Just Me - India

There has been lot of talk about Private Sector participation in infrastructure projects in Bangalore in recent months. This surprises me.

Let's see what kind of participation is being asked of from the Private Sector by government and others:

• Investment in terms of Money in building Roads, Fly-overs (bridges), preventing water logging, resolving traffic woes, other public utility services etc.
  
• Investment in terms of Time in doing the same things.
• Investment in terms of participation in planning exercises around these activities.

Sounds good ?

No. This is stupid because:

• It is essentially the job of the government and the dedicated ministries.
  
• There are people already being paid to do exactly these things - the bureaucracy and a very long list of government servants. If they fail to deliver - they should be questioned ! Instead the approach being taken is - its ok to be lackadaisical - we will have someone else do this job while you can relax.
  
• Tax is being collected by the government for this very purpose. Isn't it? Well, not just tax, but many types of tax over and above the basic one - which are termed as 'cess'.
• Private enterprises exist for the sole purpose of doing business, generating employment in the process - and paying the necessary taxes to the government. They do not specialize in building infrastructure for cities - it is not their job. Their job should be to be pay taxes, do business legitimetely, and perhaps generate employment in the process.
  

This kind of talk exists only because government has been singularly incompetent in getting it's act together w.r.t infrastructure. Almost nowhere in the world, are business enterprises expected to spend their time and money in building infrastructure - haven't they already contributed by means of paying taxes, generating employment ?

All of us know this statistic right ?

"More than 50% of all IT Projects fail. " Actually the percentage is probably even higher.

Well - come to think of it, this is the last thing you expect actually; because:

• It's one of the most modern industries.
• One of the most educated workforce drives it.
• Work itself is based largely on logic (business or otherwise).
• The biggest consumers of IT (and therefore the spenders) are themselves rich, successful, educated folks.
  

Inspite of these factors, the first mentioned statistic is true. Why should it be so.

Probably this is so because of the following:

• The technology is fast changing, and the adoption is quick; leaving little time for maturity.
  
• Can you imagine a Manager in Steel Industry who does not know about Steel/Iron/Ore/Boilers ? Can you imagine a Manager in Automobile industry who does not know about Motors/Engines/Combustion ? But, it is common for IT projects to be lead by Managers who are largely clueless about Sofware/Design/Programming/Architecture. (How do they judge what is going on in a project ?)
  
• Inappropriate amount of focus on two key building blocks of any project : Requirements AND Technical Solution. The first is "what to achieve", second is "how to achive". Any layman can tell you, you will fail if you get either of them wrong. So, it's common to find 'implementation/execution' in full-swing, while neither the requirements or the technical solution are identified clearly. It's like driving away to glory, without knowing your destination AND the route !! You know what glory you are likely to find under such circumstances...
  

Ofcourse there are multitude of other reasons that could be cited. The above ones seem to be very common.

Our chances of success are increased manifold if we adhere to : Basics and Simplicity. Irrespective of the industry !

Media has changed a lot in India. Gone are the days when we used to have a single national news channel which functioned between 6pm in the evening to 11 pm in the night. It had every hallmark of a govt driven enterprise. Inefficient, low on quality, bad in style.

Today; if you want to watch news on television there are many many channels you can choose from. Many are sleek, feaure smart news readers; and have some variety.

But. almost all have one common feature. They are superfluous, irresponsible and cater to sensationalism. Watching them is no different from watching a 'soap' gone wrong.

The reporters will not hesitate to ask stupid questions, give their own version of possible reasons behind incidents, turn their cameras on unsuspecting people (walking into people's houses with cameras rolling !! Isn't that amazing ! In some countries you would arrested for invading privacy in this manner. And you should be.)

The unforgivable part is when media becomes the Judge. They pass judgements - by declaring people guilty or not guilty. This is clearly not their job - they should only be reporting.

So, no wonder; many of these media houses have become centers of power. This is no different from the print media.

Having a active media is better than having no-media at all. But, is having a irresponsible media any better?

Sep 29, 2005 - An All-India Strike has been called for. Guess what - its reasonably successful.

Who are on strike?

• Airport Employees
• Bank Employees
• Transport Workers - Buses/Autos - in many places
• There are more i do not know of or cannot recall.

Why are they on strike?

• To protest against governments privatization drive of airports
• Many for no reason at all - just because their trade union belongs to the same trade union as the ones that wants to strike. So more like - for support
• To protest against some government policies - with which - they may or may not have anything to do.

Where are all the people who are on strike located?

• All over India !

What does this mean?

• Banks are closed
• No transport available in several places/cities in India.
• Airports are either disfunctional (Calcutta) or operating on low traffic; with skeleton staff.
• Opportunity to do mischief
• Tremendous inconvenience to the common man.
• Loss of earnings/money for the daily wage earner - he will not recover the losses.
• Loss of production and money for several big manufacturing units ! especially govt. owned. As if anybody cares?
• Disrepute.

Are these kind of Strikes Common in India?

Yes, they used to be fairly common. In recent years, though they have become less frequent. But by and large there are far too many of them, compared to other places in the world.

Who calls for these Strikes or supports them?

Ostensibly it is the Trade Unions. But, that is definitely not the complete story. These are called with backing of Political Parties. Trade Unions are simply the front to carry them out. For example the current one is supported by the left-wing parties. Not surprisingly, it is usually the party which is not in power, that calls for strikes.

What are the usual reasons for Strikes?

• Protest against price rise of a commodity - like fuel or railway tickets
• Protest against some kind of violence or atrocity, real or perceived.
• Demand for Salary Hike
• Against the govt policies - in general - or specific. for eg: protest against privatization of Insurance Sector.

Are all Strikes unreasonable?

This is very difficult to answer. Depends on whom you are talking to. Generally most strikes have been unreasonable, and most importantly they don't really serve anyone.

When and how did this practice start?

Like everywhere else in the world, strikes are a way of protest. But, there is something very unique about them in India - w.r.t how the idea spread in recent times - ok over the last century.

During the first part of 20th century(Britishers left India in 1947) , when Britishers were ruling India; Mahatma Gandhi and freedom fighters adopted the idea of - "Non-Co-operation" against the British government - as a non-violent wayof protesting against British rule in India. This was reasonably successful. It required people to gather and take out protest marches in a peaceful manner, burn foreign imported textile, keep the shops shutdown (not conduct business), not attend work etc. This did help the cause to some extent, and served its purpose in those days.

BUT, unfortunately after India gained independence, the practice continued, and degenerated into the present day form. So, there were/are strikes galore. And it is no longer peaceful. If people close their shops, and don't go to work when a strike is called for - it is usually - out of fear of violence.

Why are the Strikes allowed - why are they not banned?

• In a democracy you should have a way to protest. Way to voice your opinion.
• Lack of will of the government. When the political party which is in power today, is no longer in power tomorrow, it will indulge in strikes to paralyze the government.
• There have indeed been judgements from courts - that several strikes that have happened are illegal. But, it is the bureaucracy and legislature that has to implement the judgement. The will is clearly lacking.
• An unwritten rule - that - that the services of govt. servants cannot be terminated. Usually the only action taken against them (if the need arises) is to deny promotion or send them to a different office to work in. This results in govt. servants becoming very often unaccountable for their actions. And therefore, it is very often that government employees are on strike.

Our ancestors understood much more of the world than us. Doesn't it sound strange? It does, but in many ways it is so true.

Consider these facts:

• How many of the tools and gadgets we use today - do we really know how they work?
• How many of the things we come in contact with or read about everyday do we understand?

The answer really - is that we dont understand much. An average man hardly knows how cell phones work, what makes a tubelight glow, what exactly is a blood test or how automobiles work or textile is made. We have a cursory knowledge of these- the details are left to the specialists!

This was not so with our ancestors. Our ancestors had to fend for themselves completely. They used to build their own houses, make their own weapons, grow their own food etc. Doesn't sound very hitech.. eh? But, they understood what they were doing. Life was not at the mercy of specialists !

So, in a way we are becoming more and more ignorant, althought the world itself is advancing and making great strides into the future ! What a strange thing.

But, even this is not bad. The worst thing is that - we are slowly losing are curiosity or ability to learn or do things on our own. We are gaining the attitude of - this is for the experts to deal with. It is not clear what the consequences of this kind of attitude will be!