Challenges at the work place

There are many challenges at the work place which we need to tackle.

Every action, interaction, every new effort which you take, brings with it, its own challenges. If you are lucky you develop a liking to these challenges and that is the best situation. Some times you allow these tendencies to become addictive which turns you to a workaholic. This is another challenge which you need to manage as it may take a toll at the home front.

There are some challenges which makes you tense and if you encounter many of them in a day's work then it is time you realized that you are in the wrong place! As they say the moment the work which you do makes you tense, it is time you changed your work or the work place.

As you move on handling these challenges, certain events bring disappointments and sadness. It is at these times you need to believe in your self and get on with it. If the disappointments are caused by some whose actions you cannot control, then the situation may need a directional shift. Else it could be a simple chemistry issue. Whatever it is, it is must be faced and resolved immediately, lest it becomes a bogey and you start looking at it for excuses.

Sibling Rivalry

It is with interest that one follows the court room battle of the Ambanis' in the Krishna gas field case. For some of us who still remembers the father Ambani, (as well as those who have seen "Guru"), these actions are painful. Painful because, the siblings have lost touch with their roots, shareholder base.

Dhirubhai mobilized large funds from public and deployed it very effectively. He created assets on global scale & quality which is delivering stellar performance over extended period of time. Some of the tactics used by him to secure permissions (through the control raj), market share and remunerative prices may not be acceptable to all, but he did it and shared the earnings with his shareholders, a modern day Robin hood if you will.

Having created huge wealth, (and the sons should be given due credit for their role as well, in creating this wealth) the siblings would have done well to focus and grow from these enlarged base. Unfortunately they have started competing amongst themselves and engaged in a one up manship game which does not produce any winner. It is a plain play of highly bloated super egos and will leave all the stake holders at a loss. Lawyers of course will be partly offset by the huge fees they will pocket, even though they may be loosing on their Reliance holding!

From another perspective the case which is being battled in the courts can be said to be - "Should RNRL take its profit before RIL does or after wards?" If the Gas is priced at $2.42 per MMBTU, to RNRL, RIL will take may be another 10 to 15 years to recover their investment, while RNRL will reap the benefits immediately. This is not natural justice as these shareholders did not share the risk of developing the field. They parted midway and have to therefore wait for their turn. They are however entitled to share the benefits having been the members of the larger family of Dhirubhai Ambani in the undivided Reliance Industries, the parent company.

So, RNRL share holder have their claim on the Krishna Godavari gas, which can be likened to their claim on ancestral property, being original members of the Dhirubhai share holder legacy. But since they have chosen to be separate, they will have to wait for their turn, which will be as per the policies guided by the Government of India.

Both the companies, the whole world knows can influence government decisions. It is therefore more or like the Two cats and monkey story, where the monkey eats the entire "Dosa", attempting to equally apportion the bounty. The Government monkey is already at work by artificially jacking up the price and promising major portion to RIL. RNRL is peeved and hence the case!

Wake up Anil bhai; have a heart. After all you are the younger brother and I am sure your turn will come. You are also equally capable of creating huge wealth in the field chosen by you Power & Telecom. Focus on that and create values, so large that the Reliance share holders start crying foul and the Mukesh bhai camp starts scheming to refer to the "Family Agreement". the all encompassing, dark invisible document.

My experience at the Endoscopy table

The pain in my stomach which was intermittent over the last two years, increased in intensity and frequency, which caused a little bit of anxiety to me and family. This prompted us to look for a competent doctor near our apartment at Adyar. We therefore landed at Dr. JinaDas, who after preliminary examination, recommended that I do an Endoscopy to profile my internals.

Initially, I resisted; but wanting a permanent solution, decided to go for the same.

It was a Sunday and all was very nice. I went for my morning walk as usual to the beach and took in my day's quota of Ozone, together with vitamin D from the morning rays. That day's podcast was also very interesting; Podcast from "The Economist" - Technology Quarterly .

Since I was to report to the Endoscopy center empty stomach, I starved till 9:30 and reported promptly 5 minutes ahead of my appointment at the centre. The girls there were very pleasant and efficient. I believe it is in their genes being Keralites! I was put through the normal drill of basic measurements by the malu girls and then made to wait for the Doctor.

When it was my turn with the Doctor, I entered the room with my wife eagerly tagging along. I was briefed by the Doctor in a very professional way and I could sense that he was attempting to make me feel at ease.

After that he started working on his desktop and looking at the monitor he shot a series of questions at me; all to understand (and I presume record)the symptoms, habits, background, previous illness, causes of allergy etc. I presume he was satisfied with my answers and he did not show any strong reaction(which I presume is natural).

MY wife had to move out of the room, when the test started (and I understood through the process why she had to go) and in the first step I was given a portion of bitter liquid which i had to gargle for a minute and then swallow. The Doctor made sure that I had no dental problem before administering the dose. He had told me that the liquid was a local anesthesia, which would remove the sensation in the path through which the endoscopy probe will travel. I realized that the anesthesia had started its job, only when the probe was being inserted.

The probe is a small cable, some thing similar to the clutch cable you will find in cycle, but with an optic fiber embedded in it, At the leading end of the probe, a tiny camera with bright light source is attached. Patient's mouth is kept open by a plastic wedge which the patient has to hold between his teeth and the probe is inserted through a hole in the plastic wedge.

As the probe travels, it captures the images, which are recorded and simultaneously displayed on a small screen, which the patient can also see. The Doctor sees the same screen and this Doctor was giving a running commentary of the advancement of the probe(may be his voice was also being recorded). It was all nice as it started and all was pleasant.

As the probe was passing adjacent to my heart, I suddenly felt the sensation of the probe. Immediately my system took over and I was trying to vomit out the probe. I was pushing out the probe through my internal system with all the force I can muster and it was very scary. The Doctor banged the head table where I was resting my head and warned me that I could create a major situation if I continue to do try and push out the probe. I could sense that there was tension in the theatre as I could feel multiple hands presumably of the nurses, till then not visible, but now preparing to hold.

The Doctor was by now shouting "Relax there is nothing you can do; you will only harm yourself if you try to do something!!". Believe me; I consciously decided to listen to him. I relaxed and in the next few seconds everything was back to normal.

The probe completed the travel as planned and identified the Ulcer, which has just formed. I am now being treated for the ulcer.

The experience, has given me the confidence to face any eventuality with total resignation; may be that is what people call near death experience!!

Renewable Energy - A post from Green Group @ Google

NDPL and Tata BP Solar Work Together to Set Up Solar Plants for a Green Delhi

North Delhi Power Ltd (NDPL) and Tata BP Solar are joining up to set up solar power plants in Delhi including rooftop solar plants which will be connected to the electricity grid. The plan envisages systems of up to 1 megawatt capacity.

The electricity, generated on rooftops, will either be consumed directly by the owner of the rooftop or exported into the grid and also sold to NDPL. Once operational these plants will not only augment power supply for NDPL consumers but will also be a source of income for them. NDPL has already set up two such solar plants of 4 kilowatts and 15 kilowatts at its corporate office in Hudson Lines and at its training centre in Rohini. Now NDPL proposes to set up a 25 kilowatt solar plant at the premises of DERC.

At a presentation by the alliance of NDPL and Tata BP Solar earlier this month, the DERC was enthused with the idea of roof top installation of this green power which will turn the electricity consumers as producers of electricity.

“In NDPL’s climate change and sustainability strategy, Sun occupies centre stage being the original source of all energy. Solar power is one of the most suitable and feasible source of power from the perspective of cost, scalability, environment and security of source.
The challenge is to make this source of power economically viable and I am sure that with Government’s support and encouragement in the initial years and, with volumes picking up, solar technology will become more competitive with grid power” said Sunil Wadhwa, CEO & Executive Director, NDPL.

If only 20,000 consumers come forward producing 5 kilowatts each, NDPL would manage to generate 100 MW of Solar Power by the end of this financial year. This success of this initiative would however depend on some initial capital support from the government to make solar power generation affordable for the consumers, Mr. Wadhwa added.

Apart from the consumers’ roof top initiative, NDPL is also going ahead with the setting up of a 1 Megawatt solar plant using the roof top of its central stores at Keshav Puram in North Delhi. The proposal to set up solar power plants in Delhi is also in line with the Delhi Government’s Climate Change Agenda 2009 -2012 for Delhi.

“We are excited with the prospects of working with NDPL and the opportunity it opens up for partnering in Delhi’s drive towards sustainable energy”, said K Subramanya, CEO, Tata BP Solar.

The Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) had also recently launched schemes to promote and encourage rooftop grid-connect policy for solar power. The National Solar Mission set up as part of the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) last year, is also reported to be targeting 20000 Megawatts from solar power by 2020.

Electricity Act and TNEB's Double Speak

TNEB has been postponing the trifurcation of itself to fall in line with the central laws enacted as early as 2003. The models which were tried out immediately after the enactment of the Electricity act, had each its own advantages and drawbacks. It was prudent on the part of TNEB not to jump in to splitting itself immediately after the demand came. It was strategically correct to study the effects of the models, the benefits or otherwise of each of the models.

Having studied the model, postponing the splitting on political grounds is also acceptable for a couple of times. But to repeatedly do so is not conforming to the Centre - State spirit envisaged in the constitution. TNEB is much different from the other electricity boards. The act was not intended for efficient boards like TNEB; but the act was also enacted to corporatise the functioning of the Utility so as to make it independent of the state's budgetary support.

Another major purpose of the act is to bring in more transparency to its own functioning. It would bring in the elements in the system which is generating surpluses together with the sinks, which drain out more than these surpluses. It would have brought in more closer management attention as each of three major functions of the utility, Generation, Transmission and Distribution would get its own top management team who will not act on its own priority instead of having to be dependant on a super team!.

TNEBs maximum demand is nearing 10000 MW and its generation is slated to take a quantum leap in the years to come. As an integrated utility its contribution to the renewable sector is laudable. It has used its Hydro power effectively to remove the "Infirm" attributes of wind power and leverage its integral strength to allow these small generators to bank and wheel, effectively providing the much needed incentives to channelise investment. Here again it needs to do more now. We are now facing funds constraint to provide additional evacuation lines, up gradation/ enhancement of capacity of lines which will take the renewable generation to the next levels.

It is not automating its operations and is now lagging other electricity boards in this segment. It has to substantially enhance its Transmission Line grid and become independent of PGCIL by having its own 400 KV network. Other electricity boards have started planning 765 KV grid and TNEB is still comfortable with its 220 KV grid!

On the distribution front, capacity enhancement by way of implementing UG (under Ground)cabling, GIS (Gas Insulated Substations) substations and Distribution automation are the need of the hour.

TNEB always had a pride of place in the national electricity grid and its operations. Over the years it had to bear the ill effects of excessive political intervention, but has managed to still hang in there.

It may not be able to do so, if it does not quickly change its attitude now. May be a firm push from the Central ministry is the need of the hour to save the board.