If they don’t have bread, let them eat cake!

Marie Antoinette and her family paid a very heavy price for her naive comment on the common people of France in around 1789. I shudder to think of the modern day equivalent in India- which is probably the Maoist/naxal attacks one reads about in the newspapers almost daily. Thanks to the drought in Australia, India is finding it hard to import wheat. And why should we import wheat? Simply because we are not growing enough of it at home in India. Thanks to the cartel (OPEC), which is not willing to increase production and hence supply of crude, oil/petroleum prices remain on an upward trajectory. Today, crude is selling for about $120/bbl- nearly 2.5 times the price it sold for a little over 12 months or so ago. Not surprisingly, inflation is on the rise. The official figures peg it at over 7% but if you consider the typcial urban middle class basket of goods, I am sure the figure is closer to 12%. High inflation means higher interest rates, which mean tighter credit availability, which means slower growth. And to top it all, elections in key states like Karnataka are just round the corner, with Lok Sabha elections also less than a year away. Consider the slowdown in the US and Europe and the effect this is having on the Indian IT/ITES sectors and you know why Dr Manmohan Singh and Mr P Chidambaram are worried. I just hope that for all our sakes, the monsoon is normel- and timely.

Life beyond IPL

The much hyped DLF IPL premiered as scheduled on April 18th, with lots of fanfare. The inaugural game between the Kolkata Knight Riders and Bangalore’s Royal Challengers was the most one-sided so far, with Bangalore collapsing. All teams have played at least one game over the past 4 days and most games have been quite entertaining for the paying public. As I watched parts of a couple of the games, I was letting my mind wander about how this short burst of new found camaraderie will play out after the IPL. Several thoughts crossed my mind:

1. Some teams have captains of their national sides or state sides- and naturally bring a lot of experience. The captains of the IPL team will undoubtedly benefit from the advice of their senior team-mates.
2. But just as equally, players will start to get to know each others’ strengths, weaknesses and so on- and that might come in very very handy the next time the players turn out for their respective national sides.
3. An Australian (just to take an example) in Team X may be able to give his team-mates advice on how to bowl to another Australian from Team Y given the latter’s weaknesses. And such knowledge will be useful far beyond the 6 weeks or so of IPL 2008.
4. Players will better understand Indian culture and perhaps Symonds may hear Bhajji (or other Indians) saying “teri maa ki…” or whatever more often. This cultural assimilation may also mean that a Sri Lankan or a New Zealander may become au fait with Hindi phrases and may put this knowledge to good use the next time India plays the Kiwis.
5. The youngsters from India get a terrific chance to play with legends of the day and some from the years just gone by. By observing a McGrath or Shane Warne in action a lot can be learnt.
6. Sadly, not all is as hunky dory as the above. The hectic match schedule and heavy traveling that is needed increases manifold the risk of injury- to Indians and foreigners. For India, which is at the end of the season, this may not be as a big a deal as it is for say the South Africans, who are scheduled to tour England and Australia in the next few months.

All told, I think the IPL is a good platform for T20 and will help breathe life into this form of cricket. I just wish the ICC would define a clear window for next year, so that the teams have their full complement of foreign players to choose from.

Caste-based reservation is not tenable

The Supreme Court’s recent judgement to uphold reservation of seats in educational institutions for OBCs (“Other Backward Classes”) has understandably stirred the pot. Opinions and arguments from both camps have been coming thick and fast, whether in private conversations or through the media. There is jubilation in one side, despondency on the other. I do not have anything against the need for some kind of affirmative action to ensure that a level playing field is created for the under-privileged millions in our country. However, where I do have a problem is the manner in which every government in the past 30 years or so has been trying to convert this important socio-economic issue into an issue of vote-bank politics.

So what are my reservations (pun intended) about the reservation policy? The underlying premise of the philosophy of reservation is that all members of the “backward classes” are disdavantaged, while all members of “forward castes” are deemed to be good enough to get admission under ther own steam. I do not think this is a valid assumption; neither is it fair. Economic considerations cannot be ignored in arriving at who needs extra care in our society.

1. A policy of reservation – especially in institutions of higher education- per se does nothing to promote access to primary education. Millions of children will still be denied access to even basic schooling- and it is this lack of primary schooling that often denies acces to future education and employment oportunities.
2. Reservation should explicitly include economic criteria. In my view, a rich person (irrespective of caste) can access and afford education for his/her children and does not need the protection offered by the reservation policy. It is the poor who need such protection- again, irrespective of their caste.
3. Does this policy not reinforce and ecnourage corruption? Rather than study and work hard, it will be tempting for people to spend a few thousands of Rupees on procuring a certificate that states that they are an OBC (or SC/ST for that matter). Again, those that have the money for this will benefit; genuine OBC aspirants without the financial resources will be denied.
4. Where does one draw the line on “reservation”? Why the furore when Raj Thackeray’s MNS is asking for 80% reservation of private sector jobs in Maharashtra for sons and daughters of the soil? And what gets precedence- son of the soil or caste? And how do you categorize someone that is a second-generation son or daughter of the soil?
5. Extending the above point, what happens when the products of a reservation policy enter the job market? Performance evaluation/management is part of every company’s HR mandate. Should there be reservation based on irrelevant, non-performance criteria such as caste? Should it be mandatory for 20% or 30% of the top-performers in any company to be determined based on caste? When the world is moving to ensure equal opportunity by legislating against discrimination on the basis of age, colour, creed, religion, gender, sexual preference and so on, why should we in India promote a culture of discrimination? And what will such policies do to our country’s overall competitiveness- say in a knowledge intensive industry such as IT, consulting or financial services? Should a client have to accept lower standards just because the work was done by someone who got the degre and hence job because of a certificate stating that s/he is of a certain caste, and not because s/he was the best the company could hire? Will you trust a doctor or lawyer if you knew that s/he got her/his degree simply because of her/his caste? This is not to say that everyone who benefits from the reservation system is not competent- but the odds are higher that someone using the policy will have it easier than someone who cannot. And that can cause distortions in professional competency and skills that in turn, can impact our society at large.

As I said before, I am all for leveling the palying field. My recommendation is to make primary education free for the econmically weaker sections of society, independent of caste. Those that come from economically backward sections of society (irrespective of “caste”) should be given additional facilities such as healthy food/nutrition, free books, extra coaching, access to extra-curricular opportunities and so on. Let there be a common “public” examination at the end of 10 years of schooling- and let those that qualify be awarded scholarships for higher education- again, only if they come from economically weak families. Rather than quibble about what constitutes the “creamy layer” and how it is to be defined, give everyone a chance.And may the best boys and girls, men and women be given opportunities commensurate with their performance in an otherwise level playing field. Otherwise, I fear that the much-hyped “India story” will only remain a pipe dream. Worse, a real opportunity for sustainable progress will have been squandered, nay sacrificed, at the altar of political convenience.

There will be many who will quote the case of Tamil Nadu with its ridiculously high % of reserved seats as an shining example of why the policy works. But look at the number of migrants from that state to other parts of the country/world just to pursue education. It is because of such policies that other states are now feeling the pinch and demanding reservation for sons and daughters of the soil. And while there is no official statistic, it would be an interesting study to find out how many thousands of bright students from Tamil Nadu have been denied the opportunity to pursue the field of their choice just because of pernicious policy.

Admittedly, the underlying problem of social oppression and inhuman denial of human rights is very real. It is a slur on our country and a solution must be found to redress those that have suffered. But if 50 years after such policies were first introduced, there is still huge disparity and the need is felt to perpetuate the policy, clearly something is wrong- or has not worked the way it was supposed to. Any which way, it’s time for a change.

Great comeback to level the series

The second consecutive test match of this series finished in 3 days. At Ahmedabad, India lost; today at Kanpur, we won. It was a concerted effort, with contributions from everyone. One knew it was probably going to be a special day for India right in the morning, because Sreesanth and Ishant added 37 more runs to extend the first innings lead to 60 very valuable runs. Several snicks went past slip fielders, and some deliveries came dangerously close to the stumps but did no damage.

The frustration of the South Africans was quite visible on their faces, and surely must have carried on into their second innings. Bhajji was introduced fairly early and he took full advantage of the pitch,  ending up as “Man of the Series”  for his haul of 22 or so wickets. As I said in my blog yesterday, if India got the top 4 wickets cheaply, wewould be in with a chance. Graeme Smith displayed his usual determination, and scored was top scorer with 35. But with South Africa reduced to 72 for 4 (effectively, they were 12 for 4), it was never going to be easy. Wickets fell regularly at one end, with only Ashwell Prince unbeaten on 22, off 87 balls. Dhoni rung in some very effective bowling changes, proving yet again that his cricketing instincts are very strong. When he found that Chawla was not very effective, he reposed trust in Sehwag, who eneded the day with 3 wickets for only 12 runs.

The target of 60 to win was not going to be enough (although India had collapsed to 76 all out in the previous test at Ahmedabad). Sehwag seemed to be in a hurry to finish the match inside 10 overs, and scored a quickfire 22 runs in 12 balls before perishing to hit Harris for a third consecutive boundary (or was it a six? I don’t quite recall). Jaffer scored 10 of 11 balls and was out lbw to Morkel. That set the stage for Ganguly (who came in at No. 3) and Dravid (who came on to the field when Jaffer was out) to score the remaining 30 or so runs needed for victory. After many matches, Dravid’s strike rate was a decent 62 (it was even higher than Saurav’s 46) and his 18 runs included 4 boundaries.

India thus retain their No. 2 spot in the ICC rankings (they would have ceded their spot to South Africa had they lost the series).

I guess the stage now shifts to the IPL, which makes its debut in a few days. The composition of the IPL teams makes for stange bed-fellows. Dravid might soon find himself devising strategies and game-plans with Kallis and Boucher; these two South Africans will find themselves playing against their skipper Graeme Smith. Of course, all this will happen only after the first few games have finished, for the news is that the South Africans will fly back home to play in their domestic tournament, before returning to India for the IPL games after 2 weeks. Simialrly, Sachin and Symonds wil both have to collaborate to plot the downfall of their adversaries.

Fascinating battle on the cards

At the end of Day Two, the Kanpur test between India and South Africa is very interestingly poised. South Africa lost all their first innings wickets on Day One for a score of 265, the result of a post-lunch collapse. And although both Sehwag and Jaffer were out early, the Indian middle order fought manfully, and helped India take a slender lead of 23 runs, with one wicket still remaining. The pitch was not easy to bat on, and that is the context in which we must view Saurav Ganguly’s solid 87 (with 9 fours and a huge six off Harris). In fact, the batsman has himself described this as one of his better innings.

There was some heated moments as well, when Steyn and Yuvraj exchanged what were clearly not pleasantries. Yuvraj had hit Steyn for two fours and the bowler was quite annoyed. It took the efforts of Graeme Smith and Ganguly (not to mention the two umpires) to persuade Steyn and Yuvraj to get back to cricket. I wonder if there will be more such verbal duels over the remainder of the match- though I sincerely hope not!

Miracles can and do occur in cricket. Thus, if Sreesanth and Ishant can score another 20-30 runs for the last wicket in the first hour or so, India will feel pretty happy with their performance. A lead of 100 or so would have been very hard for Smith and his men to surmount, given the overall behaviour of the pitch. In fact, the South African coach has been quoted as saying that even a target of 150 in the 4th innings would prove a handful for India.

Let’s see what the morrow has in store for the two teams and their fans. Clearly, India needs to get Smith, McKenzie and Amla out quickly. Not that Kallis, Prince, de Villiers and Boucher can be under-estimated- but just that the top three batters have been most consistent over the past couple of matches. If India is set a target of less than 200 runs, with 1.25 day or so left, we may still square the series.

Even Stevens on Day One

At this point, I’d have to say that India and South Africa have evenly shared the honours. When Smith and Amla were at the crease, South Africa was cruising at 152/1 and it would have been a very brave Indian fan who could claim that a sinking feeling had not set in. When I heard the score during lunch at work, my immediate reaction was on the lines of “Oh God- another 500+ total to chase on a potentially dangerous pitch”.

But to have been able to take 9 wickets for 113 runs would have been most satisfying for India. But the battle has only begun. Through this tour, the Indian batting has appeared more brittle than their rivals’. And if we were thrilled at the purchase Ishant got today from the pitch, well, think about what Steyn, Ntini- or perhaps more so, Morkel with his reverse swinging deliveries can do- especially in the morning session, when the South Africans are fresh, and so is the wicket. In my mind, how the Indian openers negotiate the first session will be crucial to the outcome of the match (and series, I might add). Through this tour, Smith and Mckenzie have given the Proteas a solid start- something India has sorely missed (Sehwag’s triple ton being the solitary exception so far).

India’s goal must be first not to concede a lead and then if that is achieved, to maximize its own lead. Batting 4th (which India will need to do) will be a nightmare, if today is anything to go by. And if we are trying to level the series or keep the margin of defeat to 0-1, batting 4th will be even less fun (unless you are a South African cricket supporter).

Do or die at Kanpur

The Proteas have been among the most successful cricket teams in India. And that is saying a lot, given that even Steve Waugh’s all-conquering Australians viewed India as the final frontier. After their good performance in Australia a couple of months ago, Team India must justifiably have been on Cloud Nine. And their batting display at Chennai would have given them even more confidence. But that’s the beauty of cricket- one bad session can destroy any team’s morale. And that is exactly what happened last week at Ahmedabad. In less than 2 hours, India collapsed for 76 runs. Worse, South Africa piled on the runs- and misery- and finally won the match by an innings and 90 runs.

Not surprisingly, Team India is quite nervous on the eve of the series decider that starts at Kanpur tomorrow. Adding to their on-field performance is the question of fitnes of key players. First Sachin and now Kumble are likely to sit out. Ishant and Sreesanth are both fit- but the former hasn’t played a match since his return to India and the latter was not in the least penetrating at either Chennai or Ahmedabad. The South Africans have a mean 3-pronged pace attack, with Steyn and Ntini the spearheads. They can be dangerous on a green top, and even more so if the wicket does not offer much bounce and the ball keeps low.  India’s spinners too have not exactly decimated  the opposition in this series. Which therefore also makes it difficult for the BCCI (or Kumble) to suggest what kind of a wicket they would prefer- something that offers pace and bounce or something that is likely to crack in a day or two. Hobson’s choice, if you ask me. Finally, I think it will come down to which team bats more sensibly.

For the sake of Indian cricket fans, I hope the team shows more spunk than it has so far. But as always, may the team that plays better cricket over the 5 days, win. If India loses, it means without doubt that the Proteas, and not India, are deserving of the Number 2 spot on the ICC test rankings.

On executive search and placement agencies

Over the last decade or so, leading global executive search majors like Egon Zehnder, Spencer Stuart, Stanton Chase and many others have entered the Indian market, in pursuit of business opportunities created by two major trends:

1. MNCs setting up shop in India, looking for local managerial talent at the senior and middle level. It must be said that increasingly, MNCs are also looking for talent to run their businesses outside India as well.
2. Indian businesses globalizing, and consequently looking for talent from around the world- not just for their India operations, but also for business overseas.

But typically, these top tier executive search firms only work to fill the creme-de-la-creme of openings. They research their clients’ needs thoroughly, develop a list of attributes and skills expected and then research potential candidates- often from very different industries as well.  These firms develop a dossier on the candidates and that is then used by the client (in collaboration with the search firm) to arrive at a shortlist and thereafter, make the final selections. When done ell, the process is discreet, effective and increases the odds of finding a good match for the position on hand.

But like every other market in India, the market for search services is also fragmented and fairly well segmented. There are thus many smaller firms (many of whom are one-person operations) that adopt a different approach to sourcing talent. Not for them the finesse of research, dossiers and so on. Their modus operandi seems to be to search job portals like Monster and Naukri for resumes with specific key words and then simply shoot out e-mails or call. This is not to say that this approach does not yield results; however, it can have the immediate effect of annoying the recipient of the mail if the position is grossly not compatible with the experience/profile. I know how I reacted when I got a mail asking if I was interested in a BPO job that required working in shifts. If the sender of the e-mail had spent 2 minutes glancing over my resume, s/he would have discovered that I had 18 yeas of middle/senior management experience and was a far cry from what his/her client was seeking- graduates with less than 1 year experience!

Dear Placement Consultants- every resume in your database is an executive waiting to be placed- or better still, a potential customer. Please treat them with care. And please read through the resume/profile rather than just relying on whether the resume includes words like “experience”, “manager” and “industry”!

Will changing Sports Ministers make a difference?

In the latest reshuffle of the union cabinet, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has inducted former bureaucrat and Raja Sabha member MS Gill as Minister of State for Sports & Youth Affairs. It is well known that Mani Shankar Aiyar (himself a former IFS officer), who was the previous holder of the Sports & Youth Affairs portfolio was a reluctant Sports minister. His utterances on the irrelevance of the Commonwealth Games to India and more recently, on his inability to change things in the IHF as it is an autonomous body under the IOA are fairly well documented by the media.

Granted that MS Gill (who has also held the position of Chief Election Commissioner) is a more avid sports enthusiast than Mani Shankar Aiyar. He has been a mountaineer, has dabbled in hockey and cricket at the school level etc. He was even part of the official delegation that accompanied the Indian contingent to the Mexico Olympics nearly 40 years ago. But unless he takes urgent action to shake up India’s sports establishment, will anything change?

I’d recommend that he focuses on the following aspects:

1. Ask SAI to get every body that supposedly mnages various sports in India to develop an action plan focusing on improving perfromance in the short, medium and long-term goals.  Medium-term goals could include doubling the number of olympic gold medals in 2012, and thereafter, target a 25% increase in every subsequent olympics.  Bold and audacious? yes. But do we have a choice?
2. Get former sportspersons more actively involved  in developing the sport- whether as coaches, advisors etc. Clearly, a good player is not automatically a good coach and vice versa. But former players will understand the pulse better.
3. Actively scout for talent across the country. In certain sports, rural India may be a better breeding ground.
4. Seek corporate partcipation in developing sports other than cricket.
5. Make it mandaory for media to carry sports other than cricket. Goes against the grain of free market thinking? Yes- but again, how else do we persuade TV channels to broadcast other sports?
6. Hire the best coaches, dietitians, sports psychologists, trainers and so on to work with our budding talent in all levels. In many sports, half-baked knowledge of nutrition may be the reason for athletes ending up positive on doping tests- their coaches think something is OK when it is not.
7. Make it attractive for sportspersons in games other than cricket to pursue their sport on a professional basis, so that they are assured of financial security. Take care of insurance, healthcare etc.

Good luck, Mr Gill. Let’s see if your stint is a turning point for Indian sports.

The political impact of inflation

Inflation in India has been on the rise for the past few weeks, and now stands at 7%. Much has been said about the economic mpact of high inflation- i.e. interest rates will rise, access to capital will shrink and hence growth will sufer. Indeed, pundits are already talking about 7.5% GDP growth, compared to the 8.5% and 9% a few months ago.

But for politicians, there is an even bigger danger. In the past, price rises have unseated governments and the UPA  will not be immune unless inflation is brought down to half the current level. The government has initiated action, but for these steps to bear fruit will take time- perhaps as much as 6 months. But that is precisely the dilemma. Elections is key states like Karnataka are just round the corner (less than 2 months away), and the Congress can’t afford to lose. In 6 months, the entire country will start prepping for general elections, which will almost certainly be conducted in early 2009 at the latest. Inflation dents any government’s pro-people image like no opposition can. And the UPA’s “aam aadmi” protestations will fall on deaf years. The people will vote through their ballots and a change in guard will be the likely result.

But given that inflation is being driven by factors like the rising price of crude/petroleum, food imports like wheat, edible oil etc., there is perhaps only so much that the government can do. And even if the NDA or some other coalition comes to power, managing the legacy of high-inflation will not be easy; it will take up perhaps the first year or so. It is only by 2009 end or so that one can expect the world economy to come out of the current slowdown. The next 8 months will also see a new President in the White House. What policy changes occur as a result will be a major determinant of the global politico-economic dynamics- and hence inflation.

Decongesting Bangalore

The more I think about it, the more I am convinced that Bangalore’s infrastructure crisis is the result only of a lack of political will, combined with public apathy. I moved to the city some 13 years ago- long before the IT industry struck roots here. In fact, I remember meeting the then Head Honcho of the Metro Rail corporation to discuss project structuring and so on- services offered by the Big 5 firm I worked for at the time. 13 years on, all we have to show is a series of dug-up roads across the city. If only the powers-that-be had moved decisively at the time, Bangaloreans could have been spared much of their daily agony. Even now, I am not convinced that projects like the elevated road on Hosur Road will do much to decongest traffic. It may have been faster and cheaper to develop other roads that connect say Sarjapur Road or Bannerghatta Road with Hosur Road. All it will take is one accident or vehicle break-down on the elevated carriage-way and all hell will break loose. The same thing is true of the “magic box” at the Cauvery theatre junction. Vehicles going towards Mekhri Circle have no choice but to make a left turn at Cauvery, then make a U turn before rejoining Bellary Road after making another left turn. Not only will this slow down traffic considerably, but this also creates a new choke-point at that place. Again, if a vehicle breaks down at the turn inside the maig box, think of the mess it will create. And right now, this is right on the main road to the new airport at Devanahalli!

As real estate prices in Bangalore sky-rocketed, supply became limited. Whether land was bought up by speculators, sharks or parties with genuine needs for a home/office etc., the fact of the matter is that each passing day makes it more difficult to acquire land for public purposes, such as roads and MRT programs. The longer we delay decisions around building expressways, peripheral ring roads and so on, the more it will cost us as citizens of Bangalore- not just in direct costs of fuel, time, wear and tear and stress/fatigue, but also in terms of productivity, health and overall environmental degradation. So many of Bangalore’s famous tree-lined boulevards have been denuded in the last few months. I understand that trees need to be cut to make way for roads. But can’t new trees be planted or existing trees be transplanted? It will of course cost more to transplant trees, but maybe that should go under the head of “intangibles”- after all, there is a certain joy and pride to having trees that are 50+ years old. Here, I am not talking about the Casuarina or Gulmohur trees; I am referring to Neem, Peepul and other such trees that are inherently strong in terms of resistance to rain & winds.

On a recent visit to Hyderabad, I was struck by how much that city has improved visibly over the last five years. Multiple flyovers, wide roads, swanky shopping arcades with bright neon signs…. the traffic snarls are still there in several places, but overall, Hyderabad arguably has better road infrastructure today than Bangalore. Of course, the new airport there will surely cause heartburn and chaos for a few months. After that, people will only remember the facilities offered by the new airport, and not worry so much about the 1.5 hours it takes to get there!

Bangalore Agenda Task Force (BATF), Bangalore Forward, Unlock Bangalore…. so many initiatives, but so little progress. I suppose we only have ourselves to blame.

What clash for the No. 2 spot? It’s a no-contest!

India pretty much lost the plot- and the match- inside the first hour of Day One of the second cricket test at Ahmedabad. A total of 76 was never going to be enough even against minnows, and the Proteas, who on current form, probably deserve the No 1 spot in test cricket, are anything but minnows. Granted that a majority of this new-look South African team is short on experience in terms of the number of tests compared to the number that most Indian players have played. But experience seems to have counted for nothing on the Motera track. The result: South Africa inflicted a comprehensive defeat, winning the match by an innings and 90 runs with two days to spare.

For Kumble, key players not being 100% match fit was surely a concern at the start of the test. And yes, Dale Steyn and Makhaya Ntini bowled ferociously on Day One. However, nothing can explain the extravagant or lazy shots essayed by many of India’s top order batsmen.

Well done, South Africa! Accurate bowling was followed by some solid batting performances- with Kallis scoring a century and AB de Villiers going one beter to score a double ton. India’s bowling attack looked listless and defanged. It was hard to imagine that many of these same players came together to beat a full-strength Australia in a 5 day cricket match at Perth not so long ago.

Perhaps it is time for a change of guard- at least we will have a plausible excuse for losing. India is now in a must-win situation at Kanpur, where the third and final test match starts next week. South Africa will be high on confidence, and it will take a miracle for India to get out of the hole they’ve dug themselves into.