Indian Ergonomics Discussion Forum...

As an extension to my previous blog, which is a microcosmic view of how one can cultivate the ideology of being a responsible citizen and help propagate the progress of the country, thus envisioning the growth of his/her homeland treating it as a divine duty; I also felt there were some key pointers that were missing from my own introspective analysis. These expressed henceforth, I believe can create a forum for intellectual  gathering of action-points on establishing a platform for national reforms. So, please feel free to express your opinion on this subject.

Recalling some of the core issues that I have raised previously, 

• we see a lack of ownership in effective deliverance of Public Administration responsibilities from dignitaries of people-elected high order offices, in terms of, lethargy towards the discharge of assigned duties, the emerging outlook of corruption in the political or socio-political environment of the country, lack of common-will of policy-making, and such.

• Adding to that, there is also prevalence of dilapidated sense of security and measures taken to ensure a fail-safe blanket of security system provision for the citizens of India.

• The economic down-slide on the growth and progress indicators coupled with, rising civil unrest spread across the nation.

Being an eternal optimist, in retrospect with what is said above, over the past couple of decades, one can  notice tremendous improvement in the content & structure of the Indian socio-economic environment as compared to post-independence era (1960-1990) , where the multi-fold increase in the purchasing power of  Indian middle-class segment has paved way for a linear rise of consumerism. This potential has opened doors for a plethora of changes to occur such as,

• Prominence of manufacturing sector contributing to the overall GDP, 

• The stalwart growth of the services sector in-turn fuelling the rise in education & employment, rise in development of technology drivers, rise in scientific research, rise in agricultural output, and such.

• There are also noteworthy advancements made in the financial and retail markets integrating together to provide a efficient and streamlined outlook on the Indian consumer market & its PPP (Purchasing Power Parity).

• All the above causing well-targeted initiatives in Public Utilities & Infrastructure industry, thus drawing a huge confidence from the investor forum to see a heavy in-flux of foreign investments, making India  enviable peer on the global power map.

As a macro-cosmic view, some of the critical challenges that needs to be addressed currently, in order to have a longevity for sustenance of such a growth pattern are,

• A well-defined path for delivery in-order to fulfil the energy requirements of the country from a long-term perspective, as I believe this to be a prime-driver of growth for any nation in coming years.

• Inclusive monetary and fiscal reforms that can ensure the improvement of domestic investor confidence  (Due to the notable upsurge in the entrepreneurial endeavours and SMBs, which form a crucial layer) along with foreign investors, so there is a mitigation on exclusive dependence of  in-flow of funds from foreign community. 

• A better policy making environment with focus on implementing a quicker approval methodology for infrastructure and high-ticket projects that help scale the Gross product output of  various industries.(where the average of 5-6% prevalent now can be easily pushed to 9-10% )

• A more refined structure for the deliverance of high-quality output from the education sector to the employment sector.

• A better conflict-management system to ensure a more peaceful cohabitational of various demographics within the nation.

• Adoption and implementation of technological and scientific instruments to ensure a well-rounded defence measure against both internal & external agents of chaos & terror.

Apart from this, there also is a strong need for amendments to be made in Public Administration mechanics  such that  there is transparency and stream-lined focus in ensuring timely deliverables. Of course, these are idealistic norms that will face hurdles in realisation to actuality, mainly due to the diverse nature of Indian demographics and also due to the sheer volume of resources that needs to be managed.  Nonetheless, with this as a vision, there is a  need for more efficient functioning of system at all strata of Indian community in order to pave way for new India.

Please Note: Some excerpts here are inspired from a program called 'In conversation with Mrs. Shikha Sharma (MD & CEO of Axis Bank)' presented on Bloomberg TV this Sunday. 

Divine Mother and my journey towards her ... Part 2

After a hard day's work in the office, I was home watching television, surfing news channels and I stumbled across a couple of programs, one a political debate on the Coal-gate scam and another a financial debate on the GAAR tax policy. After watching these programs, I was generally talking to my wife on how the current affairs of this country are depressive, to which she retorted asking me if I expected any improvement in near future.This made me think long and hard.

• The various scams that have plagued the country in the past 25 months - CWG (Commonwealth Games) scam , 2G Spectrum scam, Coal-gate scam, and many more;
• The number of political leaders taken into judicial custody or under investigation for misappropriation of public funds; 
• The battling of various political parties to establish a common will of policy-making;
• The civil unrest spreading in various parts of the country for various instigated, trivial reasons;
• The constant slide of the growth rate and increase of inflation in the most recent span of time; 
• The rise of crime crate and unjust acts of moral conduct towards the women of this country; the thinning interests of foreign investments in this country; and
• To my very city of residence a Garden city so called once being hailed now as a Garbage city.

Looking at all of this, I wondered "Was my wife right about having vain, fictitious hopes of improvement of this country?". The answer is no. I have come to realise a wonderful insight here.

There is a belief in the Hindu Vedic principles of after-life and multiple re-births of a human soul, wherein it is said that a human soul passes through a number of cycles of birth & death, to evolve at every cycle with a cumulation of knowledge and devotion to the divine, to escape into a realm of ever-lasting happiness (salvation) as a final destination. The fact or law of nature so defined is that along with the cumulation of knowledge and devotion to the divine, he/she will also have to pass through a lifetime of pain-suffering. They are said to be two sides of a coin or an ironical parlance of unison of duality.

Now, I lack the knowledge or the maturity to debate on this principle, but what I could conjure with my intelligence is that change is imminent. India as a country, has evolved through many decades of creation and destruction of its own public administration reforms, that it passes through these suffocating periods of corruption & lethargy (towards discharge of duties & responsibilities), all the while cumulating prosperity (by integrating its services produced with the global markets)  & an image of power (through its sheer volume) that progress will no longer be opaque and subject to variation, but will become visible and consistent in nature.

As a responsible Indian citizen, it my duty to ensure that I adhere to the laws of the land and maintain transparency in my conduct, so collectively one day our great nation can be driven to the pinnacle of progress and be known as a developed nation (not just by roads or rails but from all finer aspects of civilization). Simple things like, exercising my constitutional rights judiciously and intelligently - right to vote and such, taking ownership for the protection of the environment I live in, lending a helping hand in communal and social activities or even having a good civic sense, abiding by the laws and non-violation of rules and regulations set by the govt, all of these when followed persistently, add to a greater cause. This is a glorious way to reach the Divine Mother and find ever-lasting happiness.