The IT Industry
It was lunch time! My determination to do something that I want to do and in the process take risks led me to my new workplace in a new city. I collected my food coupons and proceeded towards the dining hall ! I just entered the hall and was amazed just by the sheer size of it! Huge was an understatement. I started counting the number of people present, but it didnt take me much time to realize that its not humanely possible and if I still wanted to, I would have to wait till tea time :-)
My mind immediately started working at the aggregate level. If one campus can hold so many people and this country has many such campuses what is the strength of the industry that we are talking about. The Indian IT industry today stands at 50 Bn $ and employs millions of people in similar or even bigger campuses !
I asked myself, can this growth story come to an abrupt end ? What is the potential of the industry and are there roadblocks ? Isnt the IT story that we have witnessed in the last decade similar to the textile boom that Mumbai experienced in the 50s and 60s where the textile sector was the single largest employeer and everyone would rush to get a degree/diploma in textiles, get a job in of the thousand mills in Mumbai and then settle down. But then the textile sector today is non existent. Can the same thing happen to the IT industry ?
I think the potential is huge ! today even at 50bn USD India gets only 3 to 4% of the global IT outsourcing pie. Mind boggling isnt it ? You can imagine whats still in store
Are there roadblocks ? Most certainly. I think the key is policy decisions. I cant think of any right now, but some draconian decision that might make India extremely un-competitive is the only roadblock I see, the others are not a problem: the industry is led by extremely intelligent people who can handle them !
In terms of employment opportunity I feel we all must be greatful to this sector which absorbs millions of grads/post grads/science grads - Just for a moment check out the number of people graduating in the last decade and no of people which the IT industry absorbed ! and then think if the IT industry wasnt present - What would have happened !!!
Its simply phenomenal
Friday, September 24, 2010
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
South Indian Wedding - A Different View
What would happen if the traditional mrudangam, nadaswaram (musical instruments played in South Indian - Tam Brahm weddings) would be replaced by cricket commentators, during the muhurtam, especially the part of tying the thaali (mangal-sutra)
Note: Only a true cricket enthusiast can understand this post !!
Bill Lawry: (In his customary high pitch): ho..ho...ho..thats a ripper ! he just took both his hands behind and beautifully tied the thaali...dear o dear...thats brilliant...its all happening out here at the GABBA
Richie Benaud: (As usual, a man of few but highly measured words): And that my friends completes the marriage.....LONG PAUSE
Tony Grieg: (Super Hyper as ever): His hands are in the air...oh hes tied it..no hes not...hes missed it....no no...hes actually tied it.....boy oh boy that was a close call.....
Sunny Gavaskar: (Would immediately go into an Aussie bashing mode completely moving away from the actual significance of the ritual): That is why Indian marriages are so much better than Aussie weddings which are so racist in nature...blah blah...
Ian Chappell: (In his customary way would relate it to some incidents of the past): This scene reminds me of the wedding of the former Indian leg-spinner Chandra in the late 70s. Chandra was a tamilian and the function was identical......
Harsha Bhogle: (would go into his IIM type gyaan mode): This move from being a bachelor to a married man is a huge step that needs adjustments. Its like having to play on bouncy Austrlian wickets after having brought up on flat tracks against mediocre Ranji attacks....
What would happen if the traditional mrudangam, nadaswaram (musical instruments played in South Indian - Tam Brahm weddings) would be replaced by cricket commentators, during the muhurtam, especially the part of tying the thaali (mangal-sutra)
Note: Only a true cricket enthusiast can understand this post !!
Bill Lawry: (In his customary high pitch): ho..ho...ho..thats a ripper ! he just took both his hands behind and beautifully tied the thaali...dear o dear...thats brilliant...its all happening out here at the GABBA
Richie Benaud: (As usual, a man of few but highly measured words): And that my friends completes the marriage.....LONG PAUSE
Tony Grieg: (Super Hyper as ever): His hands are in the air...oh hes tied it..no hes not...hes missed it....no no...hes actually tied it.....boy oh boy that was a close call.....
Sunny Gavaskar: (Would immediately go into an Aussie bashing mode completely moving away from the actual significance of the ritual): That is why Indian marriages are so much better than Aussie weddings which are so racist in nature...blah blah...
Ian Chappell: (In his customary way would relate it to some incidents of the past): This scene reminds me of the wedding of the former Indian leg-spinner Chandra in the late 70s. Chandra was a tamilian and the function was identical......
Harsha Bhogle: (would go into his IIM type gyaan mode): This move from being a bachelor to a married man is a huge step that needs adjustments. Its like having to play on bouncy Austrlian wickets after having brought up on flat tracks against mediocre Ranji attacks....
Sunday, October 25, 2009
How I wish to die
Death – As a society, we seldom discuss death; it is something bad, something extremely sad. Any attempt to bring up this topic is always met with a hush hush..typically coming from the grandmother sitting in one corner of the room reading Ramayanam. She would say that we should always discuss/speak only about good topics and death doesn’t fall into the basket by any stretch of imagination.
If that is the case, why am I fascinated by death? Why am I not scared about it the way I should be? Why do I want my death to be scripted in a particular way?..Let me try and these questions. A few years back when the great Sir Don Bradman passed away, I was a bit down, the general mood you get into when you hear such news. A couple of days later I managed to watch his funeral service on television and what I saw really stuck on in my mind. Everyone walking up and talking about the great Sir Don’s life and the impact he has had on people. In a way the occasion was used to “celebrate the life he led”. Something hit me then – and I said that’s how I need to take/treat this topic. Death does mean a sudden end to life- but it also is a way to celebrate someone’s life, draw lessons and learn from him. Suddenly the “scare” part of it vanished…..zoooop…all gone
A couple of years back there was an article in the Times of India which talked about an elderly lady (don’t quite remember if she was in her 70s or 80s) who had this dream – to run the Mumbai Marathon. Might sound crazy…But it was her dream; something she felt she could achieve. And so she put in the effort, worked hard for it and ran... And after completing the entire run, she passed away smoothly…to God…her last dream fulfilled….Awsome isn’t it…She scripted her end to perfection…doing what she always wanted to do and in the process embracing death………
.I too wish to die the same way….Running the Mumbai..starting from Victoria Terminus, crossing Churchgate, Mumbai University, Air India Building, along the Queens Necklace and then suddenly break away from the crowd and take my own path..running towards Matunga, taking a lap around the Don Bosco playground, a lap around VJTI and finally along the magnificently serene road that runs parallel to it leading to 5G and …….zing…………the end !!!!!! I want to script the end…………….I want it to be unconventional!
Monday, October 19, 2009
I Voted
I woke up fresh, nice and early on this Tuesday morning. It was a holiday – I can’t even call it a mid-week break because the week had just begun the previous day after a good weekend. am kicked about the day. It is election day! I leave home at 7.45 am and walk to the polling booth. There are just enough people to ensure that the administrative process is going on smoothly but hardly enough to call it ‘crowd’. I walk up to the counter at the gate and the person there politely shows me the way to the room where I am supposed to cast my vote. I enter the room and am greeted with the words “Good Morning” by one of the several polling officers/observers seated inside. I am pleasantly surprised but manage to murmur back a “Good Morning” along with a nod of my head. This is the last thing I expected to hear at a polling booth!! I move towards the first officer who checks my I-Card and asks me to sign on a register. I then proceed to the two more officers who carry out their administrative responsibilities in a co-coordinated manner. I then proceed to the EVM and a press a button….beeeeppppppppppp……..and am done.
I walk back in almost an exalted state of mind – the kind of happiness that can’t be described.
Happy because I voted….
Happy because I realize that I am very fortunate that I can vote freely for whom I want to…
Happy because I am not forced to accept someone to represent my constituency but have a chance to choose him/her…..
Happy because I realize that I am able to do this today because of the struggles for long periods against the British……
Happy because I have made voting as my fundamental duty and not just kept it as my fundamental right!
For those who still don’t realize the importance of democracy and keep cribbing that they don’t vote because all political parties are the same….blah….blah…. (arm-chair critics) – should spend a few years in North Korea or Zimbabwe…Maybe then they would realize the importance of the right to vote!
Saturday, October 03, 2009
You are in Love
You are in Love;
When you rather not live life without the other person;
When he or she is the first thing that springs to mind in happiness or grief;
When the other person is a constant companion in even in absentia;
When his/her happiness takes precedence over yours;
Such love may or may not last a lifetime;
But whatever the span, it soaks up your entire being !!!
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Engineering and Liberal Arts!
What a combination. Isn’t it something like having sambar rice with paneer makhanwala. Something like attending a lecture of lecture of Switchgear and Protection followed by European History…..Absolute misfits right! The only courses that are relevant for engineering students are those related to Physics/Chem/Maths. Why the hell should engineers study history? or music or English literature for that matter! Isn’t it a pure waste of time? Engineers are supposed to be “quanti” types and are well advised to focus only on the core courses.
Well, that’s what our education system seems to think so. That is what I also thought until a couple of years ago. How incorrect we were! Liberal arts have a major role to play in shaping our thought process – provided it is taught in the perfect way.
The article below written by a Harvard School graduate in the recent issue of Financial Express explains this point beautifully
The famous author VS Naipaul remarked, “it’s a calamity” that India has “more than a billion people but no thinkers”. While, of course, he was being characteristically provocative, his remarks have more than a grain of truth. Although every year, India’s universities and colleges produce 2.5 million graduates, including 3,50,000 from engineering schools, Indian industry openly laments the fact that a very large percentage of Indian graduates have poor communication skills and lack analytical and problem-solving skills. According to a report presented to government by the National Knowledge Commission: “There is a quiet crisis in higher education in India that runs deep.” This report too identified communication and problem-solving skills among those that Indian education fails to develop.
These are the very skills imparted by a liberal education, which has the potential to “open the mind, correct it, refine it, enable it to know, and digest, master, rule and use its knowledge,” says Cardinal Newman, the 19th century thinker whose ideas have greatly influenced liberal education in the West. These are the habits Indian education has failed to cultivate en masse among its college students. A liberal education promotes breadth of awareness and appreciation, clarity and precision of thought and communication, critical analysis and the honing of moral and ethical sensibilities. Although one could receive a liberal education through any subject so long as it is taught with the objective of promoting some of the skills above, it is usually associated with the humanities, subjects such as history, language, literature, art, religion, political science etc.
Opening pure humanities/liberal arts colleges alone would not solve the problem. Even in the US, only 4% of college students attend liberal arts colleges. A more effective solution would be, as also stated in a recent report to the ministry of human resources development by the Yash Pal Committee, to integrate liberal arts subjects into engineering colleges, business schools, vocational and other professional schools as well. Given the demand for technical skills, engineering and science colleges and programmes will and should take priority. Rather than compete with the economic imperatives that call for the continued priority of technical education, to infuse liberal arts coursework into the curriculum at professional or engineering colleges seems to be the way to go. This will not only enrich students’ education and create well-rounded graduates, but also placate their practical concerns when they see how liberal arts coursework can lead to wider... and more interesting career options. For example, a combination of courses in electrical engineering and design could lead to a career in new product development at a growing breed of companies like Apple; a combination of mechanical engineering and art could lead to a career in film set design in Bollywood; computer science combined with history could lead to a career in educational software production and a computer science degree combined with Asian studies makes it much easier to land a job in Singapore. Additionally, for most engineers, to move up the career ladder and into management, the leadership, analytical and communication skills needed could be honed by liberal arts courses.
Author David Perkins in his book, Making Learning Whole, argues that while engineering courses equip engineers to “solve problems” they typically don’t teach them to “find problems”. This is a skill gained by a study of the humanities, where “problem finding is quite routine”. Perkins adds that “problem finding” concerns figuring out what the problems are in the first place. “It also involves coming to good formulations of problems, formulations that make them approachable”.
In a country like India, where problems seem so insurmountable so as to paralyse even the most well meaning individuals, there is a real need for individuals who can accurately identify the problems that we face and break these down in a way that make them more manageable and “approachable”. Other academics state that a liberal education prepares students to respond to and address human dilemmas. Indian education clearly hasn’t prepared students to resolve the glaring human dilemmas around us. Of course, there are other reasons too for promoting a liberal education in India. India needs home grown historians, linguists, theologians, political analysts, environmentalists and intellectuals who are experts both in their disciplines and in the communities in which they live and are capable of finding solutions to uniquely Indian problems.
Rather than be content to churn out professionals who simply execute ideas and plans of Western companies, Indian education needs to create its own thought leaders, innovators and creators. This is fitting for a country that in its new found confidence aspires to a greater international stature and continued economic growth. A liberal education, in addition to being personally enriching and potentially transformative for those who pursue it, can greatly help mitigate the weaknesses that plague India’s higher education.
What a combination. Isn’t it something like having sambar rice with paneer makhanwala. Something like attending a lecture of lecture of Switchgear and Protection followed by European History…..Absolute misfits right! The only courses that are relevant for engineering students are those related to Physics/Chem/Maths. Why the hell should engineers study history? or music or English literature for that matter! Isn’t it a pure waste of time? Engineers are supposed to be “quanti” types and are well advised to focus only on the core courses.
Well, that’s what our education system seems to think so. That is what I also thought until a couple of years ago. How incorrect we were! Liberal arts have a major role to play in shaping our thought process – provided it is taught in the perfect way.
The article below written by a Harvard School graduate in the recent issue of Financial Express explains this point beautifully
The famous author VS Naipaul remarked, “it’s a calamity” that India has “more than a billion people but no thinkers”. While, of course, he was being characteristically provocative, his remarks have more than a grain of truth. Although every year, India’s universities and colleges produce 2.5 million graduates, including 3,50,000 from engineering schools, Indian industry openly laments the fact that a very large percentage of Indian graduates have poor communication skills and lack analytical and problem-solving skills. According to a report presented to government by the National Knowledge Commission: “There is a quiet crisis in higher education in India that runs deep.” This report too identified communication and problem-solving skills among those that Indian education fails to develop.
These are the very skills imparted by a liberal education, which has the potential to “open the mind, correct it, refine it, enable it to know, and digest, master, rule and use its knowledge,” says Cardinal Newman, the 19th century thinker whose ideas have greatly influenced liberal education in the West. These are the habits Indian education has failed to cultivate en masse among its college students. A liberal education promotes breadth of awareness and appreciation, clarity and precision of thought and communication, critical analysis and the honing of moral and ethical sensibilities. Although one could receive a liberal education through any subject so long as it is taught with the objective of promoting some of the skills above, it is usually associated with the humanities, subjects such as history, language, literature, art, religion, political science etc.
Opening pure humanities/liberal arts colleges alone would not solve the problem. Even in the US, only 4% of college students attend liberal arts colleges. A more effective solution would be, as also stated in a recent report to the ministry of human resources development by the Yash Pal Committee, to integrate liberal arts subjects into engineering colleges, business schools, vocational and other professional schools as well. Given the demand for technical skills, engineering and science colleges and programmes will and should take priority. Rather than compete with the economic imperatives that call for the continued priority of technical education, to infuse liberal arts coursework into the curriculum at professional or engineering colleges seems to be the way to go. This will not only enrich students’ education and create well-rounded graduates, but also placate their practical concerns when they see how liberal arts coursework can lead to wider... and more interesting career options. For example, a combination of courses in electrical engineering and design could lead to a career in new product development at a growing breed of companies like Apple; a combination of mechanical engineering and art could lead to a career in film set design in Bollywood; computer science combined with history could lead to a career in educational software production and a computer science degree combined with Asian studies makes it much easier to land a job in Singapore. Additionally, for most engineers, to move up the career ladder and into management, the leadership, analytical and communication skills needed could be honed by liberal arts courses.
Author David Perkins in his book, Making Learning Whole, argues that while engineering courses equip engineers to “solve problems” they typically don’t teach them to “find problems”. This is a skill gained by a study of the humanities, where “problem finding is quite routine”. Perkins adds that “problem finding” concerns figuring out what the problems are in the first place. “It also involves coming to good formulations of problems, formulations that make them approachable”.
In a country like India, where problems seem so insurmountable so as to paralyse even the most well meaning individuals, there is a real need for individuals who can accurately identify the problems that we face and break these down in a way that make them more manageable and “approachable”. Other academics state that a liberal education prepares students to respond to and address human dilemmas. Indian education clearly hasn’t prepared students to resolve the glaring human dilemmas around us. Of course, there are other reasons too for promoting a liberal education in India. India needs home grown historians, linguists, theologians, political analysts, environmentalists and intellectuals who are experts both in their disciplines and in the communities in which they live and are capable of finding solutions to uniquely Indian problems.
Rather than be content to churn out professionals who simply execute ideas and plans of Western companies, Indian education needs to create its own thought leaders, innovators and creators. This is fitting for a country that in its new found confidence aspires to a greater international stature and continued economic growth. A liberal education, in addition to being personally enriching and potentially transformative for those who pursue it, can greatly help mitigate the weaknesses that plague India’s higher education.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Big v/s Small
One of the greatest fascinations of mankind, especially for those belonging to the upper middle class and living in the urban parts of the country is to buy big homes. To move from a 1 BHK to a 3 BHK to a 3BBHK sea facing, to an individual bungalow coupled with a garden to a ranch and so on… In fact if you list down the “most discussed topics @workplace” you would find that the topic of “buying a new house” would rank very high in the pecking order. It would start with the latest properties being developed in the city to the kind of amenities that each one has – swimming pool, parking space, gym…blah blah….And yes the conversation would never end without a reference to how the EMIs are still high and hence we all should get a good salary raise!
This brings me to the question “How big a home do I need” to live comfortably? If I ask this question to married couples in Mumbai and Delhi I am sure that the responses would be highly contrasting. For people born and brought up in Mumbai, a 700 sq feet house is quite a luxury while for Delhities I guess that’s a decent size for their “servant’s room”. Again the point is not to pass any value judgments but just to highlight how a question on minimum space needed would bring forth totally contrasting responses from people living in these two metros.
Till today I haven’t developed any fascination for big homes. I’m still satisfied with something small but comfortable. I somehow like the smaller ones. You tend to use the space much more constructively. I am reminded of my friends house in Matunga – There was a small attic which was converted into a study – very well done actually. The place was quite small – but he had used it so well. School / college books for 2 were easily arranged along with small tables to study. Mom would pass on stuff to eat from below – something to chew on while studying. I have spent quite sometime at his place and still find that small corner in that small house as very comfortable! - The big houses of today still haven’t been able to leave an impression on my mind……
One of the greatest fascinations of mankind, especially for those belonging to the upper middle class and living in the urban parts of the country is to buy big homes. To move from a 1 BHK to a 3 BHK to a 3BBHK sea facing, to an individual bungalow coupled with a garden to a ranch and so on… In fact if you list down the “most discussed topics @workplace” you would find that the topic of “buying a new house” would rank very high in the pecking order. It would start with the latest properties being developed in the city to the kind of amenities that each one has – swimming pool, parking space, gym…blah blah….And yes the conversation would never end without a reference to how the EMIs are still high and hence we all should get a good salary raise!
This brings me to the question “How big a home do I need” to live comfortably? If I ask this question to married couples in Mumbai and Delhi I am sure that the responses would be highly contrasting. For people born and brought up in Mumbai, a 700 sq feet house is quite a luxury while for Delhities I guess that’s a decent size for their “servant’s room”. Again the point is not to pass any value judgments but just to highlight how a question on minimum space needed would bring forth totally contrasting responses from people living in these two metros.
Till today I haven’t developed any fascination for big homes. I’m still satisfied with something small but comfortable. I somehow like the smaller ones. You tend to use the space much more constructively. I am reminded of my friends house in Matunga – There was a small attic which was converted into a study – very well done actually. The place was quite small – but he had used it so well. School / college books for 2 were easily arranged along with small tables to study. Mom would pass on stuff to eat from below – something to chew on while studying. I have spent quite sometime at his place and still find that small corner in that small house as very comfortable! - The big houses of today still haven’t been able to leave an impression on my mind……
Schools and All that
Once again writing about my favorite topic – Schools and Education. You tend to think a lot about subjects/areas that fascinate you the most and that naturally reflects in your writing. You cannot write about something that you are not kicked about. So, I can’t sit down and write on topics like “The best way to decorate your home” or “The best car to drive”!
Coming back to school now! Just take a walk every morning at around 7:30 am and you would find school kids all geared up and waiting for their school bus, their mom’s by their side giving some advise or the other. (To be honest not all of them are geared in the literal sense. You still find some young ones extremely sleepy! Now why do primary schools have to start so early in the morning and subject the poor ones to the torture of waking up so early is another topic – which I hope to address sometime later). Just wait there for sometime and check out the types of buses. You would find a marked difference; from the normal vanilla buses to ones that are Air-Conditioned, each catering to different segments of the society. While the former signifies the mere continuation of the type of school/education that existed a couple of decades back the later is the new breed called “International Schools”. These schools with international affiliations help your kids develop into “global citizens”.
To start with the child travels in an A/C bus with very few kids (handful) to the school.
The class size is much smaller; around 15 to 20.
Kids are exposed to “all round” development – along with studies there are a whole host of activities after school like swimming, clay modeling, horse riding and what not…
No tiffin boxes please! Future global citizens need to be exposed to global cuisines from an early age – So the meals would be Chinese one day, Indian the next and Continental the day after.
Kids would go on globe trotting tours as part of their learning process. This would help them to get a better understanding of the global culture.
Birthday parties would be arranged in the nearby mall – It would include watching the latest Harry Potter flick followed by celebrations at the McDonald outlet.
Not all schools offer all of these; but net-net most of these things are on offer and hence the premium fees charged. Fees would go to a couple of lakhs per annum (8 times of what I paid for my engineering!). Now to think of this a decade back was impossible; there was no market for it; atleast in the suburbs. There were only the state schools or the odd CBSE School to which parents living in the suburbs used to send their kids to. Today with the growth in income an increasing number of people feel they can afford these new schools and this segment is actually growing at a very rapid pace. I guess it is more to do with the demand/supply mismatch in the state/central run schools/colleges. With a demand for quality schools increasing at a scorching pace on one hand and absolutely no growth the supply of quality schools/colleges where do people go to?
With this new concept of IB schools there is a definite roadmap. Kids go to these schools till Class XII and then take the SAT or similar tests for education in the US/Europe/Singapore. They then move there, complete their PG and then continue working there or make a transition to India once they have completed their education. Helps them avoid the grind/tension/trauma of having to go through the series of Board Exams/Entrance Exams at various stages. Some might say it is an easy escape route – and that kids from these schools can’t compete in competitive exams like the JEE; but the other argument is why do they need to? When their roadmap is already clear!
Do I prefer the IB Schools to the State/CBSE/ICSE boards? Not sure – Would be handled in a separate discussion. This purpose of this article was to just observe a rising trend in major metros in India and think about the rationale behind it. It wasn’t meant to pass any value judgments on which form of education is better!
Once again writing about my favorite topic – Schools and Education. You tend to think a lot about subjects/areas that fascinate you the most and that naturally reflects in your writing. You cannot write about something that you are not kicked about. So, I can’t sit down and write on topics like “The best way to decorate your home” or “The best car to drive”!
Coming back to school now! Just take a walk every morning at around 7:30 am and you would find school kids all geared up and waiting for their school bus, their mom’s by their side giving some advise or the other. (To be honest not all of them are geared in the literal sense. You still find some young ones extremely sleepy! Now why do primary schools have to start so early in the morning and subject the poor ones to the torture of waking up so early is another topic – which I hope to address sometime later). Just wait there for sometime and check out the types of buses. You would find a marked difference; from the normal vanilla buses to ones that are Air-Conditioned, each catering to different segments of the society. While the former signifies the mere continuation of the type of school/education that existed a couple of decades back the later is the new breed called “International Schools”. These schools with international affiliations help your kids develop into “global citizens”.
To start with the child travels in an A/C bus with very few kids (handful) to the school.
The class size is much smaller; around 15 to 20.
Kids are exposed to “all round” development – along with studies there are a whole host of activities after school like swimming, clay modeling, horse riding and what not…
No tiffin boxes please! Future global citizens need to be exposed to global cuisines from an early age – So the meals would be Chinese one day, Indian the next and Continental the day after.
Kids would go on globe trotting tours as part of their learning process. This would help them to get a better understanding of the global culture.
Birthday parties would be arranged in the nearby mall – It would include watching the latest Harry Potter flick followed by celebrations at the McDonald outlet.
Not all schools offer all of these; but net-net most of these things are on offer and hence the premium fees charged. Fees would go to a couple of lakhs per annum (8 times of what I paid for my engineering!). Now to think of this a decade back was impossible; there was no market for it; atleast in the suburbs. There were only the state schools or the odd CBSE School to which parents living in the suburbs used to send their kids to. Today with the growth in income an increasing number of people feel they can afford these new schools and this segment is actually growing at a very rapid pace. I guess it is more to do with the demand/supply mismatch in the state/central run schools/colleges. With a demand for quality schools increasing at a scorching pace on one hand and absolutely no growth the supply of quality schools/colleges where do people go to?
With this new concept of IB schools there is a definite roadmap. Kids go to these schools till Class XII and then take the SAT or similar tests for education in the US/Europe/Singapore. They then move there, complete their PG and then continue working there or make a transition to India once they have completed their education. Helps them avoid the grind/tension/trauma of having to go through the series of Board Exams/Entrance Exams at various stages. Some might say it is an easy escape route – and that kids from these schools can’t compete in competitive exams like the JEE; but the other argument is why do they need to? When their roadmap is already clear!
Do I prefer the IB Schools to the State/CBSE/ICSE boards? Not sure – Would be handled in a separate discussion. This purpose of this article was to just observe a rising trend in major metros in India and think about the rationale behind it. It wasn’t meant to pass any value judgments on which form of education is better!
The Book Launch
Scene 1: Here I am, fiddling with my remote, browsing various TV channels while having dinner, checking if there is something worthwhile that can be watched. And lo! suddenly I find a “BREAKING NEWS” appear below “Buchanan accuses former great “x” in his latest book “BUKH – A – NAAN”
Scene 2: The next morning, Times of India would carry the same piece of news on the front page with a nice tag line to attract enough eye balls.
Scene 3: By the time I finish reading the TOI and switch on the television I find News channels analyzing the “so-called” controversy generated by the book (which mind you, no one has read till now. In fact the publishers haven’t even released the book – Only certain “excerpts” have been leaked.)with a few cricket experts. Now, the way this news is analyzed also differs from channel to channel.
(a) Some rational ones prefer a discussion and an “in-depth analysis” with cricketing “gurus” like Nikhil Chopra and Saba Karim.
(b)And then there is another breed of news channels who would have 1 anchor dressed in Aussie uniform (trying to resemble Buchanan) and 2 in Indian Tri-color (one dressed like Bhajji for sure) against a backdrop of animations and graphics and their discussions would make you feel that Indians have just entered into a war with Australia.
Scene 4: A few events would happen the next day
There would be another series of Breaking News “Buchanan denies having ever made such statements” or “Buchanan says his remarks were quoted totally out context and there are clarifications about it in the subsequent chapters, which haven’t been leaked”.
The same clarification story would appear in the newspapers. And by this time a couple of cricketers who have been “accused” in the book would post their comments in their blog!
Television channels would feature interviews of Buchanan, cricketing experts and particularly the cricketers who had blogged their view point. Each of them would air their point of you; clarifications…counter clarifications……
The end result – Everyone ensures that news about the “book release” remains in the public domain for atleast a couple of weeks; long enough for the publishers to actually release the book and make its way in the book shelves.
Its not just the Buchanan case. I have seen it happen so often. Remember Adam Gilchrist auto-biography release last year. The same series of events unfolded (with the Symonds monkey-gate being a dominant part of the leak). If you go back and have a look at various book releases you would find a similar pattern of events.
I guess its all part of the “marketing strategy”. Just imagine – a cricketer decides to write an auto-biography. (Or for that matter any famous personality). He would sign a deal with a major publishing house which would get exclusive rights to print and market the books. Now if the cricketer doesn’t write something even “remotely controversial” – the book won’t sell. It won’t come in the news at all! Thus the publisher + celebrity ensure that some controversial topics are touched. Weeks prior to the actual launch of the book – the publisher, in partnership with a few media channels start “selectively leaking” the controversial aspects of the book. What follows is the exact series of events as described in the Buchanan’s case. The book remains in the limelight for the right/wrong reason for a month – during which it makes its way to the book stores and it all translates into very good sales.
If you still don’t believe this – wait for the next book launch. I am 100% sure it would follow the same pattern. And yes, if the next in line to write a book happens to be Dada then you can imagine what’s in store!
Scene 1: Here I am, fiddling with my remote, browsing various TV channels while having dinner, checking if there is something worthwhile that can be watched. And lo! suddenly I find a “BREAKING NEWS” appear below “Buchanan accuses former great “x” in his latest book “BUKH – A – NAAN”
Scene 2: The next morning, Times of India would carry the same piece of news on the front page with a nice tag line to attract enough eye balls.
Scene 3: By the time I finish reading the TOI and switch on the television I find News channels analyzing the “so-called” controversy generated by the book (which mind you, no one has read till now. In fact the publishers haven’t even released the book – Only certain “excerpts” have been leaked.)with a few cricket experts. Now, the way this news is analyzed also differs from channel to channel.
(a) Some rational ones prefer a discussion and an “in-depth analysis” with cricketing “gurus” like Nikhil Chopra and Saba Karim.
(b)And then there is another breed of news channels who would have 1 anchor dressed in Aussie uniform (trying to resemble Buchanan) and 2 in Indian Tri-color (one dressed like Bhajji for sure) against a backdrop of animations and graphics and their discussions would make you feel that Indians have just entered into a war with Australia.
Scene 4: A few events would happen the next day
There would be another series of Breaking News “Buchanan denies having ever made such statements” or “Buchanan says his remarks were quoted totally out context and there are clarifications about it in the subsequent chapters, which haven’t been leaked”.
The same clarification story would appear in the newspapers. And by this time a couple of cricketers who have been “accused” in the book would post their comments in their blog!
Television channels would feature interviews of Buchanan, cricketing experts and particularly the cricketers who had blogged their view point. Each of them would air their point of you; clarifications…counter clarifications……
The end result – Everyone ensures that news about the “book release” remains in the public domain for atleast a couple of weeks; long enough for the publishers to actually release the book and make its way in the book shelves.
Its not just the Buchanan case. I have seen it happen so often. Remember Adam Gilchrist auto-biography release last year. The same series of events unfolded (with the Symonds monkey-gate being a dominant part of the leak). If you go back and have a look at various book releases you would find a similar pattern of events.
I guess its all part of the “marketing strategy”. Just imagine – a cricketer decides to write an auto-biography. (Or for that matter any famous personality). He would sign a deal with a major publishing house which would get exclusive rights to print and market the books. Now if the cricketer doesn’t write something even “remotely controversial” – the book won’t sell. It won’t come in the news at all! Thus the publisher + celebrity ensure that some controversial topics are touched. Weeks prior to the actual launch of the book – the publisher, in partnership with a few media channels start “selectively leaking” the controversial aspects of the book. What follows is the exact series of events as described in the Buchanan’s case. The book remains in the limelight for the right/wrong reason for a month – during which it makes its way to the book stores and it all translates into very good sales.
If you still don’t believe this – wait for the next book launch. I am 100% sure it would follow the same pattern. And yes, if the next in line to write a book happens to be Dada then you can imagine what’s in store!
The Role of Economics
Economics! When was the first time that I ever heard this word?.. It dates back a long way…All the way up to 1994 when I was in Class VIII. The “news” doing the rounds in school was that we were heading for a syllabus change! And to make matters worse, it wasn’t just the new syllabus that we had to confront; what compounded the problem was that we would be introduced to a new subject called “Economics”. Economics would get a mere weightage of 30 marks and would be combined with geography. And for 30 marks we were supposed to read the entire text book! All hell was about to break loose….I remember having participated in a signature campaign; the purpose of which was to oppose the introduction of the new syllabus and this new sounding subject called Economics.
The reason why I touched upon this story that occurred sometime in the mid 90s was to contrast it with my “current state” where I absolutely love Economics. Being exposed to it “in the right way” during my PG days coupled with some active reading (newspapers) and watching select TV channels have ensured that the seeds of interest sown during my PG days is slowly blossoming.
Wonder what I would have done had these seeds of interest in Economics been sown during the school days – when the subject was being introduced. Why was I so averse to it during that phase of my life? The reasons are manifold:-
(a) The entire purpose of Class X was to (maximize marks) and the introduction of a new subject was a massive hindrance in achieving that above stated objective. Imagine – No previous year’s question papers, no important questions to refer to..All the extra effort and just for 30 marks.
(b) A new subject means that I had to allocate time from my already packed study time-table to Economics why meant that I could devote lesser amount of time for other subjects.
(c) Again with the objective of marks maximization I studied/mugged up only those questions that were mentioned at the end of each chapter. (I think we were given an assurance that being the first year – questions would be asked only from this section or something). So here I was – mugged up those questions – never bothered to understand the subject in detail or ask probing questions. And ya – I ended up doing a bloody good job of studying those questions – Proof: I ended up scoring 146/150 in my Boards!
In a nut shell – after reading Economics for 2 years – I had no clue what it was or how vitally important it was for our Nation. For me it was another set of questions to be rammed up in order to (maximize marks).
Today I look back and wonder
(a) What if I was introduced to the subject in a very different way in schools?
(b) What if my teacher would have taught me the subject with examples from the real world?
(c) What if we were asked to read the Economic Times and a couple of business magazines to supplement/strengthen the concepts taught in class?
(d) What if we were given projects that would require us to do some additional reading?
(e) What if we were told about how closely linked Mathematics and Economics were?
(f) What if we were made aware of the career options in this amazing field?
All this was never done. I don’t blame anyone. Am happy that atleast now I can reflect back on these points. Having realized that a whole of lot stuff could be done – hopefully I’l get an opportunity to share this wisdom with a few schools…sooner rather than later…..
Economics! When was the first time that I ever heard this word?.. It dates back a long way…All the way up to 1994 when I was in Class VIII. The “news” doing the rounds in school was that we were heading for a syllabus change! And to make matters worse, it wasn’t just the new syllabus that we had to confront; what compounded the problem was that we would be introduced to a new subject called “Economics”. Economics would get a mere weightage of 30 marks and would be combined with geography. And for 30 marks we were supposed to read the entire text book! All hell was about to break loose….I remember having participated in a signature campaign; the purpose of which was to oppose the introduction of the new syllabus and this new sounding subject called Economics.
The reason why I touched upon this story that occurred sometime in the mid 90s was to contrast it with my “current state” where I absolutely love Economics. Being exposed to it “in the right way” during my PG days coupled with some active reading (newspapers) and watching select TV channels have ensured that the seeds of interest sown during my PG days is slowly blossoming.
Wonder what I would have done had these seeds of interest in Economics been sown during the school days – when the subject was being introduced. Why was I so averse to it during that phase of my life? The reasons are manifold:-
(a) The entire purpose of Class X was to (maximize marks) and the introduction of a new subject was a massive hindrance in achieving that above stated objective. Imagine – No previous year’s question papers, no important questions to refer to..All the extra effort and just for 30 marks.
(b) A new subject means that I had to allocate time from my already packed study time-table to Economics why meant that I could devote lesser amount of time for other subjects.
(c) Again with the objective of marks maximization I studied/mugged up only those questions that were mentioned at the end of each chapter. (I think we were given an assurance that being the first year – questions would be asked only from this section or something). So here I was – mugged up those questions – never bothered to understand the subject in detail or ask probing questions. And ya – I ended up doing a bloody good job of studying those questions – Proof: I ended up scoring 146/150 in my Boards!
In a nut shell – after reading Economics for 2 years – I had no clue what it was or how vitally important it was for our Nation. For me it was another set of questions to be rammed up in order to (maximize marks).
Today I look back and wonder
(a) What if I was introduced to the subject in a very different way in schools?
(b) What if my teacher would have taught me the subject with examples from the real world?
(c) What if we were asked to read the Economic Times and a couple of business magazines to supplement/strengthen the concepts taught in class?
(d) What if we were given projects that would require us to do some additional reading?
(e) What if we were told about how closely linked Mathematics and Economics were?
(f) What if we were made aware of the career options in this amazing field?
All this was never done. I don’t blame anyone. Am happy that atleast now I can reflect back on these points. Having realized that a whole of lot stuff could be done – hopefully I’l get an opportunity to share this wisdom with a few schools…sooner rather than later…..
Friday, May 08, 2009
Monday, April 13, 2009
Indian Premier League
From Saturday the 18th starts the 2nd edition of the “entertainment jamboree” called IPL 2.0. It is not just cricket, it’s Cricket ++; cricket packaged with several layers of entertainment. It won’t be wrong to call it a Reality Show televised on prime-time. Cheerleaders, dug-outs, strategy breaks, slap-gate and a few emotional moments are all equally important if not more important than the game itself. I’m sure it would make W.G Grace turn in his grave.
I too was a firm critic of the T-20 format until sometime back. Infact last year I wasn’t even following it during the first month. It was only when the Royals started upsetting one team after another did I actually start getting hooked onto it. (The triumph of the underdog somehow has this ability to galvanize the entire nation). The debate of the purists has been that IPL is the final death knell on the already dying game on test cricket and the magnet called IPL with all its lucre would pull the gen-next cricketers away from test cricket and towards it. Rahul Dravid might have grown up practicing the art of leaving the cricket ball but be rest assured tomorrows cricketers would prefer investing that time in perfecting the art of “switch-hitting” instead.
I was wondering if all this is good or bad for the game? My sense is that it is good, purely from the point of view of getting newer audiences to the game. Take the classic case of cricket in the Caribbean. After ruling the world in the 70s and 80s cricket had reached its nadir there in the last decade. Matches played to empty stands, the usual rege music that one associates with cricket in this part of the world missing, and news of students opting for much more lucrative options like basketball and soccer had become synonymous with this region. The pipeline of quality players had dried up completely.
It is against this backdrop that I happened to watch the recent T-20 encounters between England and West Indies. (Stanford Challenge and the one played as part of the England tour). Both the matches played to packed audiences, games of shorter duration, music and entertainment galore and much more bucks to be made for all the players involved. All the necessary ingredients to attract the youth back to the game!
Cricketing legend and my guru Brian Lara recently said something on similar lines "Cricket is a dying sport and I believe that Twenty20 is going to be beneficial for many reasons.
"This new game has brought a different spectator. Not necessarily the right ones I think. But at the end of the day, spectators and television is what make sport and I'm very happy and very welcoming of the Twenty20 game,"
Whether these players and audiences, once attracted to T-20 be equally committed to the 5 day format of the game is unknown, but then as time moves on, everything changes and I guess this great game has to change. Only then can it hope to attract the right talent, television, money, spectators, media and a lot more…………..
From Saturday the 18th starts the 2nd edition of the “entertainment jamboree” called IPL 2.0. It is not just cricket, it’s Cricket ++; cricket packaged with several layers of entertainment. It won’t be wrong to call it a Reality Show televised on prime-time. Cheerleaders, dug-outs, strategy breaks, slap-gate and a few emotional moments are all equally important if not more important than the game itself. I’m sure it would make W.G Grace turn in his grave.
I too was a firm critic of the T-20 format until sometime back. Infact last year I wasn’t even following it during the first month. It was only when the Royals started upsetting one team after another did I actually start getting hooked onto it. (The triumph of the underdog somehow has this ability to galvanize the entire nation). The debate of the purists has been that IPL is the final death knell on the already dying game on test cricket and the magnet called IPL with all its lucre would pull the gen-next cricketers away from test cricket and towards it. Rahul Dravid might have grown up practicing the art of leaving the cricket ball but be rest assured tomorrows cricketers would prefer investing that time in perfecting the art of “switch-hitting” instead.
I was wondering if all this is good or bad for the game? My sense is that it is good, purely from the point of view of getting newer audiences to the game. Take the classic case of cricket in the Caribbean. After ruling the world in the 70s and 80s cricket had reached its nadir there in the last decade. Matches played to empty stands, the usual rege music that one associates with cricket in this part of the world missing, and news of students opting for much more lucrative options like basketball and soccer had become synonymous with this region. The pipeline of quality players had dried up completely.
It is against this backdrop that I happened to watch the recent T-20 encounters between England and West Indies. (Stanford Challenge and the one played as part of the England tour). Both the matches played to packed audiences, games of shorter duration, music and entertainment galore and much more bucks to be made for all the players involved. All the necessary ingredients to attract the youth back to the game!
Cricketing legend and my guru Brian Lara recently said something on similar lines "Cricket is a dying sport and I believe that Twenty20 is going to be beneficial for many reasons.
"This new game has brought a different spectator. Not necessarily the right ones I think. But at the end of the day, spectators and television is what make sport and I'm very happy and very welcoming of the Twenty20 game,"
Whether these players and audiences, once attracted to T-20 be equally committed to the 5 day format of the game is unknown, but then as time moves on, everything changes and I guess this great game has to change. Only then can it hope to attract the right talent, television, money, spectators, media and a lot more…………..
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Summer Vaccations Time
It is that time of the year. The air is a tad warmer. I can sense that the mercury is definitely up several degrees; the summer is just setting in. I can almost "smell" the season change. At 7 am, as I look out of my window, sipping into a glass of hot kapi, I can see children getting ready to board their school bus. But they are not their normal cheerful self, playing some prank or the other. As they wait for their bus to arrive, I can seen them with a note book in hand, probably revising a "long answer" one last time. Yes, it is the annual exam season. The annual examination has its set of unique characteristics, completely different from the other exams that school children undertake.
I wonder why organizations can't follow a similar routine ? Give employees a months break. No official e-mails, no phone calls, no documentations, no meetings......Just like a school summer vaccation. And when they get back after a month give them a new profile/ a new role / a new project / a new assignment. I'm sure it would get them all re-charged.
It is that time of the year. The air is a tad warmer. I can sense that the mercury is definitely up several degrees; the summer is just setting in. I can almost "smell" the season change. At 7 am, as I look out of my window, sipping into a glass of hot kapi, I can see children getting ready to board their school bus. But they are not their normal cheerful self, playing some prank or the other. As they wait for their bus to arrive, I can seen them with a note book in hand, probably revising a "long answer" one last time. Yes, it is the annual exam season. The annual examination has its set of unique characteristics, completely different from the other exams that school children undertake.
- It is the most eagerly awaited exam; not since the papers are generally on the easier side but for what lies after the exams; 2 months of absolute "fun filled" holidays. I remember having my own countdown ( x days left for vaccation; x - 1 days left for vaccation...and so on).
- The results are not declared until a month after the exams; unlike other unit tests/term papers where I used to get my answer sheet corrected within 10 days. Also the answer sheets of the annual exams are never shared in a parents-teachers meet thereby eliminating the chance for parents to conduct a detailed analysis of the mistakes done !
- Incase I ended up with "less than expected" marks in either my unit tests/terms I could not get away by just saying 'I will study better and make up in the next exam' but over the next couple of weeks (solving 10 extra sums or writing answers to eliminate all possibilities of spelling mistakes) had to demonstrate that I was serious about it. In case of annual exams, I could use the same excuse and still continue to enjoy for a month and a half more as no one studied during vaccations !
- I did not have to re-open the same books again; but dump it all in one place; ready to be disposed.
I wonder why organizations can't follow a similar routine ? Give employees a months break. No official e-mails, no phone calls, no documentations, no meetings......Just like a school summer vaccation. And when they get back after a month give them a new profile/ a new role / a new project / a new assignment. I'm sure it would get them all re-charged.
To Heaven and back
After a 52 min drive along the xpressway connecting Pune and Mumbai comes a non-descript place [in comparison with huge sign boards of McD and other branded outlets ]. Known as the Khopoli vada-pav centre, it serves traditional Maharashtrian dishes; namely :- (a) Vada Pav (b) Misal Pav (c) Kande Pohe (d) Sabudana Vada (e) Sabudana Khichdi (vi) Kothimbir Vadi (vii) Thalipeet.
It has become my Friday evening ritual to take a pitstop here en route to home (Thane). After 5 days of work, I make it a point to halt here for my weekly dose of Misal Pav. As I approach the cash counter, each time there are several thoughts that rush to my mind;
As I relish my dish, I realize that there is something quite magical in dipping into a plate of misal pav on a quiet Friday evening. It's like touching heaven and coming back, ready to touch it again next Friday !
After a 52 min drive along the xpressway connecting Pune and Mumbai comes a non-descript place [in comparison with huge sign boards of McD and other branded outlets ]. Known as the Khopoli vada-pav centre, it serves traditional Maharashtrian dishes; namely :- (a) Vada Pav (b) Misal Pav (c) Kande Pohe (d) Sabudana Vada (e) Sabudana Khichdi (vi) Kothimbir Vadi (vii) Thalipeet.
It has become my Friday evening ritual to take a pitstop here en route to home (Thane). After 5 days of work, I make it a point to halt here for my weekly dose of Misal Pav. As I approach the cash counter, each time there are several thoughts that rush to my mind;
- "Should I go for Kothimbir Vadi today?"
- "Am I feeling a bit too full to have an entire plate of Misal? "
- "Why not settle for the milder Kande Pohe" ?
As I relish my dish, I realize that there is something quite magical in dipping into a plate of misal pav on a quiet Friday evening. It's like touching heaven and coming back, ready to touch it again next Friday !
Friday, April 10, 2009
It’s all about re-skilling dude!
The views mentioned here are solely mine and people could find it extremely radical! If you do, then plz ignore J
For a moment consider yourself being transported back to the 30s and the 40s in the hustling city of Bombay. The famous lines “Yeh Hain Mumbai meri jaan” playing in the background, people leaving for work to the various mills doting the landscape of the city. Bombay then was the nerve centre for mills and rightly called the “mill land”. Infact the history of the mills can be tracked back even further. The story goes like this……
Before the middle of the nineteenth century, India used to export cotton to Britain and then reimport the textile. The impetus towards the founding of a cotton industry came from Indian enterpreneurs. The first Indian cotton mill, “The Bombay Spinning Mill”, was opened in 1854. By 1870 there were 13 mills in Bombay and at the end of 1895 there were 70 mills; growing to 83 in 1915. A period of stagnation set in during the recession of the 1920’s. In 1925 there were 81 mills in the city. This rapid growth in mills was sustained by a large migration of workers into the city. These workers were initially accommodated in hostels and then the famous “chawls”. The mills filled up Parel and expanded westwards all the way to Worli.
What started off as a decline in the 80s went into a death spiral. By the 1980s a majority of the mills closed down after prolonged strikes. Most of the private mill owners declared their units as “sick” and closed down. State owned mills hung on, trying various options of revival, all in vain. Finally they also caved in. Today the same mill land has acquired a completely different landscape. As a newspaper report put it “CENTRAL Mumbai is acquiring a new landscape, which seeks to obliterate any trace of its vibrant industrial past. The textile mills, which played an important role in the industrialization of Mumbai and evolved around the culture of the city's working class, are now giving way to development of upscale neighborhoods. Mill floors that resounded with the clang of machinery have been converted into shopping arcades, and residential towers have replaced their chimneys in the new skyline”
The point is that a geography/country/region might prove to be most cost effective and attract a set of industries to form a cluster. It would create huge employment opportunities, attract people from other cities and attract thousands students to major in that field. The companies having gained an entry using the cost route would then try to move up the value chain using levers like differentiation and increasing their product/service offerings. Isn’t that what happened to the IT landscape in India. Again, the seeds for growth being planted solely by the entrepreneurs. We managed to convince the world that it is extremely cost-effective to offshore their development work to India, convince them that we have the right talent pool and yes managed to deliver quality. The industry experienced unparalleled growth during the last decade (in the 30% range) and has been the biggest employment creator. It saw large migration of workers to key IT hubs, namely Bangalore and Pune.
But can I say that it would remain the same say 20 years hence. Can things go the mills way? Would all companies have moved to a much more cost effective country by then? Would India no longer be the preferred destination to deliver these services? The answer is I don’t know.
. What I do know is that as an industry slows down and companies look at cutting costs – the middle layer can be an easy target. As you gain more experience you are termed as a “costly” resource and highly susceptible to cost cutting measures Freshers are always the last ones asked to leave, as they are more cost effective. And if it does happen it would happen quicker than what happened to the mills; simply because the world is much more interconnected.
The key is to recognize this fact and be re-skillable. Or even better start developing multiple skills from a very early stage so that you can easily move to the next one, if the need arises. Start looking at areas that interest you. Look at ways and means to upgrade yourself. Reading, more reading, helping someone out with his work, showing interest and learning new areas of work. Check if you can work on them during your weekends. Basically by the time you are 40 you should have abstracted your skill level to a level where you are not viewed as a sector/industry specialist but someone who could manage the delivery of a large IT project/ or manage the administration of a school / manage a services business.
This is no fool proof solution – but I feel it’s better than not doing anything!
Saturday, April 04, 2009
Debt is Sexy
As an avid reader and follower of the global economic slowdown (I prefer to use this as it looks more polished than recession) one can’t help but sit back and reflect on something which our grandparents used to say very often “Stay away...far far away from debt”. In the Indian society, debt was considered a taboo.
Like the RBI being the lender of the last resort for the Banks, debt was the lender of the last resort for people. When no other means of finance were available people used to approach, the local money lender or the PSU banks. Still debt was a very bad thing to carry on your resume – It had massive ramifications. A dad with debt burden could not get his daughter married off; a house in debt was always something children were asked to stay away from (lest they pick up some bad habits). The underlying point is that debt was considered as one of the greatest evils.
However in the last few years, things seem to have changed – atleast in the large metro cities of India. A lot of it has to do with the rapid economic growth that India was making – resulting is higher salaries at a very young age. Something that took our parents 20 years to buy – we wished to get it in 2 years time! So out of college the coffee table discussions centered around not how to buy a flat in the new swanky DLF construction (that comes with it a large gym and a swimming pool) but how to finance it. The decision to buy was a foregone conclusion; it’s just about deciding how to finance it. The answer was simple. Debt! The economy was booming, interest rates were sufficiently low and paying of the EMIs was just a formality.
Personal debt (taken to finance purchase of assets like land, apartments or luxuries like a car) bears a striking similarity to corporate debt in the way it functions. The next few points explain this.
Debt helps you save Tax
Debt is a magical wand. It helps a firm save tax. Yes, it provides the much needed interest tax shield. So if a firm raises a debt of D, there is a direct tax relief of Tc * D and thus ends up paying lower tax than it normally would have.
The sample principal applies to retail debt, say a home loan. The interest on the loan amount taken and also a certain % of the principal amount can be reduced from the taxable income and thus taking debt helps an individual save a significant amount of tax. So instead of paying a whopping amount to the Government of India as tax, it was much better to approach the nearby swanky MNC bank who offer home loans –
In quick time. (Service Quality!)
Provide excellent support in all the pre-processing work
Implications: Take more debt, buy your dream home and ya pay less tax.
Apart from this debt helps the corporations in the following ways:-
Debt helps bring down your WACC
Debt is sexy. Corporate Finance tells us that a good Finance Manager would always look at bringing down the Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) and the more funds he is able to raise using debt, the lower is the WACC. (Cost of Debt < Cost of Preference Shares < Cost of Equity).
Implications: Companies looked at raising a large chunk of their funds via the debt route. It certainly helps when debt was available not only in India but in countries like Japan where interest rates are nearly 0%. Raise more debt, bring down your WACC.
Debt helps increase the EPS
Another tool to measure the performance of a company is the Earnings per Share which is calculated as Profit after Tax / Total No of Shares.
Implications: If a firm needs to raise Rs 100 and issues equity for it, what it is doing is increasing the denominator and hence bringing down the EPS. Companies could instead raise that amount using the debt route. Again debt helps in boosting your EPS.
Thus we see that debt is sexy, so long as the cost of debt is low; i.e we are living in a low interest rate regime. But unfortunately interest rates are not always low, it follows a business cycle. A slowdown as we are seeing now result in extremely low and attractive interest rates. However if the economy picks up in a years time and we are big to high growth phase (which generally lasts for 4 to 4 years) it won’t take much time for the central banks to raise the interest rates. After all they are also responsible for preventing the overheating of the economy. Thus, a few percentage points increase (above the threshold) in lending rates by the banks can have direct implications on the bottom line of corporations; similarly an increase in your home loan rate could pinch you big time and has the ability to send our entire financial planning for a toss.
Does that mean we should completely shy away from debt? I feel the answer is no. The best way forward is to use the combination of the wisdom of our elders and the knowledge of how debt works to make sound financial decisions. The advantages that come along with debt can be exploited by choosing the right size of debt and timing it correctly. We know that business cycles of boom and bust are a reality. The debt amount should be chosen in such that it can be repaid in one business cycle. So you might not have to wait for 20 years to buy that house of yours and maybe it might not be possible in 2 years, but right planning can help you time it somewhere in between these two. The key once again is ability to repay in one business cycle! Go…get your home.
As an avid reader and follower of the global economic slowdown (I prefer to use this as it looks more polished than recession) one can’t help but sit back and reflect on something which our grandparents used to say very often “Stay away...far far away from debt”. In the Indian society, debt was considered a taboo.
Like the RBI being the lender of the last resort for the Banks, debt was the lender of the last resort for people. When no other means of finance were available people used to approach, the local money lender or the PSU banks. Still debt was a very bad thing to carry on your resume – It had massive ramifications. A dad with debt burden could not get his daughter married off; a house in debt was always something children were asked to stay away from (lest they pick up some bad habits). The underlying point is that debt was considered as one of the greatest evils.
However in the last few years, things seem to have changed – atleast in the large metro cities of India. A lot of it has to do with the rapid economic growth that India was making – resulting is higher salaries at a very young age. Something that took our parents 20 years to buy – we wished to get it in 2 years time! So out of college the coffee table discussions centered around not how to buy a flat in the new swanky DLF construction (that comes with it a large gym and a swimming pool) but how to finance it. The decision to buy was a foregone conclusion; it’s just about deciding how to finance it. The answer was simple. Debt! The economy was booming, interest rates were sufficiently low and paying of the EMIs was just a formality.
Personal debt (taken to finance purchase of assets like land, apartments or luxuries like a car) bears a striking similarity to corporate debt in the way it functions. The next few points explain this.
Debt helps you save Tax
Debt is a magical wand. It helps a firm save tax. Yes, it provides the much needed interest tax shield. So if a firm raises a debt of D, there is a direct tax relief of Tc * D and thus ends up paying lower tax than it normally would have.
The sample principal applies to retail debt, say a home loan. The interest on the loan amount taken and also a certain % of the principal amount can be reduced from the taxable income and thus taking debt helps an individual save a significant amount of tax. So instead of paying a whopping amount to the Government of India as tax, it was much better to approach the nearby swanky MNC bank who offer home loans –
In quick time. (Service Quality!)
Provide excellent support in all the pre-processing work
Implications: Take more debt, buy your dream home and ya pay less tax.
Apart from this debt helps the corporations in the following ways:-
Debt helps bring down your WACC
Debt is sexy. Corporate Finance tells us that a good Finance Manager would always look at bringing down the Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) and the more funds he is able to raise using debt, the lower is the WACC. (Cost of Debt < Cost of Preference Shares < Cost of Equity).
Implications: Companies looked at raising a large chunk of their funds via the debt route. It certainly helps when debt was available not only in India but in countries like Japan where interest rates are nearly 0%. Raise more debt, bring down your WACC.
Debt helps increase the EPS
Another tool to measure the performance of a company is the Earnings per Share which is calculated as Profit after Tax / Total No of Shares.
Implications: If a firm needs to raise Rs 100 and issues equity for it, what it is doing is increasing the denominator and hence bringing down the EPS. Companies could instead raise that amount using the debt route. Again debt helps in boosting your EPS.
Thus we see that debt is sexy, so long as the cost of debt is low; i.e we are living in a low interest rate regime. But unfortunately interest rates are not always low, it follows a business cycle. A slowdown as we are seeing now result in extremely low and attractive interest rates. However if the economy picks up in a years time and we are big to high growth phase (which generally lasts for 4 to 4 years) it won’t take much time for the central banks to raise the interest rates. After all they are also responsible for preventing the overheating of the economy. Thus, a few percentage points increase (above the threshold) in lending rates by the banks can have direct implications on the bottom line of corporations; similarly an increase in your home loan rate could pinch you big time and has the ability to send our entire financial planning for a toss.
Does that mean we should completely shy away from debt? I feel the answer is no. The best way forward is to use the combination of the wisdom of our elders and the knowledge of how debt works to make sound financial decisions. The advantages that come along with debt can be exploited by choosing the right size of debt and timing it correctly. We know that business cycles of boom and bust are a reality. The debt amount should be chosen in such that it can be repaid in one business cycle. So you might not have to wait for 20 years to buy that house of yours and maybe it might not be possible in 2 years, but right planning can help you time it somewhere in between these two. The key once again is ability to repay in one business cycle! Go…get your home.
Friday, April 03, 2009
Dear Top BJP Member,
A few days ago, as I was surfing through the various television channels I happened to catch a debate in which you were participating in. On the issue of taxation you had said that during the last five years, a lot of additional taxes have been imposed (including ones like the fringe benefit tax) and once in power your party would ensure that the tax rates are reduced. A couple of days later we find the BJP manifesto clearly stating that the you raise the minimum limit for income tax to a whopping 3 lakhs resulting in huge savings for the (tax paying) people. Apart from this it also talks about tax concessions to senior citizens and members of the armed forces.
As a young, educated urban voter, this sounded music to my ears. I could easily save a lot more every month and yes splurge it in something “really cool”. But then when the “educated” part of me took over and I started pondering on the following:-
With this “urban populist” move of yours you would remove 1.25 crore people from the tax base (which is just 3.25 crore) and this move would cost the ex-chequer a whopping 25000 crores (approx). The economic slowdown has forced governments all over the world including India to introduce several fiscal stimulus packages to try and revive the economy which has resulted in our fiscal deficit touching around 12% of the GDP.
I am sure you are aware of all these facts and hence would really appreciate if your manifesto could also state the measures that your party would take to reduce the additional burden on the fiscal deficit that would arise out of these new “tax” incentives. The tax incentives present only one half of the picture, albeit incomplete – the roadmap to address its impact on the overall macro-economic situation of the country is required to convince me that’s it’s a good move. After all what value does a young, educated, urban voter bring if he cannot raise a few uncomfortable questions!
A few days ago, as I was surfing through the various television channels I happened to catch a debate in which you were participating in. On the issue of taxation you had said that during the last five years, a lot of additional taxes have been imposed (including ones like the fringe benefit tax) and once in power your party would ensure that the tax rates are reduced. A couple of days later we find the BJP manifesto clearly stating that the you raise the minimum limit for income tax to a whopping 3 lakhs resulting in huge savings for the (tax paying) people. Apart from this it also talks about tax concessions to senior citizens and members of the armed forces.
As a young, educated urban voter, this sounded music to my ears. I could easily save a lot more every month and yes splurge it in something “really cool”. But then when the “educated” part of me took over and I started pondering on the following:-
With this “urban populist” move of yours you would remove 1.25 crore people from the tax base (which is just 3.25 crore) and this move would cost the ex-chequer a whopping 25000 crores (approx). The economic slowdown has forced governments all over the world including India to introduce several fiscal stimulus packages to try and revive the economy which has resulted in our fiscal deficit touching around 12% of the GDP.
I am sure you are aware of all these facts and hence would really appreciate if your manifesto could also state the measures that your party would take to reduce the additional burden on the fiscal deficit that would arise out of these new “tax” incentives. The tax incentives present only one half of the picture, albeit incomplete – the roadmap to address its impact on the overall macro-economic situation of the country is required to convince me that’s it’s a good move. After all what value does a young, educated, urban voter bring if he cannot raise a few uncomfortable questions!
Saturday, March 28, 2009
“G” for Globalization...echoed the voices from the classroom. No it wasn’t a bunch of suit clad, jargon spitting B School graduates, but a bunch of young Pre-School students studying in a neighborhood “corporatized”, learning their A…B….C’s, their first step in becoming what is today proudly called as global citizens. The concept of globalization has today sunk in deeply in our lives, especially in the major metros of India. The products and services we use, the firms we work for, the cars we drive, the brands we shop for, our bankers, our service providers. We prefer to buy “global” brands –maybe for their perceived quality and for the status that is associated with it.
Just thought it would be nice to do a status check and see where I stand. In my case I have very strong brand preferences in most of the categories. For apparel and electronic items I would buy only global brands. I don’t mind spending a few extra hundred bucks for an Arrow shirt for a few thousands more for a Sony television set but when it comes to banking, financial products I am a nationalist at heart. I choose to bank with State Bank of India, opt for insurance products only from Life Insurance Corporation of India. I use a credit card from one of the leading PSU banks of India. Infact when pretty voices from global banks (not mentioning names J call up and ask me to opt for their credit card, or a 10 lakh immediate cash loan or simply open an account with them, it sends a shiver down my spine. When it comes to “cash” and safety issues I get completely completely nationalized. Whether this perception of mine would change, 10 years down the line ? I don’t think so. If any it would get stronger; considering the fact that I’m getting older by the day!
Just thought it would be nice to do a status check and see where I stand. In my case I have very strong brand preferences in most of the categories. For apparel and electronic items I would buy only global brands. I don’t mind spending a few extra hundred bucks for an Arrow shirt for a few thousands more for a Sony television set but when it comes to banking, financial products I am a nationalist at heart. I choose to bank with State Bank of India, opt for insurance products only from Life Insurance Corporation of India. I use a credit card from one of the leading PSU banks of India. Infact when pretty voices from global banks (not mentioning names J call up and ask me to opt for their credit card, or a 10 lakh immediate cash loan or simply open an account with them, it sends a shiver down my spine. When it comes to “cash” and safety issues I get completely completely nationalized. Whether this perception of mine would change, 10 years down the line ? I don’t think so. If any it would get stronger; considering the fact that I’m getting older by the day!
Saturday, January 03, 2009
One Vada Sambar & One Rava Sada........Category: Food Mood: Nostalgic
We were seated in the small stools placed outside the restaurant waiting for the waiter to come and take the orders. Thats how it always happened at this place. It might be full to the brim (on most occasions), but you could pull one of these plastic stools kept outside, order your stuff, have a wonderful snack and pay your bills. All without even entering the place...
We made our way to Mani's Lunch Home, one of our favourite hang out places in Matunga. (Its just not a hang out place, its a place where you get seriously good stuff to eat). There is something about these places that you grow up in. You don't like it to change. There is a certain sense of charm and romance associated with it. Ive always seen groups of 'gujjus' lined up outside Mani's Lunch home, yapping and merrily hogging away at Mysore Bonda - that too after a round of brisk walk :-). Being very close to Matunga gymkhana it was also very common to find people crowding out, having a quick snack after an exciting game of cricket. But this time it was a bit different. Apparently the government had passed some new regulations due to which they had stopped serving food outside.
We had to wait for our turn before we could get our seats. Now this place has exactly the same no of seats for as long as I can remember, 20+ years for sure. A look around and you can see the following things.
1. A black and white picture of the founder of the restaurant. (who I presume was called Mani).
2. A board which says 'We welcome members of all community'
3. Another board which says 'Outside food not allowed'
You can make out that all of these hoardings have been there for ages. I was wondering what made a restaurant in the heart of a South Indian suburb of Mumbai put a message welcoming members of all community? (Would be interesting to find out).
Coming to the main point - Food. Just awsome vada sambar & rava dosa coupled with unlimited sambar. If you want a refill of chatni or sambhar just call the waiter, he comes over and pours it, some of it will fall in the cup, some might spill over to the table. Again its not the type of place known for hi-fi cleanliness or waiters speaking the queen's English. Its a place where you can go with your school mates, rekindle old memories, relive those good ol school days order the best of South Indian dishes, eat as if there is no tomorrow, end with an authentic south indian filter coffee. Mani's lunch home is not just about food, Its loads and loads of memories !!
After I wrote this blog I decided to google for Mani's lunch home. Found some very interesting stories. The most interesting story one being in the Maharashtra Times (1973) of all places and it talks about 'Unlimited Chatni and Sambhar' (pic uploaded).
Details about Mani's lunch home & how it all began http://www.manislunchhome.in/about_us
Thursday, January 01, 2009
Happy New Year
The clock had just struck 12 and the cell phone started beeping..Friends and well wishers sending New Year Wishes. After reading a few of them I found that there was a striking similarity in all of them. Each had the following of the following key words.
(i) Happy (ii)Prosperous (iii)Successful.
It just made me wonder as to how we as a society tend to associate prosperity and sucess directly with happiness. I guess it happens at a subconsious level. We define success as being directly proportional prosperity. The more money we earn, society percives us to be more successful and thinks we are the happiest people on earth. Its not surprising to find people saying " Look at him, he earns x crores per annum, drives swanky cars, is so successful. Must be really happy"
I somehow feel happiness is not a function of success and prosperity ! But maybe I belong to aminority.....
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