TN, The Welfare State!

Few days back someone had casually mentioned that private bus operators in TN had paid a sum of Rs. 25 Lakhs (INR 2.5 Million) each as individual contribution to the ruling party AIADMK, with a request for Bus fare hike across the State. I did not give much importance then to this unconfirmed and unverified information during a casual conversation. Only when I saw this small news item at Page 9 of The Hindu dated 2^nd December, it reminded me of this conversation last week.

Busfare hiked to favour private operators: Stalin

Equipped with this unconfirmed and unverifiable piece of inside information, suddenly I found myself in a much better position to “understand” the below comment made by Mr. Stalin in this news item:

“The secret behind such a steep increase in bus fare will come out soon.”

Surely he knows better the reasons and the background to all decisions such as Bus fare hike and the kind of motivation that prompts them – to be more direct and precise, “been there, done that”!

But this is just a piece of co-incidence and trivia that I share here. 
What took me by complete surprise in this article is the below quote from the ever-so-young Octogenarian Mr. M. Karunanidhi himself. Here is the excerpt, emphasis is mine:

Even government officials, citing the huge loss incurred by the State Transport Corporation, had sought a hike. But, Mr. Karunanidhi said that he was not bothered about the corporations' loss.

“The corporations were introduced for the benefit of the people. I will not burden the people,” he had said.

Now just to clarify that this statement was not in the context of raising Corporation tax or any other Taxes; but in direct response to Bus fare hike requested by the State Transport Corporations. Either this kind of statement would pass as “smart politics” to please the masses of a Welfare State, or it shows complete bankruptcy of common-sense among the leaders of this country.

Pity that the masses, including the educated and employed, get carried away by such irresponsible statements made by the leaders of the status of a Chief Minister. This statement should have been shot down and questioned, seeking clarifications. Corporations are run on the tax-payers' money and public servants running these corporations, taking directions from such irresponsible politicians, have no authority to let the public corporations bleed, just to satisfy someone's political gains and objectives.

But the problem here is not the politicians alone. The very fact that they get away with such remarks and statements and we, the people, admire and listen to their speeches shows that we are all a part of this rotten system, together. Even worse are these "private" bus operators, if indeed they have voluntarily contributed to this corrupt practice. In which case, they are not private businesses but the extended arm of collection-agents and rent-seekers of the political parties in power.

As common people, it is very important to educate ourselves on the finer aspects of a Welfare State and clearly understand that there is no such thing as free lunch. I conclude here quoting these lines from a very nice article by V. Anantha Nageswaran, explaining in very simple language, the functioning of a welfare state and how it ruins the Economy and Society at large:

The rupee, a mirror for India

When governments at the Centre and in the states promise to offer everything free to the citizens of India, someone has to pay. ...

Either it taxes people to a greater extent or it asks the Reserve Bank of India to print more rupees and lend those rupees to the government. This government is doing both. The former discourages economic activity and the latter leads to inflation. So, inflation arises due to governments promising to offer everything free to the people because such an approach raises demand, and kills incentives to work and produce. This is not economics. It is common sense. ...

KM Zero

During one of the visits to a department store in Italy, came across this new counter “KM 0”. Got curious with the name and started to talk about it with the staff at the counter. In spite of the limited knowledge of Italian, it generated enough interest & curiosity to request a change in the Dinner Venue to a “KM 0” restaurant same evening.

As I find this concept extremely relevant to the Indian context, sharing here key take-away of trivia and some insights gathered at this discussion over a “KM Zero” dinner.

 “KM Zero” restaurants are considered up-market fine dining destinations and the concept is catching up fast across Europe. Originally started in Italy about 5-6 years back, as a very informal and a social cause in small towns and villages. As a result of typical Italian branding & promotion, what was considered rural and poor has now been duly promoted and turned into a full blown “high-fashion and exotic dining experience”. Italy is one country that has the knack of making a Brand out of almost nothing at all and this phenomenon was no exception. Such a branding, if brings along socio-economic changes for the betterment of people, is a perfect icing on the Cake.

Strictly speaking, the very concept which is now called Zero KM is actually age-old, when there were no facilities for storage and transport of perishable food items. In recent times, technology has made things easy and possible for the perishables to move from one end of the globe to another; and enable storage and shelf-life for months, before they finally get consumed. Therefore “KM 0” is kind of nostalgic and “coming back full circle” in terms of food & dining preferences.

As the name suggest, “KM Zero” restaurants basically offer local stuff on their Menu – means something that is produced, baked, cured, farmed and cultivated in and around an area of say 50 KMs or so –product range include primary food ingredients such as Milk, Fruits, Grains, Vegetables, Cheese, Honey, Oil, Cured Meat, Wine & Liquors etc.

In Veneto region of Italy, this concept officially started off by the Italian Agricultural Union called Coldiretti sometime in 2007. This was an initiative to sensitize consumers to buy local products directly from the farmer’s market and also promote restaurants that served local products. Anywhere within a radius of 50 to 300 KMs is given a “KM Zero” status, depending upon the local regulations of the State. Basically the concept is “Farm-to-Table” - and it comes with direct incentives to both – the farmer and the consumer. The huge costs towards distribution, transport & storage thus saved are passed on to the consumer and in the process of selling directly to the consumer, farmers are also able to enjoy better returns on their produce. Stores dedicating about 30% of their shelf space to KM Zero products are also entitled for incentives such as discounts on property, rentals, parking etc.

I was amazed how relevant this whole concept could be to us here in India as well. Given the kind of diversity and variation that we enjoy in terms of food, eating habits and farm produce by region, we could as well promote a similar concept across India. With very little help from the State, an Amul kind of “KM Zero” farmer’s co-operative initiative, working along the free-market economy model, could bring in some real-time sustainable benefits to the ailing and poor agriculture economy. I am not a specialist on agriculture and hence unable to identify any fault-lines in this concept but from common-sense and a free market perspective, I clearly see the following key benefits:

• Farmers will get the platform to showcase and sell their products directly to the consumer at market prices.
• Cash and carry model enables cash payments directly in the hands of the farmers.
• The long and never-ending distribution chain in “Farm to Table” shrinks drastically thereby removing all agents and middlemen who involve in hoarding and illegal practices, including the State.
• Consumer would get better value for money as they would buy directly from the farmers.
• Costs saved on transport, storage, distribution are shared between the farmer and consumer.
• Direct market access provides key information to the farmers, in terms of consumer preferences, pricing, food habits, buying patterns, demand / supply etc.
• Consumers get fresh seasonal farm products at reasonable prices, which are currently being sold at a very high premium in the name of “Organic”.
• Farmers will be motivated to rotate crops by the season to match market trends, requirements and consumer preferences. Advantages of crop rotation are well documented by agricultural scientists.
• Once farmers get used to the concept and start reaping the benefits of the model, they would be further motivated to move up the value chain and open up restaurants of their own.

This concept could go a long way in empowering the farmer, who currently is the last man standing at the wrong end of the distribution chain. To a large extent, farmer will be freed from the clutches of the "agri-mafia" (goons and middlemen), who in the name of agents and a key link to the Mandi (markets), squeeze them of their life.

Travelogue: Satpura National Park & Tiger Reserve, MADHAI (मढ़ई)

There could not have been a better location to celebrate the Family Re-Union after almost 14 years. Everything was pre-arranged and booked well in advance for this Jungle trip by the senior-most member & Head of the family. Right from booking the air-conditioned 12-seater Force Traveller van to drive all of us together all the way and the room reservations at the Forest Resort at Madhai. A short vacation with a stay of Two Days at Madhai was absolute bliss, which every member of the Family from 5 year old grand-son to 77 years old grand-father would cherish for the rest of their lives.

Satpura National Park & Tiger Reserve

The Jungles of Satpura, now known as Satpura National Park and Tiger Reserve, established in 1981, spread over a total area of 1427 km2, encompassing Pachmarhi (पचमढ़ी) and Bori Sanctuaries; as kids we have grown up accompanying our father and travelling with him into these thick dense forests much before they were declared as “Tiger Reserve”. Probably the single largest Reserve Forest, declared in 1999 as Satpura Biosphere Reserve, covering the dense and rich Teak heritage forests of Bori, Pachmarhi Sanctuary and Satpura Tiger Reserve. The trip to these jungles was a trip down memory lane, revisiting our past. Nostalgia because it was none other than my Father (a retired IFS, Forest Officer) was then deputed to these Jungles and a member of the core-team responsible for developing the blue-print for Satpura National Park. This was the link that brought the whole family back here after all these years.

Madhai is about 136 KMs from Bhopal and it takes anywhere about 5 hours of driving time, depending upon the traffic, the road conditions and stop-over. Best time to visit is October to April. The National Park is closed for visitors during the monsoon months of July through October. This spot is not hugely publicized and promoted just yet and hence not corrupted and abused by the commercial tourist activities. This makes it an ideal jungle safari to enjoy wild-life in a truly natural and undisturbed surrounding under the dense thick forests. Unlike many other commercialized National Parks where Tigers can be seen like domestic cattle.

We stopped over at Sohagpur to visit Mr. R.P. Singh (Field Director, Satpura National Park) and Mr. Nagar at their offices, basically to meet with them in person and thank them for the room-reservations at Madhai Forest Guest House, which happens to be a very busy and preferred location for all the visiting VIPs. The meeting turned out to be very informative as well since they were extremely helpful in sharing with us some of the key developments and the current status of Flora and Fauna of the region.

Boat Ride into the Forest Resort

We arrived Madhai late afternoon, well before the sun-set. Madhai Forest Resort is located right at the banks of Denwa river and is the entry point to Satpura National Park & Tiger Reserve. The private vehicle must be parked on this side of the river and we are then ferried with bag and baggage in a Motor-Boat that is owned by the Forest Department, for the very purpose. This feature of the unusual entrance to the resort by itself gives a complete twist to the normal boring story, whereby one usually drives into a guest house or a resort. The late afternoon boat-ride took away the fatigue and tiredness of 5-6 hours of drive thanks to some of the worst roads (State Highways) one could imagine across India, all the way from Bhopal. After this short boat ride, every one was fresh as a fiddle, ready with their Cameras and the Binoculars to enjoy the setting sun alongwith a cup of Hot Tea. 

Deer species at the Forest Resort

Black Buck, Cheetal, Sambhar and Blue Bull were fearlessly walking around inside the resort campus.

Mr. Mishra and Staff

We were welcomed by the Officer-in-charge on location Mr. Mishra, who gave us a brief introduction about our stay at the resort, the food and also planned out events for the next day for us. The resort is losely protected by barbed-wire fence and we were categorically instructed not to venture out beyond the fence. This, with other such rules and restrictions, and rightly so, we were not used to while as kids, and it did dampen the spirits a bit of some of the family members who have recently taken to serious bird watching and environmental studies. But then once in a reserved forest environment, one must follow the guidelines and respect the instructions.

Solar Panels

The resort and the whole set-up surely is not designed or meant for the weak-hearted, luxury-seeking urban tourist. One has to have a keen interest in nature, wild-life and environment to be able to overlook and ignore mundane comforts and small details. There is no electricity and hence no fans and air-conditioners. However, it was heartening to see the installation of Solar Panels, which provide limited electricity during the night. Special light fittings designed to suit the Solar Energy were installed in all the rooms and common areas. Use of this green and environmental friendly electricity in the heart of nature was something to be so proud of; and the credit entirely goes to the very people running the project. There were no mobile signals as well, which was absolutely fine in such a serene setting. After all, who would want to spoil the beautiful surroundings and noises of the nature with ringing cell-phones? The rooms are neat and tidy with clean and well maintained toilets and this is more than enough for a nature enthusiast. The staff was very well behaved and always ready to help.

The next day we made two Jungle Safari trips in the open Gypsy – early in the morning and another on a different route in the evening. The vehicles were well maintained as well and the drivers extremely well-trained and well-informed about the jungle details. We discovered some more rules on this day - driving around after-dark was totally prohibited; and so was stepping down from the Gypsy during the safari trip. On the contrary, we as kids always went around on night-safari in open Jeep with search-lights in hand, looking for the wild night-life and always walked down to the nearest springs or to study pug-marks. That small fun and adventure was missing but things have changed since. Now it is no more an open forest but a National Park and a Tiger Reserve. 

Wild Indian Bison

We managed to see most of the Fauna such as – Wild Bison, Wild Boar, Wild Dogs, Bear and plenty of Deer species etc. We missed the Big Cat though, as we were lttle too early into the Jungles just after the monsoons. There was enough water for The King to get down from deep inside the mountains looking for food and water. Also the general behavior of wild-life and activities of the Jungle were too obvious and normal to be signalling the presence of the Big Cat anywhere close. This reminded us of the large wall hanging at the resort office, which says – “You might have not seen me... But I have seen you”.

You might have not seen me...But I have seen you

We sat in the open veranda outside until late night under complete darkness and thoroughly enjoyed the Jungle. We then noticed a motor boat idling away slowly in the middle of the river and then moved rather fast and disappeared into the darkness. We went across to the staff quarters to alert them of the incident and were pleasantly surprised to know that this was the night patrol team that has just left for the usual rounds. It was nice to see the team of forest guards working through the night, without supervision.

Rising Sun  ( सूर्य नमस्कार) 

Next day in the morning once again enjoyed the Sun-Rise and also noticed a few Crocodiles floating in the river and were told by the staff that this part of the river has plenty of crocodiles and they are visible when the water recedes during summer. After a leisurely morning and a heavy brunch, we started back. The Motor Boat ferried us across the river Denwa back to the parking lot.

पंडित  जी  की  कचौरी 

We were told not to miss and do stop over at Sohagpur to enjoy “Pandit Ji ki Kachauri”. Pandit Ji has been making Kachauri at this shop since last 45 years. It was an absolutely delicious stop-over and a little bit of chit-chat with Pandit-Ji revealed that he has served Kachauries to every visiting VIP, including Dr. Abdul Kalam. His sons are well settled now with Government jobs and he continues making Kachauries; and he said that he will enjoy doing so until he has customers coming to him – this is passion in the true sense of the word, nothing less than a Bill Gates or a Steve Jobs!!

Lastly, this travelogue would not find its due place on this Blog if it does not leave behind Socially and Politically relevant footprints. So here we go:

The drive between Bhopal and Madhai was actually the worst part of the trip. Every time I have visited Bhopal in the last 15 years or so, I have always admired the city of lakes and the way it is being maintained. But I never got the chance to drive around the State Highways in MP. This trip was the realization of the fact that the development in MP, if any, starts and ends with the city limits of Bhopal, the capital of MP. Driving through the Sate Highways even in Budhni, the constituency of current CM, Mr. Shivraj Singh Chouhan, we noticed that the road was almost non-existent. In fact, the small narrow roads (actually jeep-tracks) inside the Tiger Reserve were much better maintained than the State Highways. This shameful state of affairs of Road and Highways infrastructure in MP is even more relevant to the fact that this belt within a 5-6 hours of driving distance from Bhopal boasts of not one, not two but THREE out of the total 27 World Heritage Sites in India – Bhimbetka Rock Shelters, Sanchi Stupas and Khjuraho. All successive governments at State, whether Congress or BJP, have done precious nothing to improve the infrastructure across the state of MP.

Throw garbage in the bins, not in Narmada

Only garbage in Narmada, nothing else!

On our return journey we stopped over for a short while at Hoshangabad, a small town located at the banks of Narmada, fifth largest river in the Indian subcontinent. We were there on the day after Durga Pooja and we could not believe what we saw. There was not even an inch of clean patch of water on the Ghat and one would not dare even put a hand into it. There were notices and boards all over the place instructing the religious crowds not to litter the river and use only garbage bins, but these two pictures taken at the same spot but in opposite directions, speak volumes.

So first the Roads and then the River, neither the infrastructure nor the environment is of any priority for the government. Public is equally apathetic to both the issues. Life goes on...

Liberalization V2.0: Manufacturing Reforms

Mr. Arun Maira (Member - Planning Commission) writes in ET Edit Pages quite frequently with a specific focus on Manufacturing. First up, Mr. Arun Maira is a man with highly decorated professional career and a proven track record through some of the finest companies. While commenting on his writings, this is to put on record that his credentials & professional work is always appreciated and respected. What draws my attention to his articles on Manufacturing is the evident lack of substance, sheer emptiness, semantics and the romanticism about the general manufacturing scene and scope in India. I ask myself - what happens to these extra-ordinary people with a glittering professional track record the moment they arrive at a position of such authority and power as that of a Member Planning Commission? This is where they actually can contribute big time, rather than just comment or rant like an ignorant common-man like me.

The fact is, as a country, we have completely skipped the Manufacturing revolution. Thanks to the political apathy and the complete absence of a focused and aggressive manufacturing policy, labor reforms etc; to support and build a robust manufacturing sector. Liberalization of the 90’s did nothing to directly help the manufacturing sector. As a result, we have jumped the gun from Green revolution to the (knowledge-based IT) Services revolution. The mixed bag of Socialist, Socialist-Communist and the Socialist-Liberal (read Crony Capitalist) policies never allowed the manufacturing sector to bloom and grow in a truly free-market economic environment. Therefore any talk on Manufacturing has to start from this point, failing which I would simply call it as empty talk, semantics, romanticism and rant. Quoting Mr. Arun Maira from one of his earlier articles: "India needs a strategy to grow manufacturing 12% to 14% per annum, create 100 million new manufacturing jobs in the next 15 years to realise its 'demographic dividend', and create more depth in capital goods industries and innovation for its manufacturing sector to be competitive and sustainable." Very well said and I fully agree – but the timing of this comment in the year 2011 I thought was completely misplaced – it sounds like a “period” rant - this was supposed to have been written in the late 80s and early 90s. It is too late to make such a generalized comment now, and too naïve coming from a Member Planning Commission of the stature of Mr. Arun Maira. In yet another and a more recent article of 13^th June ET – Releasing Brakes on Manufacturing, Mr. Maira once again used key words such as Competitive-Positioning and Competencies. Long winding explanations and almost the entire article laced with management vocabulary was totally devoid of any mention of a crying need for a policy guideline to make this whole manufacturing thing work for India. The very brief and almost insignificant mention of “Constraints” is very beautifully generalized so as not to hurt any of those who matter - to him and his current position, I guess. Sitting in the high offices, as the Member Planning Commission, from the position of framing national policies and advising the Government on key policy issues, I would have expected a better and more specific material in his articles rather than “generalized comments”. We need a more focused and specific point-by-point road map leading to the manufacturing revolution. Incidentally, in the same newspaper, few pages away is a very catchy headline that reads – Factory Floor, Not IT Park, Crucial to India Growth, by Sanjay Mathur. A very convincing and a solid argument put forth as to why India needs to focus on manufacturing economy.

Where are the basic policies to support the manufacturing economy? Where is the political-will and the determination to promote and open-up the Industrial & Manufacturing sector in the true sense of the word? Where the labor pool is going to come from to fill up these large factories? Where are the training and skill-set development institutes (Polytechnics and not the IITs) to support large scale manufacturing? Needless to even mention the usual road-blocks: shabby infrastructure, deep-rooted Corruption starting at lowest levels, Bureaucratic hurdles and red-tape. Even today you show the same old rule book to the Indian manufacturer - The Factories Act, 1948. 

Factory Inspector, Pollution Control, Fire Inspector, Labor Inspector, PF, ESI, Sales-Tax, Income-Tax, VAT, Service-Tax, Customs, Central Excise; these are but a few of your esteemed regulators, the list goes on and on. An Indian manufacturer must always remain in the “good books” of each one of these offices – complying every single rule which. On a best effort basis, it is almost next to impossible for any manufacturer to comply 100%, and hence you pay protection money and rents at regular intervals. Even worse, complying 100% does not mean one can get away without paying friendly rents - as per the current practices, only if the paperwork is in order and everything is perfect, one must pay rent. Non-compliance means huge protection money with little penalties on  paper. If not, no manufacturer would survive even for a day. So you first create barriers and then seek rents to allow safe passage. Everyone, including Mr. Maira, is fully aware about this monster army of notorious regulators and inspectors. And yet you chose to ignore the ground realities, write nice sounding articles which readily find due space on the edit pages of leading newspapers. Talk of Manufacturing growth @ 12% to 14% per year, 100 million new jobs over 15 years to be able to reap the benefits of ‘demographic dividends’ and so on.

Of course, a manufacturer must pay due taxes, follow the governing laws and regulations, observe fair employment practices and you do need a regulator to monitor all such compliance. But it is high time you changed the Manual first – The Factories Act, 1948. More precisely, The Factories Act, 1948 (Act No. 63 of 1948), as amended by the Factories (Amendment) Act, 1987 (Act 20 of 1987). That rule book was exclusively designed by the Hardcore Socialists to monitor and regulate State-Manufacturing post independence, duly preserved and followed in word and spirit, by the next generation of even more corrupt Socialists, more so to extort rents and share the loot. Surely you are not serious and would not expect a manufacturer in 2011 achieve global competitive-position and competency, complying with the dated Hand Book of 1948. It is like generously allowing one Mr. Vijay Mallaya to own F1-Team at Formula-One circuit with a rider that he can only use the 1948 Ambassador to compete with the Ferraris of the world.

Despite the poor governance, pathetic infrastructure, almost non-existent manufacturing policy and dated labor laws, Indian manufacturing has done its bit as shown in this article – India among world’s top 10 manufacturing nations: UNIDO. This article says some nice things about Indian manufacturing and highlights the small contribution of Indian Manufacturer making a big difference to the Indian economy. Just to counter Mr. Arun Maira one last time and specifically his latest article about Competitive-Positioning, I quote from this article: "Competitiveness of Indian manufactured goods in the global markets has significantly improved," Chief Statistician of the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) Shyam Upadhyaya said while releasing the report.  A more recent article on 20^th June ET shows some hope and light at the end of a long dark manufacturing tunnel – New manufacturing policy likely to give impetus to the sector.