Privatization of India's most valuable sector

You could blame this blog to my work conditions but I believe this could be a winning formula to make use of India most expensive and important resource i.e HUMAN BEINGS

Has any one taken a trip out of station or may be to the outskirts of your city... any thing you find in common... Nah I am not talking about the poverty or the hopeless roads that is like a story that may last for eternity... ( I so hope that I am wrong)... I am talking about all those banner of various institutions that have opened up all across the country... The roads are filled with banner, posters, holding of education societies and institutions all over the length breadth of the country (I can vouch for 5 states myself).

This is India's current fastest and biggest Money Making Machine, but then let me tell you the views of our constitution over Education - Education has to be a service which has to be selfless and without a profitable motive so basically a philanthropic initiative from someone who cares for the society at large, way to go with the idealism of the Indian Constitution, I dont know who put this in the constitution but I mean how in the world can you expect someone trying to teach 1.2 billion people that too for free (Educational Institutions can be only opened by Philanthropic Trust and not as Business Houses) But then to work around rules and regulation is like a cake walk for the people in power and solution is - you have the a education society in the name of every god that ever existed in India by a politician or a Industrialist(society can be registered at any of the district courts). The most secure way to convert all your BLACK MONEY and make it a long term business as well ... A corrupt politician or Industrialist could not have asked for more.... ..

But then let me share my views on how education system should be created for the overall benefit of the society.... For long we have heard everyone shouting out on the top of their voices - the best way to growth is to privatize it,growth and prosperity will follow... That is exactly what the India Government has done, privatized the most important segment for growth, before that let me help bifurcate education types, I believe we need 2 kind of education...

1. Education that breed Innovation
2. Education for the masses

The first Type 'INNOVATION', I can include all the IITs, BITs, and a few private Institutes where we can breed Innovation, new products something that would transform the way we live or the world, today one of the most important assets a country can have are PATENTs that is like the Holy grail of wealth in today world. It is important to invest in talent that can help create technological breakthrough in all segment.I hope they can concentrate on these institutions when they don't have to bother about lakhs of others whose education is taken care by all these education trusts.

The second type 'MASSES', something that help raise the overall standard of people and create jobs to mass produce these innovation and take it to the world, something that China has done very successful, but then hopeless that our government is to take education to the masses... (out of 100 people doing their HSC only 11 go for graduation)... so the government allows non-government to participate in education activities and here we see colleges propping up in every part of the corner.. A brilliant strategy according to me

College being a business machine need to be profitable so they spend money in the right direction without the hassles of bureaucracy( A Vice Chancellor of a college has to wait for over 1 year to get a official car for himself forget about improving education) and promote themselves (in turn promoting education) .... so all those people who were thinking of education are sold education by all these colleges and make them understand the importance of education...

I agree we don't have college with huge campuses(you could start a college with about 5 acres of land) or awesome facilities but then this is India we can have only what is necessary..... All these campuses dream of being Deemed universities some day and make them selves research hubs even if 10 % succeed the job should be considered JOB well done. They are busy marketing themselves(whether it is add on prime time channels, airports, metros) and trying to prove themselves better than the other in the essence improving education overall and creating a competitive environment. All we need to do to make this a grand success is to make some robust guideline with are not fiddled with and let these institutions have flexibility and pro-activeness to be in line with the fast changing education of the country at large.May we have great Innovation in the near future... Cheers to India's frugal Education system and Innovation hubs

Finally got a driving license in Bangalore

Yes finally I am a holder of an Indian Driving License, did it and did it the right way some might say the miser way but never the less thought it was worth sharing this experience of mine and would be of value to quite a lot of people. I got my driving license done in Bangalore. Guess what paid a mere 315 for a driving license and transfer of vehicle. Awesome for me 'a penny saved is a penny earned'. The best thing is there is still hope with the India bureaucracy.

As we all know the recent past has been tough, recession and stuff, but for guys like me it was a time of abundance and since I lost my last fake/illegal License during a pockettheft had little choice but to get a new one. Checked with a couple of friends who had got it done in near past and was told straight away. That is one hell of messed up work get an agent pay him a Rs 1000 and you shall have it conveniently. Ideally would have done exactly as they told after listening but since the RTO was en route to my office decided to go there once and check it out myself. Did a bit of googling "driving license in Bangalore India " and like we know the google as the god of information a list of various driving schools sites popped up.Went through the couple of them, 20 min of reading and felt I was ready to give the test for the Learner's. You might wanna check out this blog helped me a lot and actually made be believe that I could get it done myself without a lot of mess and ya off course save some money as well check this link the link http://biturl.net/?3cgeyg (The miser in me got excited...:))

All you need to do is postpone the office till12 noon and reach there by about 10am. A simple form which on a higher probability would be in Kannada. The people there were more than helpful to help me fill it up within 20 min I had filled up the form and was standing in a que. Another 15 min wait and I was led to a classroom like setup. A laminated paper was thrust into my hand with a blank sheet numbered 1-15. Well my reading had helped so did my common sense. Another 10 min I was done, handed over the paper he looked it and said you have passed come in the evening and collect your learner. I was like that's it nothing else he looked me up with irritated eyes picked up my bag and was out of there. Ya one more thing collect your learner btw 4-5 in the evening or go on a working Saturday. Yuppie Level 1 cleared.

Post 30 days you can apply for a permanent driving license, paid the chalan of 250 including the fees and the smart card, reached there just as the first time around 10, got it signed by some gov official and was given a date 15 days ahead as they were packed.. 15 days reached there driving testing center. A Service lane next to park not too far from the Jayanager police station. One trip on the 2 wheeler around the park and you are done, for a guy giving the test he did not even drive just stood there as people crowded around the desk of the checking inspector. And here I was a proud owner of a driving licence.

In a similar fashion changed the ownership of the vehicle to my name as I had bought second hand piece. You will be amazed that it just takes Rs 35 to change the ownership of the vehicle. Some agents could charge you as high as Rs 600.

All I had to do was be punctual early on good terms with my boss and ya less work and ready to work a bit late to complete the stipulated hours.People are helpful but if someone is trying to be too helpful just check if he is not an agent might demand money later for doing nothing. Dont forget to take the following

1. Photos
2. Address Proof
3. Age Proof
4. Glue, fevistick, stapler

Once you have all these and you follow all the rules there is not much in getting a license. Just to give you a few figures the agents earn as high as Rs 500 per person and there are about 300 licenses getting done everyday at a single RTO. Keeping 24 working days in month 500*300*24 that is like 36 lakh a month and when we take all the RTO in Bangalore it could well be over 5 Cr a month. For the whole state and then the country you do the math.

A business opportunity in the unorganized sector still to be tapped !!!

Amir Khan Movies.. and the message they carry..

It is been a while I sat down to jot down how I feel about things, has been long but as you say it is never too late... Have had ample time in the recent past and could not help but see a lot of movies and TV serials. Just recently watched Amir Khan latest movies back to back and suddenly a strange truth or say philosophy dawned on me... the moves being Taare Zameene Par and 3 idiots, it was like my whole life passed in front of eyes...

Could not help but notice how beautifully Amir has been able to portray life of middle class Indians. No wonder all his movies are super duper hits after all any movie which can exhibit reality with a bit of masala and hope is bound to be a hit.

A small inference of a child or human being life in India is as follows. A small kid is born and it is time for a celebration in the house,the first 6-11 months of his/her life are the best, do any thing you like kick up in the air, take a leak anywhere anytime and no one complains. everyone come to you with a smile or is busy making you smile.... what a life!!!. But like all good things this does not last too long.

The day you speak out your first words of your native language is when the trouble begins. Shortly you will have the education system taking the grip of your life 'A is for apple and B is for bat or ball which ever is easier to speak' and we have another martyr to the Indian education system. Parent start nurturing a secret desire of what they want their children to become or lets put it this way, what they could not but want their children to do it for them or something that the society thinks is WOW.. I mean for god sake ask the child what he wants isn't it that we live in a democratic country, the right to expression and action.. but then how can the child know what shithole he is being put into, they have given us birth so they know best. who better than parents to guide in our adolescence days And we are not small to make out that we are acting in wake of the society definition of fruitful and honorable life.

Story continues the child is pulled apart in two different directions one what he likes and what the society wants him to do. Go to school mug up all the poems twinkle twinkle little star etc etc.. and then the life long activity of getting report cards and unhappy parents begins..TZPe you know what I m talking about , agreed we may not be suffering from a disease like that but then are state is not too diff.... may be if your parents supportive you might land up learning a few extra curricular activities or may be a few sports if you were in the right school but then we are not talking about exception...

First 16 years they just want to have good report cards so that family's social status is maintained but then after the secret dreams of our parents surface that they have been nurturing and it becomes are mission and the only meaning of our life... doc engineer and so forth... The next step a hard working horse who is just able to see the path ahead shown to him. beginning of a long long journey of hurried lunches, sleepless nights and tuitions (the girls we meet at tuitions seem to be a bonus :) )

And the next part is what is truly described by 3 Idiots, engineering/medicals colleges mug the books, bookworm getting better marks and teachers saying more than often ' I will get back to you on this' and post the questions you are topping his hate list of annoying students. You can explain what you understand better than the bookworm but he gets better marks cause cause he photocopies the book on to the answer sheets kudos to his memory but pity on his short term memory as he does not remembers any thing the next day....

I wonder sometime are we humans or a machine which can at times feel emotions... we are born and the rest is already decided, you learn to walk when you are 1, school at 3, coll at 17, job at 21 marriage at 27 and reproduction at 29 and the cycle repeats it self.... is this not mechanical and are we are not machines....

"Give me some sunshine give me some rain give me another chance to grow up once again..."

Finally a result at the world largest democracy!!

Here it goes the end of the marathon Indian elections, a new government ready to be sworn in and the dawn of some new faces ready to sell India right upto her bones , congratulations to you on selecting the new set of suckers. And congratulations to Indian Congress, some filthy rich politicians are just going to get filthier. Now that’s nothing new we all are already ready for it and half of us don’t give a damn as to who is at the helm of affairs at the world largest democracy. But like all humans there is always a silver lining of hope an I am one amongst the million who call India their home.

Well I still have not made up my mind which political outfit will screw up India less but I am certainly happy about the fact that a single political part will run a government for the next 5 years and political stability will prevail. And the best part, they will not have to go through a litmus test ‘vote of confidence’ in the parliament just in case though totally out of intention they plan to do something good for the country.

Well all said and done, the only reason election tilted Congress way is the hope to have a single party ruling the nation making there decision making more easier and also the gleam of hope from the new breed of young politicians beings groomed likes of Rahul Gandhi, Scindia, Pilot to name a few . Which has been clearly missing with the second biggest party i.e BJP. True that a government or running a government is all about team work but when it comes to getting a vote it is always in the name of a leader ex Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Barack Obama, (how many American are aware that his core team has a high concentration of Indians like of Sonal Shah and others and I am sure they will not be pleased to hear about it). A surprising fact I will like to share Indian population is one of the youngest in the world but has the one of the oldest parliament in terms of average age.

Let hope this so called wave of change claimed by the Congress is a new beginning of an efficient government working towards the betterment of India Amen!!

'Practise makes a man perfect, but doing the same thing 1000 times bugs me!!!

Right from my childhood I have been taught the importance of hard work a famous verse in Sanskrit summons it best "करत करत अभ्यास के, जड़मति होत सुजान रसरी आवत जात ते, सिल पर परत निसान" the approx meaning is " Persistence can change a thick brained fool to an intelligent person,even a soft rope leaves a mark on a stone when rubbed continuously". Surely one of the most widely used statements to signify the virtue of persistence. To start with I am not questioning the wisdom of the person who wrote it but will certainly like to put across the point of the unrealistic comparison between a living organism to a non-living object.

True the rope left its mark on the rock but was that the purpose of it??? would someone use it if to sculpture the rock??? the answer is NO!!! moreover the dynamics with respect to a human beings in terms of work are way different. Making a human do things again and again in order to perfect an art without giving due consideration to his human values makes him get treated more like inhuman/machines, which at the end of the day are channels for revenue generation. What about there emotions, aspirations and every thing that makes him human.

Or can't the people get a more simpler inference "the person is at the wrong job!!" if he has to do a thing a zillionth times to get things right, it is simply the incorrect allocation of work.... can a driver be a good cook, can a physics scholar teach chemistry (off course they can learn it over a period of time but whats the point, it is better to let them do the work they like or what they are best at) cause at he end of the day we all are trying to get things done in an efficient way. Working within your limitation, stressing on your strength is intelligence rather than trying something which could be out of reach. Don't get me wrong I do not mean one should not go for goals that makes you stretch your limitation after all that how one grows but at the end of the day one should stretch on the flexible side rather than stretching the rigid qualities of one's persona.

Lets not make people do what they don't like, making them feel wasted, unwanted which leaves them tired, bored and frustrated. Instead make them do what they like, cause at he end of the day a man never excelled without loving what he does!!!

The Nano's Macro effect !!!!

The man behind the Nano, Ratan Tata, I still remember his speech during the unveiling of Nano, ending on the note "A promise is a promise". A huge applaud who made this car a reality, beating all the odds what so ever.

A car priced at 1,00,000 INR , was scuffed by many, Tata motors was silent,there action instead did all the talking. The booking are on and I am sure the delivery will be on time as well. There is a saying 'Luck favors the brave', at the time of unveiling, steel prices were at an all time high and crude oil was scaling new heights, and the whole 1 lakh car thing seemed to be a totally inviable entity. With the recession in, it has been a blessing in disguise for the Tata.

They have made themselves noticed at the right time, suddenly you see leading automajors talking about low cost car, hybrid cars and what not. You feel as if they have been awakened from a sleep with a splash of cold water right on there face, probably it hurt their egos. How could a country which has been an outsourcing destination of low end work, could come up with an innovation like this!!! that too when building costs were on a all time high. 'they were zapped totally'

And like any thing in India it had it share of controversies thanks to Mamata Banerjee the truest example of the famed Indian bureaucracy, she was there to save the people, farmers and their fertile agriculture land, acting like saviour of the people sent by god, godsend my foot!!. I have just one thing to ask where the hell she was when the foundation of the plants was being laid, or when the government granted land to the Tata. Had she done away with her objections right at the start, Tata could have saved crores of rupees. Any ways like the man we know Ratan Tata did not take it too long to decide and just walked out of Singur. He was determined on the deadlines he had made and he made all the sacrifices to make it come true.

On the innovation front well it is Nano again, about37 patents have been filed, compared with GM's 280 patents a year looks miniature but then a start is always small. A non- conventional design with engine on the rear makes it a totally different machine. With a 623cc engine it promises a mileage of 20-25 and top speed of 105 kmh makes it 'The car' for the conjusted Indian roads and pockets.

In India it is just a sign of normalcy to criticize every good thing, Nano will increase congestion, more noise pollution blah blah ..... But on an ending note it is a great product (not sure how good it will be in terms of performance) but the feel of it, how the Indians feel a sense of pride with Nano being from India and also the confidence that we can innovate and create our own story leaving a mark on the global history. Suddenly you see everyone talking about innovation, global ambitions so on, suddenly the whole nation is charged up and filled with confidence. We can not only survive but also make it big, The Nano's Macro effect!!!!

As long as we have maids in our house US will continue to outsource to India

The first thought that comes to your mind what the hell has a maid got to do with outsourcing of work from US to India, well my friend there is. Before I put across my views in greater detail will just share a fact file, The software industry generates over 1.4 million direct employment across India, contributes roughly over 5 % to the GDP(gross domestic product) and not to forget makes India visible on the world map.

Now about the maid and her connection with outsourcing. how long our houses have had maids??? I am sure your grandmother had it, probably your grand - grand mother had it , so did your mom and I m sure you along with your spouse will have it too. Well the point to be noticed is the need of a maid will always persist like it always has cause at the end of the day she makes our lives easier. The fact that we actually outsourced a part of our household responsibilities would have probably never hit us. We quickly realized the importance of outsourcing monotonous and low end work, starting with bottom of the ladder getting our floors swept and dishes washed. As times passed we continued to out source more and more. Today a maid has a wide range of work right from a cleaner to a nanny for your young child. With more number of women entering the corporate world, the importance of the maid grew manifold. You will surprised to know often people base there decisions of taking a home in a metropolitan city based on the concentration and availability of good maids, the smarter lot of the maids command premium pricing as the demand for maids increased and the supply suddenly ran out. How does this connects to the Indian outsourcing story read on..........


Well the first time the developed countries outsourced it was because of there unwillingness of doing work that they considered low end or monotonous. Started with low end IT work(maintenance, contact center etc) to third world nations. The significant advantage for India at that time was the availability of a english speaking workforce (one of the few things we can thank the British for) and thankfully Indians were quick to take advantage. after the y2k they realized there was more to India and started out sourcing ' not so critical' work to India terming them as IDC (Indian development center). and the surge in outsourcing continued (the similarities how the maid became a cook and nanny and the increased outsourcing are striking.......

Today almost every leading innovators has a R&D center in India acknowledging the talent and potential of Indian youth. But in order to continue the growth story the emphasis should be a mix strategy which provides employment to the masses and also makes India an Innovation house. True the propping up of new outsourcing destination like China and Philippines have put across a few challenges but India has the first mover advantage and our veteran in this field, all we need is to create a differentiator between us and the others. A wave of innovation is the need of the hour.

In the end how I see it, The Indian outsourcing story is intact cause in the end recession or no recession we all need maids...[:)].