VANDE BHARAT - THE FINEST EXAMPLE OF MAKE IN INDIA BY INDIAN RAILWAYS

Train 18 better known as the Vande Bharat took the country by storm in January this year, and rightly so. The first train set of the nation built indigenously for intercity travel, by the oldest coach manufacturer of India, the Integral Coach Factory of Chennai in a record time and at a cost far below what it would cost to import is no mean achievement, besides being a tremendous example of the make in India initiative.    

The success of the T-18 project also brings out the inherent potential and capability of the gigantic railway system that despite its structural limitations, complex bureaucratic systems and archaic processes remains one of the finest symbols of deliverance in the country.

The “Make in India” initiative of the Prime Minister has instilled national pride and enhanced national prestige besides also emerging as perhaps the finest step in recent times towards nation building, with the Chandrayan and Vande Bharat emerging as brilliant examples of this national resolve.  

Such initiatives are unique for they foster innovation, enhance skill development, protect intellectual property and strengthen the manufacturing infrastructure in the country. The impact of the Make in India initiatives on the economic growth of the country is going to be substantial as they also focus on utilising the existing Indian talent base, creating additional employment opportunities and empowering secondary and tertiary sectors. In the long run the ongoing efforts at streamlining archaic laws and regulations, making bureaucratic processes easier and making the working of the government more transparent, responsive and accountable would lead to  improvement in India’s rank in the Ease of Doing Business index.

The first rake of the Vande Bharat train has been making an uninterrupted run between Delhi and Varanasi sans a failure and that speaks volumes about the quality achieved using indigenous resources. It also demonstrates that our home grown industry is capable of rising to the occasion and manufacturing world class products.

The creation of a new design of rolling stock normally takes a painfully long time for fruition. That the Vande Bharat could be rolled out in a very short time frame of eighteen months by the Integral Coach Factory, Chennai is almost a miracle made possible by a team of bright and bold officers led by the General Manager whose belief in the supremacy of deliverance never wavered. Interestingly the creation of this train was preceded by a plethora of sweeping cultural and environmental transformations with the factory emerging as a glowing example of the change that many organizations in the country have been vying for.

Train Sets for intercity travel so common overseas have been a dream for the nation since the last many decades. While the capability and the intent was never in doubt, what was missing was a driving force that could singlehandedly drive the project to completion through the maze of complex processes, archaic rules and procedural constraints. A breakthrough like this needed single minded resolution, will power in abundance and a monumental team effort.

In addition to transforming the bureaucratic systems, ushering in cultural, procedural and structural reforms and simplifying decision making processes, enabling such initiatives to proliferate would need simplified tendering processes and enhanced quotient of trust within the system. The complexity of the tendering processes coupled with supremacy of the L1 leaves tremendous scope for an interpretation based on hindsight and therefore a scenario where decision making invariably gets mired in bouts of fear.  

At the same time there is a crying need to protect and support those who in the interest of delivery and nation building play on the front foot and at times make mistakes identified as such in the hindsight. Treating genuine mistakes as malafide even if done inadvertently would dampen initiative.

The Vande Bharat initiative has given a new dimension to train travel in India. As a shift to “train set” type of trains for inter-city travel is very much needed and the ability to indigenously manufacture is effectively established, it is only logical that this initiative is aggressively taken forward.

In the national interest it is imperative that one of the finest initiatives ever taken by the railways is not allowed to wither away.

The kings shall rule........

………..always over the hearts and the subjects would happily do all that the kings desire.

One rules only with the heart and keeps the mind safely tucked away as that is how a successful reign would always be. And this advice is not only for the real kings, but for all those who command men and through them need to give results.

This holds good for all sectors, governmental and private.

Yes, as Gandhi said, it would always remain a mystery as to how someone could belittle his subordinates and feel good about it; practice this belittling daily and thereby achieving perfection in the art of disseminating unhappiness all around. You see such practitioners every day, cutting across sectors and state boundaries, practicing this art to the chagrin of many, and fortunately or unfortunately being easily identified by unhappy faces all around. They are mere bosses, not kings, and do not realize that bosses, people detest and kings they love.   

Even a raised eyebrow of a boss hurts, whereas a raised sword of someone we regard as king is calmly accepted, for the king rules from the heart and the boss, bosses from the mind. The heart is always superior to the mind, yet very few of us realize this fundamental and pass our lives in a state of perpetual unhappiness.

Life is to be led to its fullest and to its fullest it can be led only with happiness all around. Only a king lives this way and one need not be born to a royal family to be a king. He only needs to have a heart that he invariably turns to for advice and rules with, with the mind generally remaining oblivious to whatever is happening in the environment all around.

The quest of heart over mind shall continue and one who places the mind over the heart shall generally remain an unhappy soul, creating more unhappy souls whenever and wherever he interacts with others.

The finest and the most successful top guns have been those who have genuine love and affection for the men working under them. Such officials treat their men as their own men, with respect and compassion. The vagaries of rank are not allowed to come up in their relationship that they really cherish and would not allow to be wasted on petty issues. Ego is farthest from their persona, yet they can take a stand on the right issue, a stand that they would never compromise even at the cost of all that they cherish and hold dear. And they take full responsibility for all that is happening in their domain, without making any attempt to pass even an iota of responsibility to those who work for them. Such officials are kings in the real sense, their domain remains their kingdom. 

Bosses invariably fret over mundane issues, while the kings never miss the larger picture, even while appearing to be engrossed in the routine. And the perpetual attempt of the bosses to please their masters shall never be the style of a king for while a king may have a superior but never a master, nor does he regard someone as one.

How we miss kings in the environment we work, for it is there that we need them the most. The rank inability to get the best out of our men is a situation created by a lineage of bosses, who never had the gumption to be kings. Bosses, who aspired for a position for that is all that identified them, and who only regarded a position as a means of bringing about a positive change in their lives as well as that of their families, not the organization they work for and for whom a position was not a means to an end, but was an end in itself.

How we miss kings who can take a stand for what is right and not acquiesce to unholy demands just to avoid a fleeting inconvenience. How we miss kings who would not sell their soul for petty personal gains and realize that such deals are not really worth it. And how we miss kings who always flaunt their pen and never their tongue, a phenomenon witnessed far more often than desirable.

Where have we gone wrong, perhaps in the grooming of the youngsters in general and our own men in particular. We need to course correct and put value systems and the need to place the heart over mind at the forefront of the norms of the society and organizations.

It is time that the thoughts and deeds of great men like Vivekananda and Gandhi are widely disseminated so that they can be imbibed by a large section of the society.

Bringing such changes takes the toil and patience of decades. Are we ready, yes we have to be, for we need our officials to be kings, not a mere instrument for bossing over subordinates.

Battling the machinery

The uphill battle continues. What really foxes me is the mess and the amount of indecision at all levels that must have gone into almost on a continuous basis to achieve the grand mess that we are saddled with today at the national carrier.

Yes it is true that the typical staid way of functioning must have helped a lot, as that alone guarantees maintenance of status quo and hefty premium on non-deliverance. Strange it may sound but in the PSU jungles, it is not the tiger who is the most feared but the cunning fox that surreptitiously appears out of nowhere to claim its prey.

Addressing the young budding management students at the legendary IIT Delhi recently, I was literally at pains to explain to them the unlimited bundle of power that a human being is, yet that power and the potential remains untapped almost forever, with rare exceptions of course. The system that everyone criticizes and mourns for, yet accepts and perpetuates has a tremendous crippling effect. Endless debates and deliberations and yet remaining indecisive over even petty matters is the hallmark of the system.

It is a fact that the new government is trying its level best to pull the nation out of the accumulated mess of almost seventy odd years. No new scam hitting the nation since the present dispensation took over is at stark contrast with the legacy that they inherited. There is stress on integrity and value systems and interference is almost absent. Honest intentions are also conspicuous by their shining presence. While we are indeed witness to good strides in governance and development, yet the fact remains that a quantum growth and improvement would be possible only if the machinery radically changes the way it has been working. If it keeps working in the way it has been all along in the past, we would keep on getting the results we had been getting in the past. A total overhaul is required. Simplification is the name of the game. Things have to be made simple to happen and they shall.

The role of the check-posts, namely the vigilance and audit setups has to be reviewed and drastically curtailed. Malafide has to be handled with an iron hand, mistakes need to be merely glossed over. Trust in human beings has to be brought back and also the realization that if mere punishments could reform, crime would have hit a new low in India by now.

The recent facebook post of the coal secretary in which he has laid the blame for the lack of initiative at the feet of the five C’s is like hitting the nail bang on the head. That the 5C’s including the CVC and the CAG have succeeded in curbing initiative is a statement of fact that I have been living almost all my life. Initiative for an officer working within the governmental machinery is a personal risk for which he may end up bearing the cross all his life. And many therefore ask - why risk it, when a life devoid of initiative provides the same personal comforts sans pressures and also keeps the door open for elevation to the highest levels. Premium is there, but only for doing nothing.

Process reform is the key. Almost everyone appreciates it but hardly understands the same. It is indeed all about simplification of the decision making and contractual processes that swamp the governmental machinery. Unfortunately over the decades, in the garb of transparency and curbing corruption, almost all processes have been complicated to ridiculous levels. And therefore most of us who are not satisfied with merely twiddling our thumbs, are often at a loss for how to proceed forward and do things. And having worked in almost all sectors of the machinery, I can say with the courage of conviction that this maze is omnipresent.

The maze has to lift for the jewel of the east to rapidly emerge from the shadows. 

Random musings

The chasm between field and head offices is an ever widening one. Those in the field always have a grouse against those comfortably settled in apex offices and wonder why the field realities remain invisible to these guys who really matter. And the very same guy on being kicked upwards to apex offices conveniently avoids the ground realities in favour of his warped perceptions and continues to be regarded in the same league as he regarded those above him, earlier. The relay continues with a lot of unhappy people emerging all around.

I have always wondered why field postings are meant for relatively junior and the headquarter postings for those born much earlier. Perhaps it is the general perception that wiser people should inhabit the superior offices and the not so wise, the lowly ones. This, despite the fact that it is predominantly the work at the field level that decides the fate of organizations whether they move forward or stay where they are.

On the other hand, the work of the superior offices is to provide vision and direction besides facilitating the working of their subordinate units, activities that they rarely indulge into. Unfortunately they end up attempting to monitor what the field units are doing, without generally providing any value addition whatsoever and therefore are regarded more as an evil that one has to live with than an office one usually looks up to.

Why shouldn’t then field offices have a status much higher than the head offices? And postings then should also follow this logic with sheer competence, not rank in the hierarchical set up deciding where exactly the bureaucratic bloke should park his backside upon.  Seniority then should not really matter and even the seniormost bloke, if competent should be parked in an assignment where his capabilities and talent can be best utilized. On the other hand even a junior official if perceived to have vision can be positioned in assignments in head offices where providing vision and direction is the major concern.

After all positions within bureaucratic setups should be positions of authority and responsibility, not merely positions of power and the aim has to be delivery, not merely positioning of men in hierarchical assignments.

Railways is a classic example of an organization where the field formations are generally treated with contempt by superior offices that themselves repeatedly on many occasions prove their irrelevance. Yet there is a race for superior yet irrelevant positions for the field is regarded as inferior to setups ensconced in ivory towers.

When shall we wake up to the reality that positions that impart power and authority are merely roles that one plays and each role has its own relevance? Regarding one role as superior to the other is a folly that most of us commit. After all real progress can only be achieved by a confluence of roles, all working in tandem with each other.   

Building castles on foundations of mud!

I find it strange, unacceptable and often hilarious whenever I witness bureaucrats buckling under pressure, more often than not for reasons that are not above board.  What right someone in authority has, to pressurize sub-ordinates to do what is not right for the organization or the nation, and continuing on a similar vein, what right the dam subordinate has for doing what he ends up doing while toeing the line of the unethical superior.

The previous year and a half made me and many of my elk witness acts that no sane organization should ever have to witness, acts of gross impropriety committed by none other than those supposed to lead by example. And the blatant manner in which these acts were and are still committed, with vehement vengeance at their core are pointers to a saga that is much more sordid than what appears on the surface. Perhaps times have changed and so have the methods. Obviously the acceptability of unethical practices has gained ground and being ethical is out of fashion in our society. 

And corruption is indeed the biggest malaise staring at the nation, yet unfortunately not regarded as such and that indeed is the sad story of governance. The tentacles of corruption are so widely spread that almost every single interaction of the ordinary citizen with the sarkari tantra is laced with graft, cutting across political, sectoral and state boundaries. How the hell will we really move forward in such a scenario should be the biggest worry of all those who matter in the matter of governance in this nation, but do they one wonders? 

What is even worse is the fact that grossly improper conduct has accompanied the penchant for putting the hands in the till. In the good old days, those in the sarkari sector who had a tilt towards milching the organization they worked for, generally maintained a façade of an impeccable conduct for perhaps deep inside their hearts they actually faulted their indulgence in unethical practices. But not anymore, with putting the hand in the till being considered a birth-right nowadays. And therefore the sordid spectacle of loot coupled with the lowliest form of conduct almost bordering on the inhuman that we all have been sad and silent witnesses to.

Yet we look the other way till our own turn comes and only then we cry out load against injustice, a scenario played often in the social environment we inhabit.

Good governance is the magic word of the present times. But should it not begin with emphasis on and also strict adherence to ethical and moral value systems. Shouldn’t’ eradication of corruption and propagating the need for maintaining an impeccable conduct amongst all those in the seva of the sarkar be the first major step in the direction of providing good governance? Great things will indeed happen, but only after the basics have been taken care of and inculcating the same is not really difficult. It is my belief borne out of experience that each and every one of us longs for Ram-Raj provided it is for real and not merely in name. 

Personally, after having gone through the grind lasting almost three decades and a half, I am neither in favor of nor believe that castles can ever be built on muddy foundations.

Mother Tongue in the Mother Land

The half baked sarkari attempts to implement hindi in Hindustan have always saddened me. I always regarded it blasphemous to implement the mother tongue in the mother land. Yet the efforts have continued since the nation came on its own during its tryst with destiny. And we created establishments whose primary job was to promote Rajbhasha, or the commonly spoken hindi within the plethora of sarkari setups in the country. Yet despite these attempts marked by a casual approach in almost all associated activities, the usage of our mother tongue has remained barely confined to name-boards, signage’s, noting sheets, a few official communiques and some ceremonial functions. The march of English on the other hand has continued unabated.

I often wonder whether there is any other country in the world other than ours where such attempts are being made, and despite my best efforts could not locate any so far. Perhaps our dabbling in the absurd is regarded as such by the rest of the world or maybe it is regarded as illogical and beyond comprehension by those who look upon their motherland and everything associated with it with a sense of national pride. Yet if our intentions were indeed genuine, we would have achieved the target a long time ago.

And almost everything retains the flavour and bias for English, beginning from infancy till we kick the bucket, to the extent that even in social interactions, people conversing in the mother tongue are looked down and often frowned upon. So is it in conferences, seminars and even discourses when one finds someone rarely using the mother tongue to communicate. And why not – our educational system is grounded in English with the hindi medium schools not qualifying even as a distant cousin to their English counterparts.

Even the authors and also the readers of hindi literature are regarded many notches below their counterparts in other languages. This bias permeates even the bureaucracy with the hindi speaking bureaucrats called “desi” in local parlance being regarded inferior to the one who frequently and also fluently dabbles in English.

During trysts abroad we notice foreigners generally communicating in their mother tongue without much concern for the ability of the receiver to absorb a language he may be unfamiliar with.  And the best part is that they are never apologetic about that, because for them it is the most normal thing to do. Indeed it should be!

And therefore the recent change with the chief executive of the nation speaking in hindi even during his visits overseas is gratifying to say the least. His stress on the mother tongue almost always in all his interactions is indeed genuine and also rare if we take into consideration many of those who earlier adorned the highest chair in the land. And that is what has given many of us that rare feeling of national pride surfacing after a long time. After all, only identifying ourselves with the core values and culture this nation stands for is going to give our society happiness and progress in the truest sense.

ethics in governance is the need of the hour

The recent arrest of a Director level officer handling allotment of coaches was shocking for the nation, but not for many of those who throng its economic lifeline. Perhaps in his own assessment, the officer was merely doing what he thought was his birth-right, having seen at close quarters what many of his elk have been seen indulging into.

Mahesh Kumar through his act of attempting to buy his place into a seat of power and money achieved infamy as an icon of corruption. At that time many thought that the organization has seen its nadir and that the government would have no option other than stepping in to stem the rot. Unfortunately all such hopes were dashed when the sordid saga continued unabated with blatant and brazen acts of corruption being witnessed daily. In fact with time they picked up speed and those who were bracketed in the honest variety quietly slipped into the shadows.   

And the sordid acts continued – the side lining of a very senior and fine officer for the top job and his subsequent harassment, blatant dispensing of favours to contractors for consideration, making the office meet household requirements and gross abysmal conduct of those in high place. On the other  hand we also witnessed many being moved from the confines of their cozy homes to becoming jailbirds, notable being the case of two officers working in the censor board and IRCTC.

And then the toilet thing happened where a senior officer was shunted merely because he played the role of a custodian and refused to succumb to demands that smacked of gross unethical conduct.   

Even while the officer community was reeling under the shock of these expose, the coaching scandal burst on the scene with almost a vengeance. It appeared as if some were trying to outwit the other in looting the organization that gives us our daily bread.

The organization bleeds incessantly and the corrupt revel.

But should they be allowed to? Is it not the time for all those who have the interest of the organization uppermost in their mind to come forward and save it from the clutches of the corrupt? Is it not the time for the honest minority to say “this far and no further” and then act accordingly? Shouldn't the national interest take overriding priority over everything else, even at the cost of harm to oneself that may occur in the process?

The answer is “Yes”. The silent minority of the honest and the right minded should not allow itself to be swept away by the torrent of the corrupt and self-seekers.  

For the first time in the history of the nation we have a Prime Minister who is brutally honest and also extremely intense about his intent to pull the nation out of the abyss that it finds itself in. All of us have to be on his side, not merely seen to be so but by battling corruption and sloth in whatever territory we find ourselves to be. That indeed shall be the best homage to the land of the Mahatma.   

Tigers and Foxes in bureaucratic jungles!

It is not as if the jungles are bereft of tigers – met one in a bhawan today and another a couple of weeks earlier. It is just that in a "no watering hole" jungle full of sheep, monkeys, foxes and coconut trees, tigers have become a rare commodity, are therefore rarely visible and have apparently ceded territory to the wily foxes out of frustration. And such jungles therefore do not gel and make many wonder about authenticity and also whether it is real or just a make believe.

And the sheep, apparently simple and spineless creatures who can be lured by anyone in any direction throng the jungle in the hope that the wily fox in a rare display of compassion would throw some crumbs that they would be equally fast to grab. The sheep in the hope of crumbs are always eager to dump their fellow brethren at the altar of the wily fox at the slightest opportunity.  Unfortunately many of the sheep are actually hypnotized tigers who have forgotten their strength under the influence of the fox that is busy milking the jungle dry.

And the monkeys true to their nature always present a continuous display of jumping from one tree to the other and from one branch to the other mainly to create a ruckus and convey an impression of vibrancy in an otherwise dead environment.  

And the coconut trees, unable to provide even a semblance of shade to the weary complete the incompleteness of the jungle. The stark absence of watering holes completes the saga.  

And the jungle therefore fails to produce anything beyond what the nature automatically does. 

What a jungle – not even a remote cousin of Kanha or Bandhavgarh. In Bandhavgarh it is almost impossible to miss a tiger and in the jungles of Delhi – one bumps only into foxes or their all-pervading smell and influence unless of course one is lucky like I have been today to have bumped into a bubbly tiger raring to romp.  

A single tiger controls a jungle, provide he realizes his lineage. And if he does not then the fox shall rule – the most wily of them shall be the most vicious. The few tigers left in the jungle have to rise and put the jungle in order. They have to emerge from the wilderness and show the foxes their rightful place. Yes they can only if they decide to……..  

Railway Reforms - Article published in TOI of 1st July 2014

Jul 01 2014 : The Times of India (Delhi)

INSIDE VIEW- Railways in decline, it's time for overhaul

Ashwani Lohani





That Railways, the great monolith often christened as the economic lifeline of the nation, is in for a major overhaul is both sad as well as gratifying. After all, even the most modern machines require periodic overhauls and therefore why not organizations?
Actually , the Railways are in crying need for an overhaul.
The recent spate of accidents and the general public perception of an organization that still delivers where many others fail to, albeit not up to the satisfaction of customers, is the sad story of the Railways.It's an organization that carries over 20 million passengers a day and over thousand million tonnes of freight a year. But, it has almost reached its limits in its present shape and structure. And that's where the nub lies. There's no longer time to beat about the bush -rather it's time to call a spade a spade.
An archaic, feudal and sycophantic organization steeped in complex processes cannot be expected to meet the expectations of 21st century India.
Its three-tier structure on departmental lines, with a redundant tier in the middle, with its cadres aligned on similar lines is the real issue that is preventing a monopoly commercial organization from meeting the country's aspirations.
At one level, the well-researched reports made by persons of eminence -Prakash Tandon, Rakesh Mohan and Kakodkar need to be acted upon. At another level, the organizational structure needs to be shaken.
The famous Railgate scandal that surfaced and shook the nation almost a year ago failed to make any dent in the collective psyche of the organization. What emerged was just one symptom of a flourishing malaise, but the disease continues to grow unchecked.
How can an organization, often considered the epitome of corrupt practices, meet the needs of a rapidly emerging nation?
Leadership or the lack of it has been a key issue with this gigantic organization. Vision has been the biggest casualty .
The departmental structure is the underlying reason behind this as it has created satraps, each with their own jagir. This has created a situation where almost everyone always has a perfectly valid reason for not delivering.
The arrival of a new government has signalled chang ing times and hope, both in the hearts of the common man and the honest bureaucrat.
Hopefully , the reasons behind the Railways performing below par and also regularly failing to meet the expectations of a nation on the move would now find suitable redressal.
Look at history . It took less than 25 years for the quadrilateral connecting the four metros to be built, and each hill railways took less than a decade to be commissioned. And, this happened in an era when both technology and transportation were primitive. That 80% of the route we have at present was built in the first 94 years with 20% taking the next 67 years says it all.
The solution lies in simplifying the maze of complex rules, procedures and processes that this monolith is mired in, spurred primarily by a feeling of mistrust that pervades like mist. The answer lies in restructuring and trimming the huge bureaucracy that complicates this organization each passing day .
Increasing route kilometres by quadrupling the golden quadrilateral to begin with, creating the much-needed new passenger and freight terminals and ushering in an era of real high-speed travel, among other goals, would necessitate a radically different approach that is beyond the capabilities of the existing structure.
Basic improvements, therefore, would need to be followed up by measures that usher in a true corporate culture. The nation cannot be held to ransom by an organization that underperforms in a target-driven business scenario.

Political Will Alone Can Contain Graft

POLITICAL WILL ALONE CAN CONTAIN GRAFT

Monday, 16 June 2014 | Ashwani Lohani | in Oped

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Prime Minister Modi’s June 11 address in Parliament was sincere and simple, which is why it impressed millions and re-affirmed their faith in his leadership

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address in Parliament on June 11 was magnificent. Never before in the history of the republic have we witnessed a Prime Minister touching the chords in the hearts of the people of his nation to the extent witnessed that day. His words aroused emotions and his simple strategies made people identify with them.

Amongst other issues, he focussed on rampant corruption that has earned the tag of a scam-ridden nation for the country. Mr Modi promised pro-active action against corruption, transparent policies that reduced the scope for discretion and extensive use of information technology for curbing this menace. Mr Modi has hit the nail on the head. Corruption is indeed the biggest malaise facing the nation. It is so deep-rooted that almost every interaction of the commoner with the Government machinery is invariably laced with graft and, therefore, he suffers every time he gets his property registered, gets an electric connection, applies for a driving licence, and so on. The plight of those running businesses is worse. For example, with over a 100 clearances needed for running a hotel, an entrepreneur is forced to satisfy the desires of the Government babus before starting his venture and continue to do so in perpetuity for the sake of his survival. It is this petty corruption that is indeed killing the denizens of this nation many times more than the scams that have been hitting the nation.

Reducing discretion would indeed reduce the scope for corruption, but the corrupt thrives not out of wavering from the set path for illegal gratification, but for doing the right thing. It is his price for not lolling in inaction, for not delaying files or partaking of a cheque for genuine work done. Masters in the art of corruption would vouch that they also made money not by doing the wrong things but by forcing their subordinates to do so for fear of retribution in the form of transfers, bad confidential reports and other harassment. It is this corruption that would indeed be the most difficult to tackle for there would be no direct evidence against the masters anywhere on the files.

Deterrent punishment would indeed be the answer. Unless fear is instilled in the hearts of the corrupt that detection of any wrongdoing on their part or on the part of their subordinates on their instance would lead to very heavy punishment, those in the services of the Government would never give up acts that gives them a luxurious lifestyle that mere salaries would never ensure. Simplification is the answer. In the generally prevalent scheme of things, the plethora of thumb impressions that adorn every single act of commission or omission successfully camouflage the corrupt as well as the incompetent. It is indeed time that archaic rules and processes — many of which have been further tweaked to the extent of appearing ridiculous — be shown the door.

Time-bound decisions and acts is the call of the day. Delays are generally spurred by inefficiency, corruption and at times merely sloth, yet laying the finger on the exact cause is more often than not extremely difficult. Laying down stringent timelines may help, yet would need to be followed up with extensive monitoring and severe punishments in cases of violations. It however needs appreciation that in the already complex maze of official systems and procedures one more process and monitoring machinery thereof would only give temporary results unless of course a massive simplification exercise reduces the burden and in the process improves efficiency.

The address by Mr Modi is a milestone, for it is perhaps for the first time in the history of independent India that its chief executive has on the floor of Parliament displayed his resolve to eradicate corruption from the everyday lives of the common man. A major cause for celebration indeed!

Do we need bullet trains?

The answer is yes with a but, the but being that running more trains as well as longer trains so that all those desirous of traveling can get a confirmed seat should have a higher priority over mere speed. The constraint in increasing the number of trains to suit the demand stems from the reality that major trunk routes are now saturated due to the yearly addition of new trains with scant regards to the infrastructural bottlenecks and much warranted systemic improvements.

Nevertheless, even considering that saving a few hours is to be pegged at a higher pedestal than meeting the basic expectations of the traveling public, the fact remains that the existing tracks even on the golden quadrilateral would not suffice as running a couple of bullet trains would drastically reduce the train carrying capacity of the lines, thereby increasing shortages even further. Moreover With airfares almost matching upper class fares on the track, those wanting to save time or forgoing the hassles of long distance invariably travel by air. This category would continue to do so even if the travel time is reduced to half unless of course the experience itself makes up for the extra time spent.

This brings us to the fundamental reality that quadrupling of important tracks is indeed an essential prerequisite before a path breaking exercise like bullet trains or even large scale increase in the existing trains can be considered. Considering the mess that the railways find itself in, it is apparent that time has come when the private sector and private funding should be involved in the building and operation of new tracks, new overhead equipment, new rolling stock and new terminals through the PPP route, for besides the money, it would also be many times faster than the existing methodology. 

Sometime back it was reported that a high level delegation went beyond the shores of the country to scout for suitable technology for bullet trains. Unfortunately it is not only about technology, it is about running an organization well, it is about vision, it is about being responsive to the changing environment, it is about connectedness of the organization to the clients and the men who run the show. It saddens me that an organization, a commercial one at that continues to perform miserably even in the best possible business scenario – monopoly, sellers-market and a burgeoning middle class.

Yet dream we must for only those who dream, dare and railways has indeed been waiting for big ticket improvements and reforms. If our clients want bullet trains give it to them, but at the same time also give them the other things in their well justified wish list, like the ability to travel when they like, clean trains and stations and above all a better managed railway that can compete with railway networks in the developed world.  

There is a lot to learn from history. Is it not amazing that in the nineteenth century it took a mere two decades and a half for the four major cities to be linked regardless of the absence of technology and planning tools that we have today? The pace at which the hill railways were built, all five of them is also equally amazing for after over a hundred years of technological advancements and breakthroughs we feel exasperated that mere paper work takes more time than what our ancestors took to build. 

For the nation to indeed live the big ticket dreams in the railway sector, a totally out of the box thinking and execution methodology would have to be resorted to. Unfortunately the monolith being mired in its own archaic thinking and processes would resist change, yet would have to come around if it has to emerge as the engine of economic growth in a now resurgent India.  

Public Sector can Excel!

The public sector enterprises have miles to go and they can provided...............

That ITDC the only central public sector enterprise in the hospitality sector is deeply in reds is a news that saddens yet reflects the state of the nation. On a lighter note one feels that a lot of effort must have gone in over the years to achieve this distinction considering that the hospitality business is inherently and also highly profitable. The reasons for the debacle indicated in the news item are simply unacceptable.  

It is indeed sad that the latent strength of the temples of modern India, the Indian public sector enterprises lies untapped even after over sixty years of existence as a free nation. It defies common business sense that many of these commercial enterprises set up with public funds and backed by the state are underperforming yet many of them continue to do so. The reason lies in inept management as generally the apex level positions are filled not based on performance or leadership traits but on other criterion or considerations. That the shades of ownership and mere technicalities are not issues that matter and what really matters is the commitment, zeal and integrity of the top guy is a fundamental premise that needs widespread acceptance.

Air India and ITDC are text book examples of profitable business enterprises being bled to death by inept managements. Despite the general public opinion being to the contrary, blaming political masters or the external environment for the ills of the company merely diverts attention and shrouds the real causes. The fact remains that the companies act and the memorandum of articles of the enterprise sufficiently empower the chief executives to ward of any hostile threats to the efficient working of the enterprise, yet in many cases the chief executives either fail to lead or else succumb to pressures and attractions. 

My stint as the head honcho of the Delhi division, the largest division of the mighty railway system of the country firmly reinforced my belief in the goodness and the immense utility of men at large. It also reinforced my belief that the primary problem of the nation is neither the politicos, nor the unions; it is the bureaucracy that with passage of time has evolved into a self seeking organism. The bureaucratic clan indeed has to take the major blame for the pitiable condition the nation and organizations like the ITDC and Air India find themselves in.

My two stints as a public sector honcho, namely the short-lived stint at the India Tourism Development Corporation and later at the Madhya Pradesh State Tourism Development Corporation reinforced my belief that CEO positions in public sectors are primarily leadership positions. Any CEO who does not appreciate this basic premise is bound to fall flat on the face and that is what has been happening regularly in the Indian public sector scenario. Giving a short shrift to this premise while making selections for apex positions ensures a mediocre future existence for the enterprise, a situation not healthy for the economy.

My stint at the India Tourism Development Corporation coincided with the aggressiveness that was then being displayed in the disinvestment of the public sector and also the 9/11 incident which affected tourism worldwide. The combined synergy of both the events made the revival an almost impossible exercise, yet the unprecedented turnaround that the company witnessed in 2002-3 was the result of a massive team effort, a team effort that even the junior-most of the employees identified himself with. Doubts over the ability of the public sector to perform at par or even better than the private were also successfully laid to rest.

The iconic success of the Madhya Pradesh Tourism in finding its place in the big league of Indian tourism and also the unprecedented financial turnaround of the state tourism corporation was fuelled by the same employees of the once beleaguered corporation who were earlier being blamed for the mess that the state tourism corporation was in. Posting over 30% growth year on year by a state public sector undertaking that had already hit the bottom and was being actively considered for a sell-off again proved that a turnaround is possible provided the top guy has employee focus and is committed to the growth of the company.

Any commercial enterprise, be it the local pan ki dukaan or a towering corporation is only as good as its leader, or in other words its top guy. The top guy has to have leadership qualities and by his words and deeds, should be able to command the unquestioned loyalty of his men. Everything else is secondary, yet unfortunately most of the top guys only look upwards and display extreme keenness to be identified as the blue eyed boys of the powers that be. Blue eyed boys they become, but they lose the company and that is what has happened with most of the commercial enterprises that have gone downhill or are performing below par.

The top guys also have to be able to distinguish between the “effort to deliver” and the “decision to deliver”. While the effort part is good and appreciable, the decision part is almost mandatory. Unless the company led by its top guy decides to deliver, the effort will almost always never bear fruit. It is also sad that generally, the top management gets busy in the “how” and remains busy in the same while the corporation continues its downhill slide. That the “will” to improve is far more vital than the “how’s” and “why’s” needs appreciation.

And lastly, any commercial enterprise that works in a competitive environment, howsoever profitable the sector may be, has to have its foundations firmly in the ground, grouted in value systems that are universally accepted as good and also good practices. Stamping down corruption and other vices should therefore remain the principal focus of the chief executive who should lay this issue on the table and lead by personal example.

The public sector always attracts criticism on grounds of non-performance due to sarkari ownership. Yet with sound commercial sense, the ownership pattern can turn out to be the biggest strength of the company provided the CEO has leadership traits. He is the pivot and he is the one who can take the company forward or sink it. The buck like in any commercial organization stops at the chief executive even in a public sector undertaking. 

Greatness gone sour!

Benoy touched the core of the heart of everyone who had assembled at the bhartiya vidya bhawan for the two day course on art history and appreciation the last weekend. The course was also unique as it was attended by a senior cabinet minister Kumari Shailja who was conspicuous by the total absence of the trappings of power that people in her rank have a flair for display. It is rare that one came across a minister who was almost human and humane.

For me the course was also unique in that it was the first class in which my young one sat with me as an equal, for there can never be and should never be differentiation between students.

The course was interspersed with beautiful films produced by Benoy during the course of his travels in search of the Indian art, both in the form of paintings as well as sculptures. That till almost the 5^th or 6^th century, the art was inspired by love for the divine and all his creations after which it started withering in favor of the sponsors and the rulers was indeed the most powerful thought that emanated from the discourse. The various art forms that were created in the early times, inspired by the divine were true creations of love and therefore every single creation was a masterpiece. This is in stark contrast to the art of the present times that is driven by crass commercial interests and therefore most of it is of the pedestrian variety with only a few clearing the masterpiece criterion.

Benoy dwelt at length on the joy of painting and sculpting in ancient times. There were no portraits and never was the name of artist mentioned on the art form. Portraits and the practice of the artist projecting himself however started around the mugal era and has perpetuated since then. In the present times, the contemporary Indian art as they call it is chiefly inspired by the love of the moolah and the desire to be known, and therein lies the major difference in the quality of the art.

Perhaps it is the same in all fields. A work performed with crass commercial interests or for the sake of self perpetuation is bound to be inferior to one that is inspired by the love and the joy of creation. Be it a teacher imparting education to children or a musician stringing his guitar or even a chief executive of an organization performing his role, a performance inspired by the good of the society and the joy of creation is always far superior even to a one that is toned by the latest technology and/or marred by self serving interests.

What a fall, not only in the field of art is perhaps a striking thought that comes to mind after the course. Another thought that comes to mind is the greatness of the Indian nation in ancient times, a nation so developed economically and spiritually that it defies conventional logic when we look at the present times of absolute depravity and self aggrandizement especially amongst the ruling classes. 

What is life without a beacon!

The rulers must indeed be shell shocked. Absolutely unfair on the part of the highest court of this land to come down so heavily on all those for whom the beacon is an essential part of their identity. Unfair for the guy who as a youngster cleared the civil services enthused by the while ambassador with a beacon atop that he would one day envelop himself with. Yes for a nation the mandarins of which adorn themselves with symbols not with successes or commitment, the recent castigation by the supreme judicial body of the land would have come as a bolt from the blue.

That the primary purpose of power is not the welfare of the masses, but self aggrandizement is an Indian reality that is realized fairly early by all those who are poised to rise in the cesspool of national governance. A beacon atop a white ambassador is therefore regarded as the most powerful symbol of a bloke who has indeed arrived.  It conveys to the aam aadmi the movement of someone powerful from the ruling clan. Clan it is despite democracy, a reality that is sad indeed! The unfair utilization of men in khaki ostensibly for guarding the bloke, but actually for giving him an aura that he does not deserve yet flaunts also deserves castigation and abolition on lines of the recent beacon episode.

The social milieu lays stress on symbols, not deliverance and therefore worships men who flaunt power and status, not those who place values and nation above self. The rapid decline in moral values cutting across the social fabric and our collective failure to attain a respectable place in the comity of nations are starkly visible traits of this national malaise.

I find it sad as well as strange that this land of the Mahatma is rapidly proceeding at variance with all that the great man laid stress on. His simplicity and truthfulness stands out in sharp contrast with the traits of the men in power today. If a man’s life is indeed his message, I shudder to think of the message that the national governance machinery is collectively emanating and the impact that it is having on the future generations.

We shall reap what we sow.

Amen!

Amazing bosses!

The sheer wealth of knowledge that bosses generally have and also put on the shelf for the benefit of subordinates amazes me no end. Like the ganges that originates from the locks of lord shiva and freely flows down Himalayas and then the plains enrichening the lives of the inhabitants of the gangetic plain, the amazing wealth of knowledge that bosses have been known to possess flows freely in the form of words for the benefit of the wide mouthed subordinates generally witnessed sitting spellbound.

The subordinates on the other hand cannot be faulted for an absolute lack of knowledge and a dumb posterior in the awesome presence of knowledgeable bosses. After all do not humans beings since time immemorial feel dwarfed in the presence of tall symbols of the lord almighty even if of stone. The absolute knowledge of the bosses on almost all issues under the sun dwarfs the invariably dumb and gaping subordinates, who generally deserve no mercy.

The ability to amazingly switch from being the epitome of knowledge to a dumb subordinate and visa versa has been the key to success of some of the most successful officers who have occupied the highest echelons at various tiers including the apex. Yet I have wondered throughout the over thirty three years of my service as to how a mere mortal transforms into a fountainhead of knowledge and intelligence even if self professed, within hours of occupying the bosses chair. Maybe the encouragement given by the wide mouthed gaping subordinates hastens the transformation process.  

If only the subordinates were knowledgeable enough and had better role clarity, the bosses would definitely have pulled the organization and the nation out from the morass they are in. The blame therefore squarely lies on the shoulders of the subordinates, and the bosses rightfully claim appreciation for the tiny steps forward that they are able to take despite the baggage of unworthy subordinates.

A worthy boss changes like a chameleon to an unworthy subordinate in the presence of his superior in rank, a quality precisely suited for a rapid rise up the hierarchy in the bureaucratic arena and therefore finding large scale emulation. The sheer ignorance of a few like me of the need for a rapid switch between roles would therefore definitely demand its toll in this highly vibrant bureaucratic environment powered by transformation technology.

Amen!

Is there light around the corner?

The next rail budget is round the corner.

A commercial organization in monopoly in a sellers market in a nation inhabited by over a thousand and three hundred million should ideally have no reason to belie the expectations of its clients as well as constituents. Yet it has successfully belied the expectations of almost all it came in contact with during the last over three decades.

Where have we faulted and is there a salvation?

Is it not sad that I, a true railwayman to the core and fairly senior one at that have no expectations from the ensuing budget, and there may be many more of the same variety. Having been a silent witness to thirty three budgets in my career spanning as many years, I have learnt not to nurture hopes from such annual rituals. A ritual is what the budget has now become, a ritual that merely places the accounts of the current and the forecast for the ensuing financial year on the table along with a few sops for the public at large.   

A budget is meant to be a statement, a statement of the efficiency and purpose of an organization, of its goals and aspirations and of a new vision or direction. A budget of a commercial organization is expected to be a pointer of the direction that the organization is expected to take in the coming year and therefore should logically result in actionables that drive the organization to achieve the figures and also the intent. Unfortunately it has generally never been so.  

It is also true that for a developing nation like ours and an organization like the railways, mere announcement of intentions is not meant to be the end all. Intentions if not backed by a solid commitment of purpose can only serve as a temporary shroud for gains that can at best be short term in nature.

The convenient lack of clarity on whether we are a commercial organization or the sarkar itself has been the bane of this monolith, almost since the time the nation came on its own. An archaic and bloated bureaucracy, the nine verticals of which are often at war with each other would always find it difficult to deliver what the nation aspires for. Yet its sheer inability to restructure itself on commercial lines from the present departmental one has indeed been the reason behind the organization not being able to live up to national aspirations. The recommendations submitted on many occasions by eminent economists have been gathering dust in an organization that desperately needs to modernize and corporatize in the national interest.

It is also necessary that our processes, both for taking decisions as well as entering into contracts are simplified and brought at least at par with other governmental systems in the country, if not on total commercial lines. Yet, on the contrary, the over bloated bureaucracy that rarely differentiates between deliverance and remaining busy continues to make mountains out of molehills. 

If only the ensuing budget is not merely a statement of figures and a few announcements, but instead a statement of avowed objectives and time frames thereof backed by a resolve to take all necessary steps to achieve the same, the greatness of this organization would indeed be redeemed.

If only wishes were horses...................

The trauma lingers on!

Merely having a department of administrative reforms does not really mean that the government is serious about reforming the administrative machinery for governing the nation. Similarly mere statements, howsoever sombre they appear have no relationship whatsoever with the true intentions of the political or bureaucratic class of our nation. 

Sham is the word, a nation of shams and pretenses. 

I was recently saddened on learning about the summary transfer of an officer because he refused to carry out the illegal verbal orders of a powerful resident of the second floor. The initial shock was followed by a sense of apathy for the organization and its senior blokes who shy away from taking a stand even on the side of righteousness. What is the fun in being categorized as a senior bloke if one cannot stand up for his own subordinates in front of the powers that really matter? The pain intensifies when  these very spineless blokes ridicule and ride rough shod over their own team members for flimsy reasons.

In recent times, the nation also witnessed fiery debates in the aftermath of the "Nirbhaya" rape incident. Shameful it was to witness the educated class debating on the merits and demerits of capital punishment and whether the juvenile who by his actions defiled and almost murdered the girl deserves leniency just because he has not turned eighteen. I wonder whether the people who advocated leniency for the juvenile delinquent and also those who expressed their rabid distaste for capital punishment would have given the same opinion if their sister or daughter had undergone trauma similar to Nirbhaya. Hypocrites, a nation full of them!

Perhaps it all boils down to lack of integrity and genuineness cutting across the national fabric, a nation marching to its doom. But where did we go wrong? Perhaps during our tryst with destiny in 1947, we were like a small child whose parents have declared absolute democracy and total equality to all the constituents of the family, irrespective of their maturity levels. The child would go astray and so have we as a nation. Yet, redemption is possible but only at the hands of a true leader who has the gumption to take the nation forward, not merely his own family and supplicants. 

Being hindu, in god and destiny we trust.

Amen!

Frightening Railways!

The existing state of affairs in the railways frightens me.

That the major issues of any large organization should always remain on the radar of the top management is a philosophy that is being defied with impunity in the organization. What is also being defied are the well established roles defined for the board, headquarters and divisional offices with almost everyone jumping on the bandwagon to perform mundane jobs. Mundane jobs because perhaps they come naturally even to those in the hierarchy who are meant to impart vision and a sense of direction to the organization.

It saddens me to witness that the use of intemperate language in meetings, discussions, file notings and official communications is on the ascension. Frayed tempers, high decibels and use of abusive language, traits that are identified with family owned under performing business houses have started emerging as a hallmark in the functioning of the railway bureaucracy. A grand spectacle of one up man ship based on belittling others is on display almost always in the ministry and headquarters offices. That the working of a commercial organization that is in monopoly in a massive sellers market can be unpleasant to the core is a reality that can be experienced only within the confines of the railways.    

It defies logic that after almost a hundred and sixty years of existence, we still lack clarity on the type of organization we are. We swing alternately from being a department of the government to a commercial setup and end up being neither. Our performance therefore takes a direct hit as we have perhaps emerged as one of the finest examples of a commercial setup defying the established practices and systems that should be the building blocks of any setup that identifies itself with commercial activities.

The smooth rise of mediocrity up the hierarchial ladder is a cause of discomfiture for all those, and there are still many of the kind, who have the welfare of the organization as their sole concern. Yet the state of affairs is likely to continue as long as pygmies continue to hold sway in this organization that till recently had a great prefixed to its name. How times change, for the worse?