Something is Rotten in the State of ...

A for Adarsh

B for Benami Accounts

C for CWG

D for Devas

Go tell the Westerners, we have our own Alphabetrix (inspired by Matrix). With the scams pouring in a dozen a month, we might as well have a whole new vocabulary very soon. 

The awe-mongring scale of scams can be gauged from the fact that it not only dwarfs the GDP of several countries but also makes it look like pittance. A single scam is sufficient to wipe out the entire annual fiscal deficit of the country and bring the budget in surplus. A few together can pay off the external debt. If combined the scams can very well monetize the requirements of social welfare programs (for which the money is never there!) and so on and so forth …

I am not trying to tell that we have a very corrupt system, it is already known anyway, but that the sheer magnitude of money involved has bewildered even the corrupt souls. There is so much scope to make money which a poor-middle class babu never thought about while accepting a few hundred rupees to make the files sail. If this is the kind of inspiring leadership he has, he might as well have made more!

More - that is really a very powerful word. Whatever you have - its never enough. Such an amazing thing it is that, on one hand, it makes a great player like Sachin Tendulkar to go on & on, being completely loyal to the game while on the other motivates the greed to hoard, to loot, to accumulate, to amass wealth that you might never be able to use in this life time by depriving someone of the meal for the day !! 

While these rumblings of a dismayed soul can continue incessantly, a more pertinent issue of discussion which these recent exposures have raised is about the structure of investigative agencies in India.

The three main agencies that are intended to play a very important role in discovering/uncovering abuse of power and issues related to corruption are - The Central Bureau of Investigation,  the Central Vigilance Commission and the Comptroller and Auditor-General. All these agencies although autonomous (and independent for the namesake) are hamstrung by the collusion between the politics and bureaucracy. The laws governing the bodies are intentionally strewn with loopholes for those in power to be able to arm-twist the system when needed. All are handicapped to disallow an impartial investigation. The need of permission from the government before taking an investigative action against a bureaucrat, the absence of any investigative machinery with CVC and reliance on the mercy of support from other organizations, the ministerial power to transfer officers (when on the brink of making a breakthrough in a case) are just a few but glaring shortfalls. Moreover, the attempts to cure the system by passing progressive legislations have always been met with strong resistance. The lapse of Lokpal Bill, which aims to bring ministers including the PM under the scrutiny more than once in the Parliament, is again just one of the examples. 

The picture is dismal and there is an urgent need for action. We have enough evidence before us to suggest that, if allowed to function, these same organization can work wonders. The complete turnaround in the pace of CBI’s work after the Supreme Court taking over the 2G and CWG cases (the first such instance happened in the Vineet Narain Case in 1997 when Supreme Court directed CBI to directly report to it) stands witness to the fact. 

There is a dire need to reform the age-old Delhi Special Police Establishment Act (1946) which governs CBI. As often mentioned by former CBI Director Mr. Raghvan, more freedom has to be divested to the agency, the leadership should be free from the fear of being sent to Andamans  in case they raise an eyebrow. The CVC and the CAG also need to be strengthened - from having just an advisory role, the government should be obliged to note and present a case for not taking action on the CAG report; the CVC should have the power to mandate assistance from fraternal agencies during an investigation. I don’t plead for blanket freedom (we don’t want an Indian KGB) but for a balanced stance where there is no interference in daily activities of these agencies.

A strong public opinion can forcibly inculcate the missing political will. It is difficult to be optimistic, but I do see the glass half-full. Lets hope it would happen soon otherwise there will just be an empty glass - the hopelessness, the despair and the gloom …..

Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels

Thats right! A copied title from a famous Guy Ritchie movie and here’s what Wikiquote says about it -

“Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels is a 1998 film about four London working class stiffs who pool their money to enter a high stakes card game, but things go wrong and they end up owing half a million pounds, with one week to come up with the cash.”

Just change a few words and it makes a perfect story for the world around us today. That’s exactly how the erstwhile masters & policemen of the world (read EU and US) had played the  game. I sometimes picture the globe as their big casino and the EU-US garbed in black robes sitting at the high-stakes table. Much has been lost in these wild-games and to think about what could have prevented it is next to a futile exercise.

A more relevant question is - How are we going to play it?

Much of what is reflected from last year can be a close call. We saw China opening its windows for the westerlies to blow through and India leaving the door ajar. There is no denying the fact that we need the fuel to keep the engines of growth churning - feed the hungry dragon and a famished elephant, but it is also important to do the balancing act. Recent unabated spate of forex flowing through our borders, the increased proportions of FII investments in benchmark indices, the associated volatility dependence in the capital markets, encouragement of derivative instruments are a few  of the many issues that do deserve attention. It should be us who should be playing rather than being played.

Just like a good player we need to be looking at all the possible angles. Optimal engagement with the developed world is already up our sleeves (thanks to an unprecedented media coverage and a proactive government) but on the foreign policy front, although, there had been a lot of hullabaloo about our “Look East Policy” not much has been achieved. While we had just been ogling, China has already proposed the girl. For us the key to the East now lies in the West (not the usual West!). Last few months have seen uprisings, revolts and revolutions in the Arab world; the sole cause - Joblessness. Most destabilized countries such as those of Egypt are looking at regime changes and a possible movement towards democracy. India being the largest democracy in the world owes the responsibility to participate - contribute in the process of reconstruction of these nations. Since, this will a second life for these nations the role that India can play in their formative years will have significant impact. Not only it will promote peace in the region but also allow India to have access to the resource rich Arab world both in Africa and West-Asia. It will also be a stepping stone in balancing the power equation in our immediate neighborhood. 

What we need today is an aggressive foreign policy and the nimbleness to move fast, recognize opportunities and tap them before they are lost. We don’t want to be holding the smoking barrels while someone runs away with all the lock & stock in front of our eyes!

Lost Cause ..

I thought I would complete the travel blog sequel first and then post other articles. But as that doesn't seems to be happening, I will leave it in the limbo - for some other time.

Reverting back to the usual!

Southern Sojourn - Tamil Nadu

This was my second landing at the Madurai Airport (what looked more like a private hangar when compared with the bustling hubs at Delhi-Mumbai) and my first chance to visit the city. It had rained moments ago and the wet roads were glistening in car lights like the highway to heaven! Yes, I had reached the temple city of India.

During our 30 minutes ride to the hotel two distinct features caught my eye; one - the innumerable temples /  shrines that jutted out of nowhere and two - the cut-outs of Amma. The irony that the most divine and the most corrupt, namely the God and the Politicians, are omnipresent dawned over me and, you will understand, the feeling was not so good.

Gopuram - Meenakshi Temple

After settling at the hotel we decided to explore the local markets and were captivated by the sight of street flowing in the radiant colors of the traditional temple saris. The liveliness and hustle near the temple area filled our otherwise energy sapped bodies with vibrancy as we window shopped for the local specialities!

Next day early morning (what I argued was still night! - 6 a.m.) we headed for the darshana of divine on the payment of a small fee (an intriguing aspect of most temples in south India) at Meenakshi temple. The temple in itself is a museum of architecture and a feat which could be envy of civil engineers even today. The six gopurams (gates) of the temple stand tall, as if guarding the citadel of almighty, with intricate sculptures and carvings telling the tale of gods. In what was an utter injustice to the work we spent only about 3 hours in the temple as the itinerary poked us to move on.

Pamban Bridge

Although our next stop was to be Rameshwaram, the way was punctuated with several short stops at beautiful temples. The high point of the onward journey was a bridge that connects Pamban and Rameshwaram Islands. As Pamban tails off (I mean literally!) you can see ocean on both sides of the narrow strip of land finally giving way to the water mass only to be connected with Rameshwaram by a 2 k.m. bridge. The site was so enthralling that we had to stop for a few minutes clicking feverishly to capture all we could.

Chruch destroyed by the cyclone

On reaching Rameshwaram we decided to move on to Dhanushkodi (the last point in the ocean where the Yug-Purusha constructed the Ram-Setu) which was accessible only through a 4X4 drive as the last road had submerged a few years ago. After waiting for an eternity and haggling for the price we boarded a rickety Commando Jeep in which everything but the horn made noise. Just before starting off, the driver screwed the bolts into the tire rim with bare hands and my doubts about us reaching there in one piece increased further. For about an hour we sailed over sand and cruised through water in that piece of steel (shit?) which only our driver could steer. On our way we passed the remnants of what once used to be a prosperous town before the cyclone in 1960’s and a small hamlet of fishermen located at the end of the world. To our astonishment we found a school, where we couldn’t have imagined even life, alive with charming & innocent faces (I later came to know that our former President Kalam hails from this place).

Dhanushkodi

Dhanushkodi was definitely worth all the trouble. Surrounded by ocean on three sides, we seemed to be small and insignificant in this grand creation of nature (probably the cyclone was just a reminder to that!). No words or pictures can justify the serenity that was in the air and in the music of waves. After staying there for an hour we went back to Rameshwaram to wash a few more sins at the famous Ramnath temple, the grandeur of which is second to none. Whether it be the intricate sculptures or the pillared corridor, all seemed to have come alive from the painting of an eccentric artist.

Savoring the delights of the day we headed back to our barracks in Madurai for a good night sleep before continuing journey to God’s Own Country.

From the crypt came the voice ...

I have never even read a poem truly, let alone write one. But when I started writing this blog I decided to experiment nonetheless. The result, as expected, is not good. But since I have written it, I am sharing it all the same. Those lucky enough, to get some meaning out of it, are admired and for the rest of the mortals I have given some interpretation / direction after the poem. Good luck for the ones who are still reading-

From the crypt came the voice,

Forgive me O Soldier, for I had this; but no other choice.

I had been dumb all these years,

Shouting my pain in those deaf ears.

In life I could have been a doctor or an engineer,

But it was not going to be; that was clear.

Not that I lacked an education,

It was more than that, which betrayed my passion.

Gone are the days, when they peddled in Dal,

The only sound you hear today, is the sound of lull.

I often saw the crowds roving by,

With desires unfulfilled and distress in their eyes;

The truth of freedom for me was nought,

A decent meal was my only thought.

Probably even that thought was not benign,

I had to fight to convey that aspiration of mine.

The stones hurled were only a means,

What more could I have done in my teens?

Only in death, I have been heard,

Unfortunately, violence was my messenger bird.

Now in the valley, the saffron will bloom,

The sun will rise up and swallow the gloom.

From the crypt came the voice,

O soldier, I wish I had some other choice!

The poem is set in the background of the recent events in Kashmir. The poet (i.e. me - ah! I feel like a narcissist) is trying to look at the situation from the eyes of a youth on the other side of the cannon.

Survival of the Fittest

“Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely”

While this age old adage by Lord Acton is quite relevant in the modern world, a more recent adaptation of the same by eminent jurist Ram Jethmalani - “Power corrupts and the fear of losing power corrupts absolutely”, fits more smugly in today’s context. Although these sayings primarily describe human behavior, the same is true for nations as well.

Whether it be the search of WMD in Iraq or the capture and kill mission in Afghanistan, the ulterior motive of these crusades are not hidden from anyone who has kept his eyes and ears open. Where in one part of the world a despot is hanged (electrocuted to be precise!) for the “genocides” committed by him, somewhere else another of the brethren is hailed as the bearer of peace and prosperity. No wonder that Sri Lanka faces several embargoes by UN for the violation of human rights in its battle against insurgency while NATO which has established “peace and stability” in Afghanistan is beyond questions.

Such behavior does seem to be immoral and unethical but, one of the most basic laws of nature - the Darwinian theory - says just the same in honorable words. The strong have always derived their living at the behest of the weak in the struggle for limited resources. If we trace history, there are innumerable examples of colonization by the developed world to keep their engines of growth churning. Since the rise of renaissance, free thinking and democracy prevents outright attempts of colonization today, we see an avant-grade and sophisticated manifestation of the desire / need in the name of establishing peace, democracy etcetera. The tool of globalization and liberation provides for the additional ammunition in case the justification is difficult to arrive at. To any extent we might despise our colonization by Britain, but today we are looking at the production of pulses in Africa which might ring a bell to the proximity of Indigo farming without sounding that bad!

The latest illustration can very well be the inflow of forex in the south-east Asian economies. Once they had already borne the brunt of being “open” and yet again they are at the brink of witnessing something similar. In this part of the world a famous dictum mentions - “When elephants fight, the grass gets trampled”, and that is what precisely the currency wars are pointing at. While the giants fight for survival, maintenance and furtherance of their respective interests , the lesser nations are tested for their virility to escape extinction.

chotaLOAN

The concept of rural & marginalized financing popularly known as Micro-Finance has taken deep roots in the developing world after the successful experiment by Dr. Yunus in Bangladesh. The latest case of exemplary performance by one such institution SKS Microfinance has created waves in India. Primarily, conceptualized as a non-profit organization the company was among the first movers who tried to replicate Yunus’s model in India. Boosted by moderately high interest rates and excellent recovery rates over the past few years, the model has not only sustained the culture of small loans but also yielded profits for the company. It was recently listed and the stock shot up by more than 30% within a few days.  It is this listing that has opened Pandora’s box. Discussions today surround the suitability of the so called non-profit institutions being governed by the profit motive, the trend towards money laundering (rather than money lending) and the potential move towards the exploitative practices as already exist in form of the traditional money lenders. Not only this, there had been talks of capping the interest rates charged for these chotaLOANS.

Before going into the policy perspective regarding these institutions, lets first try to find out - Why such institutions are so successful? The answer is actually very simple. In countries like India where more than half of the population lives below a meagre income of $2 per day and where daily wage is the means of livelihood for most; millions of people in rural and urban areas need cash for their extremely small enterprises on a daily frequency. Consider your mohalla’s vegetable vendor or the sunrise doodhwaala, these people need amounts as small as Rs. 500-1000 to buy the items which they can sell to earn profits. These small profits sustain their livelihood. The problem arises when they are not able to finance these tiny amounts (less than what a movie & popcorns in the interval costs us!) and it is here that these micro finance institutions come into picture. If a vegetable vendor can get Rs. 500 in the morning and after day’s work if he is able to sell his quota for a net profit of Rs. 100, he would be more than willing to part with a fraction of the profit - a rupee or so. But if he does not have access to Rs. 500 in the morning he will sleep hungry that night. The rupee paid in return of Rs. 500 for the day doesn’t seems too costly - does it?. But if you look at it in terms of interest rate the annual interest rate turns out to be a whopping 73%. It is here where things have started getting hot -

Most of the micro finance organizations are involved in lending sums between Rs. 100 − 10,000 for short term loans. The rates charged vary from 20% to 50% depending on the kind and term of loans. The protagonists who champion the idea of regulating these interest rates put forward two main arguments - 

1. The comparative argument between the banking rates vis a vis micro finance rates to point out the colossal gap between the two. An agreed cap of ~24% is being favored for a policy decision. 
2. Secondly, they advocate that the noble activity of helping out the farmers and other marginalized sections of the society will soon turn into an insensitive profit churning machine if such institutions are allowed to retain profits and worse if they are allowed to distribute it to share holders.

There might be some grain of truth in the concerns but before taking up the task of regulation we have to look at  the other perspective as well.

As rallied and paraded by the protagonists - “Are the high rates of interest really high?” Consider this - Firstly,  a majority of these loans are unsecured unlike the commercial banking or the traditional money lenders. Secondly, while a customer representative in a commercial bank can cover 100 clients a day, most of these loans are offered through door to door marketing and the collection also takes place in a similar manner. Simply saying the distribution and collection costs are high.

Now coming to the second objection about making profits. Is making money so bad? I wouldn’t agree - While most of these organizations are making money today due to high recovery rates there is a lot of uncertainty. When the prime borrowers can default (as the crises of 2008 has shown), the probability of these marginalized borrowers defaulting is exponentially high. Their incomes are totally dependent on agricultural fortunes (most of the borrowers are directly or indirectly linked to agriculture) and the year the monsoons go bad, there will no end to their miseries forget about payment of debt. The point I am trying to make is that the profits earned by these organizations today can act as a buffer to continue financing tomorrow when the conditions might not be right but the need grave.

It is imperative that the policy makers look at the problem from the perspective of the poor who are getting benefitted from the organizations in question. Rather than limiting the role of these organizations in economic prosperity they should be incentivized to enhance their role in economic development. Along with lending even the process of small savings can be initiated (since they have a well established network and a deeper reach) to free the weaker sections from fraudulent lalas who have for centuries gulped their hard earned pennies. What we need policy for, is the innovation to stimulate entry of new players in the arena and expand competition. It is not only a question of right thing to do but also a question of right way of doing the right thing.