CAG in action in Gujarat

An interesting piece on CAG's action by Rediff.com shared by my friend titled "Now Modi Govt gets it from CAG" has provoked this outburst from me:

Meenamkunnu Dinakaran This is a clear case of Modi Bashing. I am surprised that you see only these articles. Deep well oil drilling is dependent on geology and geology, even I know is highly unpredictable. There are no proven technologies which are accessible to the emerging economies at reasonable costs to predict more accurately the characteristics at 45 Km below surface, leave alone 78 KM of Mother Earth. Even global leaders such as Shell make mistakes. A public limited company which is listed in the stock exchange and is forced to carry the losses on its balance sheet is being held accountable for tarnishing the image of the CM. I have seen other comments also on the purported garage sale of gas being sold to the company who everyone is considered aligned to the erstwhile CM. Can anyone predict gas price at the end of this year? How does one sell the produce, which can be stored beyond a few days production? Dina come out of this kind of negative propaganda. It is time you moved on to meta physics whole time.

NPAs and Growth

There is a lot of talk, on NPAs (Non Performing Assets) in India. Some of us who have served this economy for decades are concerned that the talk is veering away to surgical action, which may, in its sweep, eliminate many who are themselves not to be blamed.

NPAs correction effort has taken a 'tsunami-cal'  proportion, in the country with the Governor using every opportunity to hype on it and create a sense of panic, with the obvious good intention of doing something which he considers is essential and to be done now.

Is every one over board on this? Is there a better way to go about this?

These are the questions which come up in the minds of executives who are faced with the broader effects of corrective action initiated by the banks whose licensing authority has started flexing their muscles.

Two interesting pieces, one the leader in 'The Hindu' titled 'Of Banks and Books' and the other one Mr. S S Mundra's comment 'Some borrowers indulging in round tripping', capture some of the key elements and indicate the actions that may follow.

For me the problem of NPA should be treated like a cancer which has spread on a human and not like a parasite which has infected the farm fields. The treatment should therefore factor in the psychological, social and day to day existence needs of such companies and group entities, especially their employees, when they are treated through various therapies, like limiting fresh borrowings or denying extension of existing facitiltie, fresh infusion of capital, day to day management take over, asset sales etc.

In the larger picture, as in the case of human cancer, where plastic usage and tobacco abuse are monitored and controlled, the reasons for cash flow deficits, should be ascertained for that is the source of cancer. If it is due to a delinquent party of  the contracts, which typically is a PSU or the Government itself, the banks must, through their network at South block, insist on corrective action and correct the anomaly of the Big Buyer passing on risks that cannot be manged by the companies, under the guise of 'audit query'. Non operable payment terms and payment terms which are not operated are classic issues which add up to the trouble. Follow up action by these entities, by way of encashment of Bank  Guarantees add to the woes of companies which add to NPAs.

This comment must not be read to defend the actions of some individuals whose birthdays figured in the  comment of the Governor. Such individuals and companies, must pay.

But given the downside the economy is facing, through pressure from falling exports, stagnating domestic demand, reforms through land bills and GST stuck, fresh infrastructure investments not emerging, the efforts to clean up balance sheets of banks should be done but through cautious individual actions. Executives of the banks must be trusted to nurture their 'cancer' infected clients and are ill advised to treat them all with a spray of pesticides from the air, which they may if undue pressure is exerted on them.

Free Basics and Net Neutrality.

Adhering to Basics & Freedom is a wonderful Leaders piece in 'The Hindu'  which captures the nuances of the 'Net Neutrality' and the leadership role played by our regulator at TRAI. (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India).

The key take away from this master piece, from my view are: "The latest ruling could no doubt set the tone for regulators across the globe, especially those of countries that have socio-economic features akin to India’s. More important, it would ensure that generations of Indians are not forced to be satisfied with services that pretend to be the Internet itself, robbing them of the real benefits of the medium... The ruling also suggests that while TRAI recognises the need for India to bridge the digital divide, it realises that compromising the basic ideals of the Internet is not the way to do it."

Another interesting dimension to this ruling is the complexity of the net and the way it is shaping up. In another interesting piece in The Hindu titled How Zuckerberg Got the Blues' the columnist brings out the internal concepts which have emerged in the ecosystem of internet of things to grab more of the dollars being increasingly made available on this platform, by tweaking the basics without he knowledge of the user.

All of these concepts, are basically working to wean away the customer to a corner as in a typical showroom. The attractive discounts and the prominent display, positioning in the show room and other tricks which are deployed in the malls and show rooms have their counterparts in the internet of things.

And that is alarming for the user who is not educated enough of the way these things work could easily be led astray. And that this is deliberately happening under the eyes of the regulators clearly demonstrate that not enough is being done to rein in this behaviour.

As  Sri Ram Sewak Sharma the TRAI chairman has shown to the world through his latest ruling, that glitz cannot sway the opinion of the informed, it is time for the rest of the world to take the cue and cooperate to bring in more transparency and change in behaviourial patterns of these organisaitons in the digital space, to chase their dollars while maintaining 'Net Neutrality' in the true spirit and letter.

RIP Indra Mami

I was recipient of a series of messages in the last couple of weeks conveying the 'ends' of lives of persons some of whom I was  closely acquainted with and in some case for long.

One common thought through all these news items is no disappointment. Yes, the end has to come and that realization obviously comes with another stark realization of my age. I am old enough to accept that people with whom I have spent the better part of my life may be starting their last journey.

Among the names one stood out - 'Indira mami'. She was our neighbor in Chintamani Trichy. She had 4 children. Her husband Mr. Narayan Rao was a tall, well built individual with pleasing manners, who worked for the local electricity distribution company. Her elder daughter was the class mate of my sister and next son junior to me in school and we were all play mates.

Way back in 1967, tragedy stuck their family and Mr. Narayan Rao succumbed to tetanus. Those days may be there was no medicine to treat the virus or the knowledge of the virus was not well known in our town. The mother and children were forced to fend for themselves as the bread earner who lived his life as if there was no tomorrow and to the full hilt had no savings.

The family was uprooted from the comfort of the 'agraharam' and they moved on.

And our family moved on.

It was many decades later that we met each other, as my mother and 'Indira mami had remained in touch through their common friendship.

I was happy to see 'Indira mami the same bubbly person, with the naive enthusiasm and unassuming ownership of relationships which for the current generation would be outlandish. She was one moment celebrating our achievements and openly disapproving of something else; nowadays you wouldn't find many parents taking such liberty with their children even. 


Again a decade passed and I receive the news of her end. The message conveyed by her youngest son, and the first question which propped up from me ' I hope she didn't suffer in the end'. The reply -

'No. yesterday night she had as usual laughing about finished her chores. In the rest room she slipped and had hurt her. When she came out of the rest room she was conscious and then the end came'.


Here was a person who had lived life to the fullest. Her grand children are well placed and are scaling the corporate heights both here in India and across the oceans.

She was always cheerful and had immense inner strength to know that we are but witness to the events that unfold and there is no point looking too far ahead or too far back. I will always remember her as my mother's best friend and to me in a way a mentor, for unknowingly, such persons have moulded  me.