Sujavna1:17b

Giri at 1730hrs on 19^th June 2011

Hello. Hope the week that went by was one that provided you with a lot of positive experiences and that you are having a great and relaxing weekend.

I have to admit, though, that while the past week was a good one for me, Friday brought me news that made me seethe with anger and really unsettled me. For those of you not tracking local Indian news, I refer to the treasure trove of Rs. 12 crores (approximately US$3million) plus 98 kgs of gold (valued over Rs. 20 crores) and another 307 kgs of silver (valued over Rs. 2 crores) unearthed from the private chambers of the recently-deceased spiritual leader Satya Sai Baba. What angers me is not the actual value, but the fact that leading public figures such as the ex-President of the Confederation of Indian Industry (and a leading businessman from Chennai), an ex-Chief Justice of India (and an active Chairperson for many of the Government of India’s Law Commissions of Enquiry), retired judges of the Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka High Courts, have, while participating (as members of the organisation’s Trust)in the assessment of the treasure trove, have studiously remains silent as to why the Trust has been encouraging the private hoarding of such large treasure troves inside the private chambers of the “godman”. Or why there is no explanation as to what fiduciary responsibilities the Trust really had when the “godman” was alive and how it went in discharging these responsibilities. In a properly governed organisation, such large wealth should have been invested in legal instruments and an audit trail should have been regularly made available to the income tax authorities.

This brings me to my thought of the week, which results from the acts of omissions of our lawmakers and law-protectors – are we Indians pre-disposed to endemic corruption because we are not culturally-inclined to question any form of moral, spiritual, religious, business or political authority?

With my weekend, thus perturbed, I am looking forward to a better week ahead – a week that will bring forth many ,many instances of human kindness, intelligence and sharing of goodwill. So until next Sunday......

Sujavna 1:17

Giri at 1630hrs on 12^th June 2011

Welcome to yet another post at Sujavna, which I want you to know is a part of my “blogging for bhajiyas” – yes I have been promised bhajiyas for evening tea by my dear wife, and I need to be on time for the same!

I am happy to have concluded that the range of themes that all of the previous editions of Sujavna have included, is indeed a wide assortment. Not so happy, though, that further research and comments have not followed many of these. It is my intention to follow-upon two of the themes – NUN (New United Nation) and Hug-A-Friend network of centres – to check on how these could really become feasible, or, (if there is a consensus) how these need to be amended for ensuring feasibility. So watch out for more on these themes in the coming weeks.

As for my experiences last week, the one experience that stands out is the realization from a series of meetings with technology managers of Indian corporate groups, that there are many leading businesses in India that have mindlessly invested in procuring and retaining technology licenses without any business profitability assessments. The idea that crossed my mind as I realized this was: Is there some way by which technology departments of Indian corporate groups can take on a CSR initiative that could leverage and use the unharnessed technology potential within the group (and this would include unused technology licenses, technology skillsets, technology hardware) for facilitating citizen / local government / educational / healthcare initiatives?

What do you think? Looking forward to reading your comments and views. Until next Sunday, then....

Sujavna 1:15

Giri at 1630 hrs on 05^th June 2011

Welcome to yet another post of Sujavna – the fifteenth edition, to be precise, is being composed and published from a cosy corner of my living room in Mumbai, with thunder, lightning and rains heralding the start of what seems to be a good monsoon for 2011.

As I ponder about how the next 15 editions of Sujavna could become better in terms of provoking its readers to comment and react otherwise, as well as in terms of increasing its spread, I am also intrigued about the array of themes so far commented on. Has there been a narrow focus in terms of themes or in terms of geographies? Has there been an adequate follow up in terms of researching further and adding more information and views on themes that have been highlighted in previous posts? Are the posts sufficiently thought-provoking and reasonably candid?

I intend to provide a quick analysis of Sujavna, so far, in my next Post, and would like to hear from you on what you think about my blogs. To help you, I recap, below, 22 suggestions that featured in the last 14 posts (in reverse chronological order). A few readers have additionally suggested 3 themes (water conservation, pollution prevention and carbon footprint calculations).

1.       Can we not redesign our cities “lifescapes” to follow natural weather conditions? (29^th May)

2.       How about getting all the main news readers of various Indian TV channels into a room once week, and ask them to read the breaking news that they had reported during the week, but using a different context and making a parody of the situation!.(23^rd May)

3.       Should there not be a more-concerted India brand strategy for some of these potential sunrise commercial sectors? (23^rd May)

4.       How about a spa-retreat where guests are actively encouraged to play the roles of their alter-egos? (15^th May)

5.       How about a compulsory stint in a naturist camp for all aspiring politicians, civil-rights activists and global business leaders? (15^th May)

6.       NUN (a New United Nations) (8^th May)

7.       Could the royal wedding have been used as a platform to drive home the message with visible demonstrations of how Innovation and Creativity has been helping a commoner as much as they have helped the Royals?(1^st May)

8.       to constitute (in their newly-appointed roles as the Duke and Duchesss of Cambridge) a Royal Chair of Healthcare Innovation in Cambridge University(1^st May)

9.       Perhaps each city should have a “Hug-a-friend” network of centres where depressed individuals could go any time of the day and find volunteers who are ready to give them a hug and say a positively-reinforcing message that ignites a spark in the persons to think positively about the issues that they confront. The network of centres could be sponsored by comfort-food companies as part of their own CSR initiatives! (not sure if this is a good idea, though). (24^th April)

10.   So what are the options for someone who wants to engage a good contractor for civil repairs and maintenance? Is there a case for incentivising this sector to adopt professional work cultures and customer-friendly work practices? (17^th April)

11.   Can Anna Hazare also go on a similar fast-unto-death to coerce each of the India’s top businessmen and traders, doctors and lawyers, Bollywood producers and artistes, cricket stars and sports administrators to agree to a similar vigilante body?(10^th April)

12.   How about using art, sports and culture to resolve inter-state, centre-state disputes (such as river-water sharing disputes) or event the Maoist problem in India!(3^rd April)

13.   Can we not make it mandatory for all local municipal authorities in Indian cities to create large fluorosecent boards with street maps at major road intersections and also have a call centre to help a visitor reach her/his destination using the best possible route? In the absence of a scientific and organised planning of city addresses, this may be a viable option.(27^th March)

14.   It is high time that well-renowned performers of Indian classical art forms seek to use their own performances to “convert” new followers by adding an educative element to their performances apart from the entertaining element.(27^th March)

15.   Can someone calculate the carbon footprints generated annually by all the events organised on the subject of climate change and can there be a penal charge on the organisers of such events that ensures they practice what they preach?(20^th March)

16.   If only we had a well-structured city-wide on-line system (say an e-trust)....we will have an efficient grass-root system of the employed giving back to those parts of society that support them through public services, even as they enjoy a well-deserved office-party. (20^th March)

17.   Event organisers such as Mumbai Marathon or Cyclathon as well as public bodies such as Municipal Corporations and law-enforcing organisations need to identify practice venues and routes and times and keep the general public informed about these too. The costs involved have to be borne by the sponsors and the participants.(13^th March)

18.   Can social networking sites and community radios become the vanguard of disaster management infrastructure in countries such as India?(13^th March)

19.   Urban Indians need to be less rude to their neighbours and fellow-citizens? What will make us be patient with the elderly, infirm, less-powerful and influential.....? Do we instil an award for these and get media to recognize and extol such behaviour?(6^th March)

20.   Would it not be a great idea for public utilities such as post offices, railway and bus terminal ticketing counters, tashildar offices, RTOs, chemists shops to hire unemployed youth and senior citizens at part-wages to man public counters at “closed-for-transaction” times (say lunchtimes, night hours), so that we have 24-hour public services and also partially-solve employment problems?(6^th March)

21.   Is there a case for a continuous round-the-year media coverage or investigative journalism seen (analysis, expert-interviews and sting operations) of how tax revenues are actually spent on key priority areas such as healthcare, education, defence and infrastructure? (6^th March)

22.   Has anyone really worked out the CBA of a complex and convoluted system of taxation and tax-administration in India (with its subsidies, discounts, exemptions and holidays,....) vis-a-vis a simple, standard and low-but uniform tax of say 15% on all income(corporate or individual, direct or indirect) exceeding (say) 20 times the minimum wages?(6^th March)

I hope that my analysis will help pave the way forward for even better blogs in the future. Till next Sunday, then.......