India Under Siege

Greetings!

Here I am blogging on systemic inefficiencies that prevails in our system, with which we interact closely on a daily basis.

Corruption & Black Money:

Corruption has become a way of life in India. People earning crores through suspect means do not pay taxes and the Black Money thus generated runs into thousands of crores.

So much has been written about Corruption – and I guess nothing more can be written on this. Recently President Abdul Kalam too voiced his concern on this subject. Corruption exists at all levels of Governance.

The crawling Judicial System aids Corruption. How is that only Corruption, Civil
and Crime & Terrorism Cases takes years for a judicial ruling, while political cases takes much less time? I remember reading a news-item recently - the pending cases in courts in India would require 360 years to complete the trial. I am amused when I come across arguments based on Laws written in 1850s. I fail to understand why have we not re-written laws to suit our current needs and times. Our Laws can be ONLY INTERPRETED by our honorable Lawyers/Judges and NOT UNDERSTOOD by common man. Heights-of-Inefficiency? Huh!

How is that a road laid in the interiors of cities and towns gets washed away in few weeks of usage and those that are laid in the VIP zones lasts much longer and also gets topped at slightest of damage? Are millions of Indians paying taxes for ensuring the High Quality of Life of VIPs? Who is to inspect the quality of roads that are laid in our neighborhood – Is it not a criminal offence on the part of Government – if the roads peel off within few weeks of laying or at the first drizzle? If all roads were to last minimum 5 years, by now I guess, the entire Nation could have been provided with roads.

I fail to understand what made us Indians to become so tolerant to mediocrity – not just in politics, but in every other sphere.

Parallel Governments:

A virtual parallel system runs in India – by Naxalites, Rowdies and Terrorists. Crores of Rupees are spent on the “talks” with Pakistan “Dignitaries” that takes place ever so often. This has been going on for decades. Will this go on till Kashmir is consumed by the Himalayas? Are we so incapable to solve an Issue for 50 Years? How can we be indecisive for 50 long Years?

It was said that Verappan not only sold Sandalwood illegally in India but also exported. Can a one-man army living in deep-jungles accomplish the business tasks that he successfully carried out?

I wonder if virtual parallel Governments aid to the cause of efficiency?

Religious Laws:

Crores of Rupees are spent on Inquiry Commissions and Study Commissions. What happens to these Reports? The politically sensitive ones alone are either leaked to the media deliberately or presented officially. We have seen how two commissions, constituted by NDA and UPA Governments to go into the “Train Accident” in Gujarat few years ago, came out with diametrically opposing conclusions. How do we trust the Government of the day?

I am skeptical about the timing of the release of the Sachar committee report on Muslims. There are lots of numbers in the report that suits not Muslims but Congress Party. The saying - Statistics is like a Micro-Skirt, revealing the maximum, but not the actual thing – holds true for today’s “Commission Reports” on Religions and Castes. While sexy, alluring and romantic lingerie teases men with hidden promise, these “Commission Reports” tease our political parties – the hidden promise being Vote-Bank. I wonder how the Muslims [Moguls] who invaded [1526 – Babar] and ruled India till about 1858, spanning more than 300 years - became backward after Independence. I do not know if British had any specific policies to make Muslims backward in India. Definitely Independent India never had any specific policies to make Muslims backward in India. So the so-called backwardness of Indian Muslims is sounds hollow – don’t we have all the Kingly Khans in Bollywood, Prince of Arcot, Nawab of Pataudi Mansur Ali Khan, Wipro’s Aziz Premji, Shabana Azmi, Najma Heptullah, President Abdul Kalam, Azharuddin, Kirmani, etc have indeed occupied high positions in India in their respective chosen fields. We do have Universities, Colleges and Schools for Muslims – with tax exemption. So the current Indian system allows people to grow – irrespective of Religion. It is imperative to mention here that, it is the systemic inefficiency that plays havoc across religions and framing policies on religious basis is a highly regressive measure.

When will our Government say – Only 50% of Indians are literate, only 30% are Graduates and 80% of Women Graduates are Housewives – and frame Policies and Procedures for Indians per-se.

Different Laws exist for Marriage and Divorce - based on religion. I do not know if any other democracy follows this practice.

I wonder if it is efficient to have exclusive but conflicting National Laws on Education, Employment, Terrorism, Marriage and Divorce, on Religion grounds?

Political Freebies:

The Tamil Nadu Government is doling out color TVs, Free Land, etc to “certain” people. Color TVs were purchased at Rs.2950 per piece with Tax Payers’ money. I do not want to hazard a guess on ONE benefit to the taxpayer or the recipients of Color TVs or the Government; at the most it benefits the Political Party to seek votes in future elections.

Post Panchayat and Corporation Elections in Tamil Nadu, we have illiterates as Mayors, Deputy Mayors, Panchayat Heads, etc. Don’t we need imaginative, erudite persons of high caliber who can independently apply their minds as Mayors and Deputy Mayors for our fast growing Metros and Towns? In short don’t we need Social Scientists in positions of power?

I, for one would not like to blame the current set of politicians for lack of space in the political arena for genuine citizens. It is we who keep harping on this subject ever so often – without attempting to “act proactively”; the root cause of this, I personally feel, is the lack of networking among the like-minded people.

Can we demand a quota of 10% for fresh genuine, non-corrupt citizens in the political arena? This reminds me of Swami Vivekananda’s famous quote that I read this morning - Live for an ideal, and that one ideal alone. Let it be so great, so strong, that there may be nothing else left in the mind; no place for anything else, no time for anything else – Do we have a single politician who can be associated with this quote in the right-sense. Of course in the wrong sense every politician can be associated with this quote – if making money is the first ideal, the second one is to transfer the political baton to another member in the family, for most of the politicians.

I wonder if it furthers the cause of efficiency to have illiterates as Heads in a Democratic set-up - making illogical, often retrograde decisions.

Leakage of Funds:

Inefficient PSUs, PSEs, Government Departments and Public-Distribution Systems waste thousands of crores of Rupees due to inherent systemic inefficiencies. Millions spent on Social Welfare schemes hardly reaches the intended beneficiaries. Much has been written on funds swindled by corrupt NGOs.

Today the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister stated that the Government would recruit 30,000 Typists and Stenographers – the Seniority in the Registration at the Employment Exchanges being the sole criteria for selection - apart from caste based reservation. In this Computerized Era, why recruit typists – that too in thousands. Who is to question the Government?

Crores of Tax Payers’ money is spent on Infrastructure Projects – The cost escalation of delayed, abandoned and cancelled projects run into thousands of crores of rupees. You would have definitely seen small bridges and flyovers being constructed for years, which can actually be constructed in 2-3 months if genuine efforts are put in with correct planning, execution and management. Is anyone calculating all these losses? Even if I calculate whom do I report to?

Recently, our Finance Minister, P Chidambaram stated – “If tax compliance increases, tax rate would be reduced” – which means we [including compliant Corporates] tax payers are paying taxes for our cheating neighbors too? Shame.

When Tsunami struck Tamil Nadu – an efficient Collector, J Radhakrishnan handled the crisis very efficiently and got all round praises from all sections of society and Government. Former USA President Bill Clinton described him as “An efficient young man with the Right Attitude”. It was Radhakrishnan who also handled the Fire Tragedy in a Primary School in Kumbakonam, which consumed 94 innocent kids. When the present DMK Government took over, he was shifted out – apparent unwritten reason – The collector worked efficiently and earned accolades for the previous Jayalalithaa Government! Are we a Nation that punishes true efficiency by bureaucrats? I sometimes feel if we install Governments to govern paragons of inefficiency!

Most salaried Indians – especially people who work within the confines of Office – genuinely never put in 8 hours of work a day – while women folk spend time in café and chatting in seats for couple of hours each day; men folk spend hours at café, smoking zones and chatting-up with friends and colleagues during “Office Hours” – if these hours are considered as Non-Productive, then the productive hours would definitely be less than 6 hours a day each.

I strongly believe there is lot of scope to improve efficiencies by taking right decisions and changing our attitudes a wee-bit.

Product Pricing Inefficiencies:

Nothing can be more exorbitantly priced than products of daily usage/consumption like Toothpaste, Toothbrush, Lights and Bulbs. The cost for 150 grams of toothpaste is around Rs.50 and I can guesstimate the actual product cost to be around 1/5th of MRP.

Likewise the manufacturing cost of a Toothbrush would not be more than Rs.2/ and a bottle of cola Rs.0.5. We pay for the costs of Sachins and Bachans of India! Is it warranted or worth the money?

Last week I got a shocker of a DSL Bill from BSNL. My browsing Bill was Rs.1750 in addition to the minimum of Rs.250 for 400 MB internet-traffic. The first thing I did was to check my traffic. It was a mind-boggling 1.6GB+. Upon analysis I found that most of the websites had increased the number of flashy images, Flash-Ads and Videos. I pondered and thought it was not worth paying Rs.2000 per month for browsing alone. The first option that struck me was to switch to Rs.900 per month plan, which allowed unlimited internet-traffic. Again I pondered and wondered if that was worth it? I decided to continue my 250-Plan with reduced traffic. So I uninstalled Macromedia Flash Player; and installed Firefox Browser. In the browser, I disabled Images. Now the websites, including Sulekha, looks bland without the flashy ads – but I have no complaints. Seldom has the ads on websites helped me in any way. So why pay for ads that adds no value to my browsing? I don’t know if you will agree, but I stick to my plan.

You might know that 95% of electric power is converted into wasted heat energy and only 5% of electric energy is converted into Light – it is the light that we use and not the heat energy. If incandescent bulb operates at 5% efficiency, fluorescent lamps operate at 20% efficiency. India may be power surplus country if Indian engineers design more efficient bulbs and prevent the 50% losses/theft that take place in the Transmission and Distribution System – meaning if we produce Rs.100 worth of electricity; we bill [including free power] only for Rs.50 or less – the rest is unbilled due to power theft and T&D Losses.

We pay Rs.600 for a branded T-Shirt that costs Rs.300 in a small shop for the same/equivalent brand. We pay the extra cost for Car Park facilities and 100s of tube-lights inside – provided by the swanky mall and branded Retail Stores. I believe we should be paying 95% for the product and 5% for the additional facilities?

When I was earning Rs.5000 per month, a 2 room flat sold at Rs.5 Lacs at a distance of 5 Kilometers. I used to dream that I would buy that flat when I earned Rs.10,000 per month. But when I earned Rs.10K per month, a similar flat cost Rs.10 Lacs, 10 Kms away. When I earned 20k per month, it is 30 Lacs at a distance of 18 Kms. How is that real estate is always out-of-reach of middle class? I don’t know if I am inefficient, not to earn more, or are the real estate agents more efficient.

I am reminded of the Life Insurance Policy that my dad had taken twenty years back - Sum Assured Rs.50,000. It seems he thought, that Rs.50K, would take care of his major expenses post retirement. Now it looks like 50K may just be sufficient for his cremation!

Recently a friend of mine got married and together the families spent close to Rs.20 Lacs towards marriage expenses. Close to Rs.5000 was spent on lingerie alone! On the first day of the married life the couple were Rs.15 Lacs in debt. For the pleasure of spending - why spend what you don’t have?

To restate - Inefficiency has pervaded every sphere of life. My neighbor fell sick with high fever and body pain and got admitted to a nearby neighborhood private nursing home. At the end of one week at hospital and spending Rs.40K, she was close to normal - the Doctors then concluded that the symptoms did not relate to Chickungunya! Vasool Raja of a Doctor, Huh!

Imagine the happiness of farmers at their prosperity if productivity is doubled in our Agricultural Lands by implementing latest farming technology. If we eliminate the middlemen in the agricultural sector, the price realization for the farmer increases manifold and for the end-consumer the price comes down considerably, making the whole nation a much happier nation.

Six months back I complained that my Toshiba TV had some problems – Bluish Screen and Non-Working Remote – The call was registered in the month of March 2006 and to this day it has not been rectified. Despite having many Communication Channels, efficiency has not improved in our Service Sector to the extent desired. What ails – I wonder? I truly believe, if we improve efficiencies, Indians can have better quality of life.

My idiot of a boss, scratching his balls and digging gold from his nose, ever so continuously, complains that I am inefficient. When I retort that the system makes me inefficient – I cite that Abdul Kalam and Manmohan Singh being not just part of the system but heading systems, have turned inefficient, doling out speeches with no concrete action - he counters, saying, I am the system and I am part of the system! To which system does he belong to? I believe this is the bane across spectrums in India – everyone expects the other to improve the system! And preachings galore!

Are we a Nation Under Siege – besieged by Inefficiency?

Sindhu