Bomb blasts in Bangalore and Ahmedabad

Yesterday, the 6 or so “low intensity” bomb blasts across Bangalore made news. Today, there have been 9 (some reports say 12) bomb blasts across Ahmedabad. Again, what was used was apparently “low intensity” explosives. But there is a more disquieting similarity- both Karnataka and Gujarat are ruled by the BJP. Are these therefore attempts to destabilize BJP governments? Or are these blasts intended to be a “proof of concept” for the terrorists to demonstrate (to their own leadership, perhaps) the readiness of their cadres to deliver even more deadly strikes?

The media has been analyzing the blasts from various angles. By doing so, they are perhaps abetting the terrorists because such reports add to the general air of fear, uncertainty and dread. Ordinary citizens, already weighed down by the burden of rising inflation and falling stock markets, will only feel more depressed and resentful of the existing political dispensation- which, ultimately, is what anti-national elements want to foment. It is the job of the media to inform. But it should play this role responsibly. By reporting every single line of thinking etc., they serve to warn the perpetrators or worse, encourage them further.

Slaughtered in Sri Lanka

The first test match of the ongoing Idea Cup between India and Sri Lanka started under a cloud and has ended  under one too. Cloudy weather and rains washed out almost the whole of the first day’s play. And today, on Day 4, India’s fabled batting line-up (that included Sehwag, Sachin, Dravid, Ganguly and Laxman)- capitulated abjectly to the guiles of an old war-horse (Muralitharan) and a neophyte (Ajantha Mendis). Team India lost the first test match quite convincingly- by an inings and 239 runs, to be precise. And if you are interested in cricket trivia, this was India’s 3rd worst margin of loss in test cricket.

Apparently, we’re either playing too much cricket (which is why Dhoni excused himself from the test series) or too little of it (“not enough match practice, opined Geoff Boycott and Jayasuriya). I shall leave it to the pundits, commentators and the unhappy Gary Kirsten to figure out what went wrong and how it can be fixed before the next test at Galle next week. But as a fan of Indian cricket, I am very disappointed at the team’s show. I am sure the players are themselves smarting under the defeat (as well they should!). There were at least 6 or 7 instances of batsmen not applying themselves or choosing indiscreet shots. But I think we lost the match on Days 2 & 3, when we allowed the Sri Lankans to amass a huge total. Dropped catches added to our woes. Overall, a very forgettable performance.

After his success at the Asia Cup, Mendis too must have been under pressure to prove that he was not a flash in the pan. Equally, I am sure our batting stalwarts must have wanted to prove that their technique  and prowess with the willow would help them get the better of this whipersnapper. But as it were, perhaps Mendis’ hunger to prove himself was greater than our batsmen’s desire to dominate him. In the end, the best-laid plans are only as good as their execution- whether in business or sport or indeed, life.

Put the country’s future before personal power!

After months and weeks of indecision, sabre-rattling and brinksmanship by various political parties, we are finally 48 hours away from the all-important trust vote in the Parliament. The outcome of tomorrow’s vote will decide if Dr Manmohan Singh continues as PM, whether the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal will go through and finally, how close we are as a nation to the next Lok Sabha polls.

Both sides are claiming that they have the requisite numbers; that is clearly not true, for this is a zero-sum game. What finally matters is how individual MPs vote tomorrow on the floor of the House; party whips and promises made during private confabulations are irrelevant except to determine the future of MPs that do not stick to their word.

As a citizen of India, I hope that our elected represenatives have done their homework (which includes reading the draft agreement and getting expert opinions on various aspects) and will vote based on what is truly good for the long-term good of the country, and not based on what will further individual interests. If they do this, they will surely have the support of the Indian people as and when they contest for elections again. I am sure that voting behaviour tomorrow will become an important election issue at least in urban India.

In the final analysis, what must count is not whether the UPA or NDA achieves its political ambitions- but whether India wins and our energy security improves. I would draw our MPs’ attention to a line from a famous song rendered by the inimitable Mohd Rafi- “… ab tumhare hawale watan saathiyon…”.

Talent shows on TV

There is no dearth of prime time TV programs that are aimed at identifying talent in the field of music (vocal) and dance. In fact, in the past 5 years or so, the number of such programs has only shot up. I enjoy both music and dance, and per se have no complaints about such programs. However, I think there are many more spheres in which talent can and should be identified and nurtured. Caricature, sketching, sculpture, spelling (not just English but the vernacular as well), poetry writing… I am sure you get the point. Some of these, such as sculpture, may not be amenable to compress into a 30 minute show. But I am sure one can create a pretty decent format for a show, if it is based on how different sculptors progress their creation from raw clay to finished product over say, a 4 week period or so. There could be quiz shows on specific themes; there could be a National spelling bee championship on TV. I am sure all these will enhance the breadth of skills and help uncover truly multi-talented children (and adults).

The Indian IT industry’s Q1 results

All the top India-based IT services companies have announced their Q1 2008-09 results. And while they have all grown, the stock markets have hammered all stocks down. Perhaps that was to be expected, although I personally think the bearish sentiment is overdone. The US and European BFSI industry, unarguably the world’s oldest adopters of IT outsourcing, have been under severe duress for the last 9 months or so. Naturally, those IT companies that rely heavily on the BFSI sector for their business (e.g. Infosys and TCS and to a smaller extent, Wipro and Satyam) were affected by their clients’ decisions to go easy on new application development projects. And the cascading effect that tight credit has on other industries means that most other companies in the US, Europe and Japan too are tightening their IT spending belts.

It was expected that to counter risng costs, more American and European companies will outsource to India and India-based cmpanies. And as I have said in a previous blog, the outcome would depend on which trend is dominant. Clearly, the overall trend so far has been more towards cutting back on new projects altogether. So although the appreciation of the US Dollar vs the Indian Rupee in the last 3 months has certainly helped Indian exporters (IT companies included), the benevolent forex situation has not been able to fully counter the underlying business slowdown. Most companies are positioning themselves as “transformation” specialists- but in this environment, the notion of large-scale (and expensive) change may not go down well with most CEOs, COOs, CFOs and CIOs. So the Indian IT industry is not out of the woods yet- and the situation is another painful reminder of what globalization can do. That is not to say golobalization is bad- but one has to be ready for the down side as well.

Karnataka’s power problem

I am not talking about political power here. As a citizen of Bangalore, I am currently more worried about electricity. So far, the monsoons in Karnataka have been far below normal. Several districts are lkely to be declared as drought-affected. And this has an adverse impact on power generation and therefore, distribution. And at a time like this, the BJP’s poll promise to supply free or highly-subsidized power for irrigation will come back to bite it.

I read a report in today’s Bangalore edition of the Times of India that former Chief Minister S. Bangarappa has called upon farmers to destroy the meters proposed to be installed. His logic is something like this: if power is to be given free, why meter it? I am amazed at the kind of logic our politicians frequently use. Power may be given free today (personally, I don’t think that is a god idea anyway)- but what about say, next year? And unless the government has a robust estimate of power being given “free”, how will it know how much to cross-subsidize?

Since there is no free lunch (or free power, for that matter), the government has to get some other section of society to pay for the “free” power that farmers enjoy. Also, not all farmers are equal. Some have large land holdings and generate millions of Rupees in revenue, if not profit, each year. Surely these farmers can afford to pay for their power? There is a case to be made for “compassionate capitalism” but surely, this is not where it is needed!

Player fatigue is real- kill not the goose that lays golden eggs!

There is no doubt that most cricket teams- including India- have played a lot more cricket at the international level in the last year and a half or so than before. The IPL has brought with it a completely new style of cricket. Cricket fans have been well segmented now; the purists have the tests, those that are in their 30s and 40s (and grew up with 50 over limited overs games come intotheir own) still get their jollies from the 50 over ODIs; today’s teens swear by T20.

But spare a thought for the players. Packed calendars offer very little time for players to recoup physically and mentally between series. Tournaments are held all across the world, with punishing travel schedules. On top of it all is the relentless burden of expectations that cricket fans from around the world place on their teams and players.

True, today’s cricketers make several times the money their predecessors did, whether in the form of match fees or as endorsements. But then, most of them have much shorter shelf-lives than their predecessors did- in part due to their tighter calendars. Little wonder that players around the world are keen to make as much money as they can while they are on top. Perfectly normal human psychology and entirely consistent with economic principles.

That is why cricket adminsitrators around the world need to be more careful in puting their assets (their star cricketers) to work for them, earning revenue. It is like any other business. Overwork the assets without adequate attention to preventive maintenance and planned down time, and soon your entire business grinds to a juddering halt.

A very witty, tongue-in-cheek comment about the Left

A friend of mine recently forwarded an SMS to me. I found it quite witty and apt and am reproducing the essence here. I do not intend any offence to anyone… so apologies in advance. Apologies also to the one who came up with this originally- I do not know who you are, so I cannot cite you. But I do wish to  unabashedly acknowledge your creative genius.

The Left parties might want to consider changing their symbol to a condom. Here’s why…

A condom allows inflation, blocks production, destroys the next generation and creates a sense of security when you are actually being screwed…..

Personally, I think the Left should focus more on the inflation issue- which affects “aam janata” even more than the nuclear deal- at least in the short term. I also think the SP support to Congress is an unholy alliance. The SP will demand its pound of flesh sooner rather than later. In my opinion, the nation (and possibly, the Congress as well) would have been better off taking the decision to go to the IAEA a couple of months ago, even at the risk of early elections. The Indian electorate is much savvier than it is given credit for. If any political party is cogently able to explain its stance (keeping aside emotions, election rhetoric and rabble rousing tactics), I for one believe that the voters will deliver the right electoral verdict.

Strange decision by SEBI

I thought I saw on one of the news tickers of one of the TV channels earlier this evening a news item to the effect that SEBI has said it is not mandatory for government and court employees to have a PAN card (and by implication therefore, that these categories of our fellow citizens do not need to quote their PAN numbers while making investments).

To me, this concession seems very strange for a couple of reasons:

1. Black money is not the preserve of industrialists and businessmen. Several government and court employees too accept bribes etc. By granting government and court employees exemption from having to quote their PAN numbers, SEBI is only making it easier for corrupt officals to funnel their ill-gotten gains into the stock market etc.
2. What happens if a government official makes a huge investment without citing his/her PAN number and resigns a couple of months later?
3. Will this not encourage more “benami” transactions?