happened and why we are shouting whether Raja should be punished or not? Is it that important to punish Raja? Is it that important to criticize these people for some time and forget every thing when some other issue comes to head lines?Are we really insane?Do we know the link between corruption and development or we are being part of this drama because of abstruse anger?


Hong Kong was one of the most corrupt nation in the world just like India now.people took to streets. The island was forced to set up an Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) with functional autonomy, headed by men and women of merit, drawn from many disciplines. And it cleaned up the system. To begin with, they dismissed scores of top level cops. Today, Hong Kong is one of the most honest countries.

What's wrong with India?Can we bring Hong kong type reforms in India?A look at the structure of our anti-corruption system shows that there is not a single anti-corruption agency that is independent of the government or has the complete powers to take action.

The CVC and CAG are independent but merely recommendatory. The government often ignores their advice.

CBI has powers but is completely dependent on the government for permissions for investigations and prosecutions. CBI’s lawyers are appointed by the Law ministry and report to it as well. That is the reason why everyone demands a Supreme Court monitored CBI investigation (as is the case in 2G spectrum).

Our anti-corruption systems have inherently and intently been kept flawed. Even the Lok Pal Bill pending since 1968 falls in the same category as it is also proposed to be a recommendatory body.

Therefore, no vigilance or anti corruption body in our country is independent and final. Either an agency is recommendatory or it is vulnerable to political influences or both.

That has led to a situation where the high and mighty never get punished for corruption. There is clearly a class divide. We have police stations for the poor but CBI, CVC and CAGs for the rich with nearly NIL recovery of ill usurped wealth.

Therefore, India needs a total overhaul of the anti-corruption delivery system. We believe that the country immediately needs a statutory, effective and independent investigating and prosecuting multidisciplinary agency, paid from the Consolidated Fund and led by independent professionals searched, and not merely appointed and barred for some years from re-employment, to ward off political vagaries.



Why corruption is rampant in India?Corruption is not about bribing or being bribed.Corruption is larger than this.If an employee is not working,it is corruption and We know,how well our Government employees work in our system.With out work,being on pay scale they are bribed by us as the salary is nothing but our taxes.A voter being paid to execute his vote is also a form of corruption and every one knows how well our system works during elections!

Even Loksatta stated,"We can't blame trees(Raja) for the forest(India)". Corruption became our culture.Even we never complain about our money-lost or we never complain about the hapless happenings around us.We take entertainment out of News and we want to know whether that corrupt individual,who was unfortunately came into light was sacked from the present position.There ends the game.We all set a vicious cycle.We complain but for punishment not for prevention.Even Arun Shourie stated,"The visible Government of India keeps changing, but that invisible government of India remains completely stable".No elaboration needed.We know everything but we deliberately shut our eyes like Manmohan Singh said,"Coalition Government has its own limitations",that means he implies,'Coalition governments are protectors of corruption." If we won't feel betrayed after this statement,we are really shameless.


An excerpt from Arun shourie's interview.
Don't you think the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) also has a lot to answer for in the current situation?

I don't see the difference between the two. I feel they (the BJP and the Congress) are one party. They are jointly ruling. It is a dinner party. They meet at dinners. They meet socially. They decide on what has to be done about issues.

It is all very cooperative behaviour. They (the BJP) are shouting (for a Joint Parliamentary Committee). They know that it will kill the investigation.

A JPC will raise side issues and that is what both sides want. Because the corporates behind both sides are the same. They don't want the 2G spectrum investigation to proceed.


He questioned,"Today also the reportage is about what (former telecom minister) A Raja says, what Arun Shourie says. Is that the end of the story? I hardly read newspapers now. I just don't watch television. There is nothing to be learnt.

Why are journalists going for sound bytes? Why don't they take the documents home, study it and come to their own conclusions?"



No more evidences needed to prove our irresponsibility and the vicious cycle we set in.



Finally there is chronic problem in the way we do things.Not only in this issue but in everything.Take for example the 2G scam. To begin with, the minister was not exactly a natural choice for this important ministry. The main fixer was not somebody who can in any way be described as a public or social policy strategist, or even someone who could be remotely described as a technologist of some repute.

Many of the companies that obtained licences at throwaway prices had no proven expertise in this field and they promptly sold a part (or all) of their holdings at obscene premiums to other players even before any market was developed by them.

Recall the exemplary success of the initial spectrum auction held in the United Kingdom that every nation wanted to emulate. Well, what is worth pointing out is that the person who led the UK auction, in its design and implementation, was not a fixer, was not a civil servant and certainly not a minister.

He was a reputed professor in game theory and economics, who went back to his academic career after the successful auction.


What we need to do? I remember a scene from recent film Khelein Hum Jee Jaan sey.In that Surjaya asks a teenager,"Why you want to be a part of this revolution?".The teenager replies,"I want my foot ball ground but British occupied it and I want to send them home." Yes,every one has thier own priorities in life.Tribals don't want their land to be acquitted by Government under land acquisition act because it's unfair.

I need my things done in a proper way and I should not face any problems in getting government services because I'm paying the taxes every day,every minute.Now we need to tell them,we are watching you and we want it to be a democracy not 'demonocracy'.Martin Niemoller, a German pastor has written the poem,"First they came" during world war2 and now if we stay silent it will lead to the situation of the person in the poem.


Pick a post card/M.O(Re.1) and send it to P.M.Send an email.Sign online-petition and make your voice heard by Prime minister of India and tell him that we won't tolerate this.



Courtesy;-Arvind Kejriwal,Dr.Jayaprakash Narayan,Arun shourie,Swapan Das Gupta,Loksatta,Shubhashis Gangopadhyay,Gowtham Challur,Martin Niemoller etc.,

Creativity to bring dignity

Yesterday,I was reading an article written by a friend and its about his courage to choose a career which is different and difficult but which can create a lot of social impact and I was yet to finish it when I received a call from my friend asking whether we can go to 'Gram Vikas', an NGO founded by Joe Mediath.I wanted to visit it always and my answer would have been 'yes' even on my wedding day.

It was an amazing trip.I didn't know that I was going to get answers to a few problems.When I visited a village in Bargarh distict some 5 months before,a diary farm-owner taught me much more than my college professors.His son taught me 'Where your passion can make u land?' but I asked them a few questions which is more system-related and they have no answers and whenever I ask people they answer "I don't know." and a few go ahead and say,"There are solutions but impractical" etc etc.,

Rural development is very important aspect which we always ignore at ground level.I certainly won't blame governments because at higher level their spending on this sector is magnanimous. We should look back to the places where 70% of our population live and in states like Odisha,it goes around 88% and 47% of people living below poverty line.Statistics say that the health and education is the costliest commodity for them.Can we do anything really? Can development be sustainable for them?

The answer is 'yes' if we have creativity and if we have dedication and its equally important to be skilled.A friend of me recently made me able to think about practicality by explaining me about the conditions in Ganjam district of Odisha.A village has been constructed in a more linear manner that the 'Harijans' live at the end of village.There is no chance of constructing bath rooms and by chance,if they construct there is no accessibility to water and no way to make them use bath rooms.I asked about the chances of community bathrooms.She said,"Its impossible" because people live with casteism circulating in their veins and its impossible to make them use community bathrooms" She finished the conversation,"we were the only family having a functional bathroom in the whole village."

For me its an upset.For me its undignified. For me its a failure.I used to tell this much before,"A newly wed-bride comes to a village and she has to go to bathroom and she won't have any accessibility to bathrooms.She has to pick a mug and run the nearest pond and hide behind the bushes and if by any chance any tress-passer comes,she stands up in an urgency and poses as she is doing nothing and most of the women in the rural areas post-pone natural calls till the sunsets because darkness brings light and lightens their burden in the stomach.It is what we have achieved in the last 63 years."

When I'm finished saying this, a close-friend of mine said,"Stop the shit,when we have million other problems to solve,why do u speak about these silly things.If people have enough food to eat then only it comes out.Let's think about feeding not about the luxuries you have to provide to make them shit." I just thought,"Bath room is a luxury.What a pity!" Its really important to construct bath rooms and improve sanitation not because it can improve our position in Human Development reports but it is the only solution to reduce diseases mainly water-borne bacterial diseases.

Visiting Gram Vikas has strengthened my belief that creativity in our approach can really make development( I feel sanitation is a developmental issue) sustainable.They designed a dignified solution.Cluster of bath rooms where they have numbering to each bathroom and they number them and allot a bathroom to a family and the family takes care of that bathroom and uses them.There are several other things which they are taking care of but this appealed to me.

I don't say that this is a complete solution but this is a solution of course,lot has to be done ,even in the areas they are working.Even they said,"It takes 3 years to make people agree and construct in a village." but it doesn't mean that people's mind-set changes in 3 years.Its indeed not that easy but something is better than nothing and working hands is better than praying lips.

I dedicate this note to the 522 people who are working in 895 habitations and who are giving people a reason to smile.I salute the team of Joe Mediath sir,who are dedicated to make development sustainable.

Time to end the scourge of corruption

Courtesy:-Lok satta News



The direct and grave indictment of the present Union Telecommunications Minister A. Raja by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) points to a staggeringly-high loss of Rs. 1.7 lakh crores to the public exchequer. This revelation comes in the wake of two other shameful scams: the gross irregularities in the Rs. 70,000 crore - Commonwealth Games (CWG) and the shameful Adarsh Housing Society scam in Mumbai, the latter being carried out invoking the sacred memory of Kargil martyrs.

This is a serious warning sign on two counts:

1. the sheer scale, scope and magnitude of corruption and the consequent loss of massive amounts to the public exchequer and
2. the involvement of politicians at the country’s highest levels.

Essentially, the CAG concluded that the Union Cabinet Minister for IT and Communications ignored advice from the PM and ministries of law and finance, the recommendations of the Telecom Regulatory Authority (TRAI) and allocated 2G spectrum to a select group of other-wise ineligible companies at throwaway prices. The CAG also faulted the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) for its acts of omission and the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) for its gross violations of norms.

Distorted public debate:

Unfortunately, the public debate is at present entirely centered on whether the Union Minister A.Raja has to be sacked or retained, whether such a sacking would change the ruling coalition’s arithmetic or not and likewise. Given India’s track record, the persons involved would likely consider such a ritual ‘political sacrifice’ at the altar of media-driven and coalition-governed politics to satisfy the effervescent public attention, which would then move on to other issues.

While the immediate removal of the tainted minister is a necessary and obvious first step, we should not mistake the trees for the forest. It is imperative that all concerned and guilty persons should be suitably punished through a fast-tracked legal process, given the overwhelmingly conclusive evidence of gross irregularities, likely involving massive bribery and corruption facilitated by blatant misuse of office and abuse of authority.

Real issues must be examined:

Even more important is that we should take a step back and examine the deeper issues impacting the overall welfare of the nation and its citizens. This exercise is absolutely necessary so that not only are the guilty suitably punished, but also the losses to the public exchequer are recouped, punitive damages imposed on the guilty parties and a suitable anti-corruption mechanism is put in place to ensure that no such gross instances of gross corruption take place in the future. The root causes of political corruption must be addressed or else such incidences are bound to recur with greater severity and wreck the Indian economic growth miracle. In this context, we should examine the following hierarchy of issues, principles and priorities:

Tainted Contracts: The 2G-spectrum telecom licenses granted to a select group of favoured companies, which otherwise were totally ineligible for providing telecom services, are quite obviously ‘tainted contracts’. Media reports indicate that CAG pointed out that 12 such ineligible companies secured 85 out of 122 licenses across various jurisdictions in India, for the 2G spectrum.

Corruption, bribery and abuse of authority must be established immediately: While the irregularities in the entire process of granting licenses have been established by the CAG, an independent investigation must be carried out immediately to ensure that the corresponding corruption, bribery, abuse of office and misuse of authority too are established. This body of evidence must form the foundation for a fast-tracked criminal prosecution and punishment of all concerned persons, in both government and outside. At present, India does not have such a fast-responding and effective investigative, prosecution and judicial redressal system to fight serious corruption (see below).

Tainted contracts should be scrapped immediately: Parallel to the above investigation, the Union government should immediately undertake a comprehensive, unbiased and transparent review of the entire 2G spectrum licensing policy and process, based on the CAG’s report. Any 2G spectrum licensing contract that is established to be obtained on the basis of corruption and bribery or abuse of office and authority and in violation to the government’s norms should be declared as null-and-void; they were obtained illegally and therefore are unenforceable. Hence they should be scrapped.

Internationally, in most legal systems, transactions tainted by bribery or corruption are considered illegal and unenforceable. Even in India, in 2007, the Indian Army did not hesitate to scrap a $600 million-worth deal for 197 helicopters with Eurocopter, the world’s largest maker of civil and military helicopters (and a subsidiary of EADS, the European defence and aerospace group), following the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC)’s criticism of the bidding process and illegal use of middlemen, violative of the existing policy of prohibiting middlemen in military deals. The Army subsequently went in for a fresh and open bidding process.

Spectrum, a scarce and precious national resource, belongs to us Indians: It should not be forgotten that the 2G spectrum ultimately is a scarce and precious national resource. The granting of licenses to cellular operators is merely a privilege granted by the sovereign Indian government, entirely on a discretionary and temporary basis.

Now that several ineligible companies were granted these licenses through acts of bribery, corruption, abuse of authority and office, the corresponding 2G spectrum has to be taken back by the government. It can be handed over in the interim to the BSNL, a hugely credible and successful public sector telecom company, for ensuring the smooth continuation of cellular/mobile phone operations. This top-tier redressal arrangement would guarantee that, we, the ordinary consumers are not inconvenienced and do not lose out on the present and easily-accessible cellular phone services. This spectrum can be subsequently allotted to various operators, de-novo, through a transparent, proper licensing process that benefits the consumers as well as the public exchequer.

Recovery of loss to the public exchequer: Simultaneously, punitive damages must be imposed on the guilty parties and the monies should be recovered from them. Towards this, all ill-gotten wealth earned through illegal means should be seized and confiscated by the government and deployed for public good.

The present law against corruption and its application suffer from several lacunae including absence of effective provisions for forfeiture of property of corrupt public servants, dilatory processes because of overload of criminal cases in courts, political control of investigative agencies, weak prosecution, and legal requirements of prior sanction of prosecution of public servants accused of corruption.

The various Committees and Commissions constituted by the State and Union Governments have reiterated the need to amend the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA), 1988. The 166th Law Commission Report, the 2nd Administrative Reforms Commission’s 4th Report amongst others have made key recommendations in this context. A suitable law is urgently required to amend the PCA in order to make it more effective in fighting the menace of corruption.

In addition, a legislation is needed to eliminate multiplicity of agencies dealing with wrong doing of public servants, to strengthen the institution of Lok Ayukta and sharpen its jurisdiction, and make elected and appointed public servants more accountable.

Towards this, the Prevention of Corruption Amendment Bill (2009) has already been prepared and submitted to the AP Legislative Assembly by Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan (AP MLA). The traditional parties must act now to enact this law.

Strong anti-corruption mechanisms and institutions need of the hour: Plundering the public exchequer for private gain has been the favourite pastime of unscrupulous crooks, often in collusion with politicians and officials entrusted with the responsibility of protecting public good. This corruption disease has reached epidemic proportions in India. Our existing and regular statutory, investigative, prosecution and judicial systems are able to cope with this tidal wave of corruption.

Time for a False Claims Act in India: The False Claims Act in the US is an excellent example of innovation to prevent and detect fraud and corruption. Under this law, any person can unearth fraud or false claims (such as the ones made for organizing the Commonwealth Games), and file suit on behalf of the US against those who have falsely claimed federal funds for any procurement of goods, works or services. Such a whistleblower who files successful suits (called ‘Qai tam’ suits) can recover 15 - 25% of any settlement or judgment reached in a case if the government intervenes in the action, or up to 30% if they pursue it on their own. Private citizens thus have an enormous incentive to detect false claims and corruption and file suits. Consequently, a huge industry of unearthing false claims has sprung up, and hundreds of false claim suits are filed every year. Since then, 4000 such suits have been filed, resulting in $6 billion recovered. In addition, $4 billion was recovered in government-initiated claims. In all such cases, a person making false claim is liable to 3 times the amount of damages sustained by the government, plus a civil penalty.

It is high time we enacted similar laws providing incentive to citizens to unearth fraud and corruption. There are practical, simple, effective methods to set things right. Sensible laws and effective legal system to enforce them are crucial to prevent public fraud.

Independent and empowered Anti-corruption mechanism for India.

We need to create a strong, independent, empowered Lok Pal with adequate resources. The CVC and CBI should function within the purview of Lok Pal. The anti-corruption wing at national and local levels should be completely independent of political and partisan control. They should be under Lok Pal / Lok Ayuktas, similar to the Independent Anti-Corruption Commission (IACC) created in Hong Kong in 1974. The Anti-corruption law should be tightened as recommended by the Second Administrative Reforms Commission. There should be independent prosecutors drawn from judiciary to prosecute corruption cases. Special Courts, confiscation of property and swift justice should be the essential ingredients of our anti-corruption strategy.

The recent scams and the resultant public outrage should lead to tangible institutional and legal outcomes as suggested above. Only then can India move forward, and build a strong economy and mature democracy of which we can be justly proud.

JOY OF GIVING

The following is an email I received in IofC-Odisha google groups from a friend.His name has resemblance with min but of course,he is a bit ahead of me in maturity of thoughts.Thanq Arbind for a wonderful mail and hope you don't mind for pasting it here.


There is slight ambiguity regarding the time he told about the death of Mother Teresa and Diana but don't get into details of that.




More than a year and a half has passed since the deaths of Mother Teresa and Princess Diana. Yet, their lives remain clear in our memory. And for good reason, for there is much we can learn from them. For example, their deaths remind us how a person is remembered.

We can learn from them and experience the joy of giving. To do so, we need not be as heroic. There is no need to travel to some distant land or search out the less fortunate. All we need do is awaken, to become aware of those around us. Every encounter is an opportunity to give. Our siblings, spouse, children, friends, relatives, co-workers, boss, customers, and all those we meet will gratefully accept our gifts. The gifts I'm referring to are spiritual in nature and, therefore, do not have any costs.

Sometimes we forget how much we have to offer. For example, though tired of waiting in line at the bank, we can offer the stressed-out bank teller a warm smile and the gifts of patience and understanding. We have the power to uplift her spirit and make her day! At home or in the office, our words of encouragement can plant the seeds of confidence in the minds of our children and co-workers.

You say, your younger brother/sister has used your mobile and there is nothing you can do about it? Well, don't fret; there is something you can do. You can give her the gift of acceptance, unconditional love. You see, all through life we are told to conform to the standards of others, instead of being accepted for whom we are. It starts with mommy and daddy, then it's our teachers and peers, followed by our supervisors in our workplace. Even our boy and girlfriends (and later our spouses) get into the act! It seems as if everyone is telling us what to do and how to think. No wonder people hunger for a little acceptance. Speaking of hunger, it takes more than food banks to feed the hungry. It also takes spiritual gifts, such as acceptance.

There are many more gifts that we can give. For instance, the gift of interest .What do you imagine is the worst thing we can do to someone? It is not to hate them, but to be indifferent toward them, to display no interest.You can offer your seat while travelling in a public transport or in side a waiting room or bus stop & you will receive gratitude in the form of smile. If someone were to hate you, it may be because of envy. Hatred, then, is an expression of interest. Imagine what it would be like if no one had the slightest interest in you. That would hurt! Our gift of interest can help satisfy the craving for attention. Ironically, it is only after we express our interest in others that we can learn how interesting they are!

Still another gift is that of recognition. There are more people starving for recognition than there are starving for food. Why is praise so sought after? Because, like gold and diamonds, it is rare and hard find. Can you remember how many times you were frustrated because your achievements and efforts went unrecognized? We can stop frustrating others by bearing the gift of recognition. Since praise is free, let's offer it freely, but it has value only when it is sincere.

The greatest gift we have to offer is that of time, for time is the stuff life is made of. As our only nonrenewable resource, it is precious. What greater way of expressing love, than by devoting time to those we care about and those in need? Walt Whitman, the poet, expressed it this way, "Behold, I do not give lectures or a little charity. When I give, I give myself." When we give to our friends, we draw them closer. When we give to our enemies, we change them into friends.

The deaths of Mother Teresa and Princess Diana remind us of our own mortality. It's almost as if they were whispering, "The time to give is now." Or, as Marcus Aurelius wrote in the second century, "Live not as though there were a thousand years ahead of you. Fate is at your elbow; make yourself good while life and power are still yours."

Let's do it-who know KAL HO NA HO!

love&prayer

Arbind

I wanted to write about 2 issues,which have lot of significance but we don't really understand.Both are different from each other.

I'm taking a course of YES+ and today is the second day of 3 days course.After the long kriya,the teacher who came from Kolkata said,"Just imagine,how the world would have been if every one in this world have this state of mind(Calm,peaceful)."This statement made me aware of today's date-September 11(9/11).The day which changed the course of this world and almost demolished two nations and affected many other nations.

Last time when I was visiting Bakul foundation,I clicked a photo and it is the photo which I published here.There was a dialogue in Vedam,a telugu film-"People fight in the name of religion because they don't understand each other's language.Some call Him Allah,Some call Him Jesus,and a few call Him vishnu etc.,"If each other understand other's language,there will be no problems and the common language among all is silence,but it can't be possible to be silent all the time so we should go for patience or say,tolerance but there is a limit to it even.So,what can be the solution?


Solution is Love.4 worded solution but it has lot of meaning.Love includes understanding,respect and every thing.Personally,I believe God is omni-present but I don't believe in "Idol-worship" but if some one asks me bend down before an idol,I immediately do it not for the sake of that idol but I respect the other persons belief who asked me to do so.I wish a muslim in his tradition paying complete respect to the words because I love(try to) the human being and I respect his belief too.


Can't we develop this trait,love.Why we fight on unnecessary after-death hell and heaven in turn turning the present earth into hell.I won't believe religion is greater than humanity and I trust,Love is equivalent to all forms of God.

I often hear people saying doing kriya or some yoga is spirituality.I have reservations with this.I have seen people who are extremely spiritual but they don't perform any of this acts.They always try to love everyone and I believe spirituality is a process of understanding and implementing love.



Second thing I want to write about is Creativity.I dont want to write much about this in this blog but definitely I'll write about this significant issue.For now,I want to publish a few photographs

The View from 5'2": Surviving superstition and independent India.

The View from 5'2": Surviving superstition and independent India.

India needs new politics

India is adrift. Worrisomely adrift. This is not because of any widespread social unrest or destabilising economic problems. Discontent in society there certainly is. Grievances due to the country’s unbalanced economic growth there certainly are and they are mounting. But the lack of direction is primarily due to the stagnant state of Indian politics. There is no soaring sense of purpose, fresh vitality and inspirational energy visible in any segment of the political spectrum, including in the two main national parties — Congress and BJP. Making matters worse for the country is their growing mutual antagonism, which is set to create a storm in the monsoon session of Parliament.

Discussing the state of regional parties is unnecessary in this context because, significant though they are in their respective states, they do not critically determine the health of national politics. Discussing the state of the two communist parties is also not pertinent here. Their national footprint and influence have both shrunk enormously, mainly due to the fossilisation of their ideology. Their future looks bleaker than the present. The socialist movement, once a persuasive voice and a powerful factor in Indian politics, has all but vanished. Can there be a sadder commentary on its disappearance than the near-total absence of a suitable commemoration, in 2010, of the birth centenary of its greatest leader, Dr Rammanohar Lohia? How effortlessly we have forgotten one of the most original political thinkers in independent India.

What is truly worrisome is the state of the two national parties. Outwardly all seems well with the Congress and the government it heads. UPA II is stable. Dr Manmohan Singh has become the third longest occupant of the office of Prime Minister. Not a small achievement. It is also a tribute to the quickly acquired political expertise of Sonia Gandhi. Her authority is unlikely to be challenged by anybody within her own party, something which was not true even in the case of Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. However, in spite of all these pluses, the calm in the Congress and its government is suggestive of stagnation, not the strength, self-confidence and sagacity needed to take the nation forward, rapidly and in the right direction.

Efforts of UPA II to normalise relations with Pakistan are leading nowhere, mainly because of India’s overdependence on American mediators. Pakistan’s shrewd rulers are trying to strike their own anti-India bargain with the US, stuck as the latter is with its needless and hopeless military occupation of Afghanistan. India’s gains in normalising the situation in the Kashmir valley, which were the outcome of the farsighted efforts of both Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Dr Singh (in UPA I), have been largely frittered away by UPA II due to inattention. There is lack of consensus within the Congress and the government on how to deal with the menace of Maoism. And there is no big and enthusiasm-creating action to walk the government’s laudable talk on inclusive development. This cannot be done, as ample examples from history caution us, merely by launching yet another poverty alleviation programme by spending thousands of crores of rupees. What is needed is firm and sustained action against corruption, inefficiency, unaccountability and bureaucratic insensitivity, which are responsible for the abysmal failure of most government-funded anti-poverty schemes. Besides distorting India’s development, corruption is also poisoning the very lifeblood of India’s democratic institutions, including the judiciary. Sadly, there is no real and credible outrage over corruption in Political India. The BJP’s recent conduct in Karnataka and Jharkhand shows that it has no energy or intent left to retrieve what was once its biggest USP: its attempts at probity in public life.

There is a dichotomy today between India’s stagnant politics and vibrant society. The vibrancy and vitality are most visible in India’s young population — not only the rich but also the poor, not only in urban areas but also in villages. However, the political and governance establishment seems woefully unresponsive to their aspirations and ambitions. This is evident from the fact that no political party is articulating the agenda of thorough-going political and governance reforms, without which all talk of “inclusive development”, “social justice”, “education and health for all”, “zero tolerance towards terrorism and Maoism”, etc. are meaningless. The only party that is talking about political reforms, with specific ideas, is Lok Satta in Andhra Pradesh, led by Dr Jayaprakash Narayan. It is still small and struggling, but nevertheless a ray of hope.

India today needs not just new leadership, but new morality-based politics. This new politics will have to discard old habits of conduct and old ways of thinking, which have compelled even the good people in our parties to become prisoners of myopic and sectional considerations. It should muster the courage and understanding needed to fight corruption, and thereby reinvigorate all the institutions of democratic governance. It must eschew misuse of government agencies for partisan ends. It should also be committed to creating national consensus on all major national challenges, including the two inherited from history — disputes with Pakistan and China — which are sapping India’s energies and hindering its rise in Asia and the world.

Is new politics possible? Remember, stagnation is always an invitation to start new attempts.

Courtesy: Indian Express