IT Policy suggestions

The IT policy laid out by the State of Andhra Pradesh is very exhaustive and encouraging and covers a lot of good points. I humbly submit suggestions for adding a couple more: The Industrial or IT policy of the newly formed state should be encouraging to employ local Andhra Pradesh students/professionals. For a very long time, the cream of the crop from Visakhapatnam , Vijaywada, Tirupathi, Ananthapur and other big towns of A.P have been going to Hyderabad or may be Bangalore and Chennai for jobs. It is very important that we provide employment opportunities for people to stay back in these big towns and be a part of the growth. . Therefore, the IT Policy should address that ‘local’ employment for both short and long term. I suggest – a. The policy should request at least 50% employment from ‘local’ professionals graduated from local colleges or professionals that belong to that area. ‘Locals’ are defined by graduates who have done their college in the region or part of their schooling in the region or parents worked or lived there for at least 2 years in the region. This may be cumbersome to provide the data, but it helps the local people quite a bit. The idea is that local people get a fair chance in the development. This should apply for new companies to start in the region who are expecting Govt.subsidies. b. Practical Training program: Govt. should do a matching grant for fresh local hires. As an example: If WIPRO is going to hire 2,000 fresh graduates in the region – The policy should say that any hire from local colleges in Vizag, Vijayawada, Tirupati or Anantapur regions; Govt pays Rs.5000 per month (as matching grant) and WIPRO pays Rs.5,000 to make monthly salary of Rs.10,000 for the first one year. The contract is only for one year and trainees will be confirmed at the end of one year based on their performance. This matching grant is only for local college graduates. After one year of confirmation, there is NO Govt.match. This will help local people get their first job, we will have more trained resources available in the region. This can also to be tied to your ‘One job per house’ electoral promise that you made. As a part of this PT (Practical training) program, if the program is able to employ 50,000 fresh graduates every year, the Govt.spends only Rs.300 crores a year. Long term this will create a huge ‘employable’ talent pool. c. It is imperative that Govt. focuses on ‘upgrading’ human talent continuously and showcase it for Corporations. Corporations look for skilled Human Resource availability in the region to start their operations not just Govt.Subsidies. The Govt. should start a portal (example: Http://www.apgovonline.com/itresumes ) for logging resumes . The Govt. can also take one step forward and make these resumes tested over a period of time. Govt. can have testing centers across big towns similar to –eseva centers. Professionals working in other regions can also log in their resumes on that portal. The resumes should be tested for basic skills and rated. Govt. college programs should focus on improving the skills that are lagging behind. The database also should consist of support skilled persons like receptionists, security professionals, drivers, maids, garden services, cooks, etc. Existing Govt. sponsored programs (if any) can be clubbed or modified to roll into this. One STOP to showcase skilled resources of Andhrapradesh.

Social Responsibility

Social responsibility amongst educated and well placed has lost meaning some times. Big corporates funding food packets, clothes to take some pictures and post them on their personal and corporate web sites is not 'social responsibility'. Social responsibility is beyond doing small things like mentioned above. It is a bigger sense of what we are consuming in this great world and how we are replenishing it back into the world. To begin with a sense of responsibility towards nature and our communities. Many corporates consume a lot of natural resources, reap profits and dump all toxic substances into the nature. It is time to start taking Govt.rules and policies on pollution more seriously than what you can get away with. Start thinking about the damage done to mother earth and how the company can be kinder to nature and replenish part of it back. I was particularly impressed with Tata Motors when I visited their plant in Pune. They treat and recycle the water that they throw out of the process and are using it for their own consumption on the campus including the MD's residence. This is more than a statement to show that they are actually treating the water to make it 'consumable' for the world again. Companies that sell 'sugared' water consume heavy quantities of water in communities and deplete the water sources in that area. Those companies CSR should be water replenishment. Water replenishment in SouthAfrica when the plant in India is consuming Millions of gallons of water is not good enough. The neighbouring communities should be taken care. Replenishment of natural resources, providing quality healthcare or education in the relevant communities should be a priority. Improving connecting Industries or Supply chain resources is also good. As an example, IT services company';s long term supply chain is human resources trained or suited for the industry. Corporate leaders in the industry should invest and revolutionize the education (supply chain) industry. Poor children with aptitude should be trained and councelled for future employment. Support skills supply chain should be created.Industry- College programs including professor training, grants and scholorships to lecturers to work in the industry.Very little industry-colleges joint programs is happening in India. The top universities in the U.S are an example for this. The professors that teach work with the industry very closely and are given grants to research in that field. At Kellogg School of Management, our professor used to consult with P&G and we were thought marketing with current marketing strategies and the future programs as well. Another sector that needs serious CSR investments is Infrastructure/real-estate. Skilled resources supply has decreased and continous training on new technologies is not happenning at a pace required. This is completely a dis-organized, disruptive industry. An initiave to extensive training and resource pooling along with safety and health maintenance will go a long way to imporve quality in that field.Mst workers and daily laborers donot have health check-ups or insurance. An initiative from infra companies in that direction for well being of workers is very much needed.

A doting father

I decided to write about various human relationships around me..these stories are recollections of various interactions in my life. The first story is about my dad... My dad used to travel back and forth to my village from Vijayawada which was about 30 KMs from Vijayawada. Every evening, he used to come back by 8:00 p.m. He never said anything, but, today I understand that he wanted those few minutes with us before we went to bed. I used to eat before 8:00 p.m. and goto bed by 8:30 p.m. No matter what. He used to sit down for dinner and mix either some curry or Avakai pachchadi and give me two balls (telugu - Muddalu) of anything he ate. My sister always used to be awake and never slept without eating dinner with my dad. After I grew up, I have recollected that my dad (although he is the male of the family) never ate before us. He used to let the children finish our dinner and then eat with my mom. It is very customary of our generation that men ate first and got the best part of food...My dad allways used to make sure that we got the best of what was there... He knew everything that was happenning in school with our friends, teachers, etc. He never asked enquired a single day about anything that was happenning.I allways wanted to learn being away and giving the space for children and yet knowing everything and being there for children...

How far is Singapore from Andhrapradesh?

How far is Singapore from Andhrapradesh is a obvious question! Mark the location you want either Vijayawada or Visakhapatnam on Google maps and get the distance. What is the question then? The Cheif Minister of Andhrapradesh and his esteemed ministers keep talking about building another Singapore either as a capital city or a stand alone city in the newly formed state of Andhrapradesh. The obvious of Singapore that people visualize and get excited about is the tall buildings, neat and clean roads, technology infrastructure, tourist destinations, etc. It is very important for any leader to have a vision and paint pictures of future for its citizens. What we all need to understand is what lies behind Singapore, its growth and what made the city/country one of the best countries to live in the world? For beginners, the population of Singapore and A.P is not comparable. We cannot build one singapore in an island with 50 lakhs population and let other cities dwell away in dirt and non-growth? For the land size and population, Singapore has very diverse occupations including manufacturing and financial services but very little agriculture. To reach Singapore, we haave to start taking stock of our occupations, what we have and what we don't and what our underlying strategy for financial success of our own 'Singapore'..Singapore is not about buildings or infrastructure..even if it is, are we going to make our development one city centric again? Cities like Singapore are built on clear cut vision and startegy and not just dreams...Strategically planning occupations based on the natural and human resources available and these resources linked to education(production) and Government. Singapore consists of more than 25% population born outside of Singapore which means they bring or take business 'from' singapore to their native country. (Import and exports). With very little dense population, it is easier to track all citizens and bring about sense of discipline. Now, where do we start off in terms of corruption? How many decades will it take India or any small part of India to become non-corrupt with all the monies spent in elections? How can we inculcate discipline amongst our citizens? Where do we start off with the 'human' element that defines a country or a city? It requires proper planning to develop one city into an IT hub or industrial hub. It is not enough for the Government to allocate land and invite industrialists. It requires proper policy and doing the right things first. We need to upgrade or modify/add support skills that requires an industry to run. The Government should bring the industry and education centers together to measure, estimate and develop skills required to make such IT cities or industrial hubs. New and creative programs to make the city affordable for the industrialists and employees is a must. The list above is just a beginning - I am not a pessimist, but an eternal optimist. I dream about great things for my country and love to improve the employablity for students comming out of colleges. However, I like to see the Government start off on our strenghts, have a practical strategy and direction to achieve what we have set out to -

Brand Extension 2

This is my second note on 'brand extensions'. Brand extensions in politics are two ways. The first being extending one’s own brand from one field to politics- example of Chiranjeevi extending his brand from movies to politics and the second being expanding/extending a personal brand to their offspring/siblings.

The recent victory of Akhilesh Yadav's campaign in U.P and his new position as the new C.M of U.P is a brand extension of the later. Personal brand extensions should be dealt carefully. The negativity associated with the parent brand will be carried forward with the new extension. Akhilesh Yadav's has handled it like a 'pro'. He maintained his reverence to the party and party head by acknowledging his dad's knowledge and acumen in U.P politics while brining about the change required in recent times. He has not only talked about wiping off 'goonda' image of the party, but acted on it and refused seats for many of the aspirants with criminal records.

Another brand extension that is talked most in last few days and compared to Akhilesh Yadav is Y S Jagan. YSJ has formed his own party after his futile attempt to become the CM of Andhra Pradesh post his father's death. He has been touring the state of Andhra Pradesh consoling (Odarpu) people that died of news of his father's death when he and his mom are working hard to bring their party to power. Brand extensions work on 'continuity with change'..continuity of some good principles and 'change' towards modern times. Let's see how this is working in YSJ's case.

YSR has earnt acceptability in Congress party and political circles due to his presence in the political system for over 30 years and his struggle in various posts before he became the CM. On the other hand, YSJ has never taken to the politics or it's affairs until his dad became the CM. He has contested only in 2009. He clearly lacks the experience and struggle that his father garnered to become the CM. There is no extension of such good will here. However, he can credit himself with founding a party

YSR has projected himself to be a man of words and commitment. He has paved way for all his followers and friends even if he had to bend the rules or break them. YSJ is trying to project such image through his Odarpu yatra. He is trying to cash on the image that his father built on this point. People may trust him on this point.

YSR had a personal charisma by the way he dressed like a true Telugu person in dhoti and ‘kanduva’. YSJ on the other hand is trying to imitate his father's smiles, gestures and his blessings (though not suitable for his age). The personal association that one feels with YSR from his 'looks' is not extended here. There is nothing significant in the way that he presents himself that can bring personal association with YSJ. This may not be very relevant in the big picture, but an important factor as long as he tries to project himself as an extension to his father.

YSR's electoral skills were excellent and nurtured through experience. His ability to manage party men and the way he connected to his loyalists was unmatched in the party. It looks like there is good chance that YSJ must have picked up on that.

YSR gave personal attention to his loyalists and went any extend to support them. His visit to the jail to grant pardon to a criminal was one such example. On the other hand, YSJ doesn't have the ability to connect personally with his party men and loyalists. Apparently he doesn’t maintain personal rapport with many people in the party. You don't see him praise anyone except his dad or mom. When the situation came to save his friends, he distanced himself from them. When Gali Janardhana Reddy was arrested, he refused to be associated with him. He has definitely distanced his industrialist loyalists.

YSJ is trying desperately to cash on YSR's brand of populist schemes and minority backing. There is NO clear strategy or explanation on what YSR would have done or how their party would handled such a financial crunch time. He is trying to convince people that YSR would have continued the schemes no matter what. He may be doing a good job of this.

There is a huge resentment from people towards Congress party about corruption scandals and lack of governmental support towards common man's problems. The young and fire brand image that YSJ projects is a huge winning stride for him. He is pretty much the only one in the country that criticizes Sonia Gandhi on a personal level. Timing of his dis-association with the Congress party couldn’t be better. He is riding and cashing on anti congress wave with his youth and ability to criticize congress party.

The 'newness' or ‘change’ required of the brand is not seen in organizing the party or newness of the policies and approach (compare to Akhilesh Yadav). The newness is limited to starting a party and youthfulness. I think this will be the biggest challenge for YSJ. What newness can he offer? He has gone too far with his father’s image.

Political leaders make personal mistakes when they are riding on a high. YSJ is at the peak of his popularity now in the state. The future of him and his party depends on

• How much he can convince people that he is very different than the Congress party
• His ability to manage his party infrastructure when elections roll out in the entire state or country.

Chiranjeevi's PRP had cut into fortunes of TDP in 2009 and failure of Chirajeevi's brand extension into politics damaged his original brand. YSJ's brand extension success or failure in the next 2 years will determine the fortunes of Congress, TDP and also YSRCP.

The party spirit is at all time high with YSR's statues installed everywhere in the state. Typically, after initial excitement is over, reality sinks into voters. In the long run if the statues are going to be a reminder of populist schemes or of severe corruption leading to national waste of resources determines the future of YSJ and his party. The decision by Akhilesh Yadav to retain all statues of Mayawati in U.P is a brilliant stroke of genius to remind people of national waste..brand recollection good or bad is the key.

Youth empowerment

Today's youth are the future of our country.They are going to be future policy makers, economists, leaders of our country..They are going to form significant part of the consumer base in our Country and a base that will change the political future as well...

Is our youth ready for the changes and challenges. Are they empowered with the knowledge, the character and the discipline? Do they have enough dreams to change their destiny and our country's? Do they dare to dream the impossible? Is the information age giving them enough knowledge and information or making them lazy? The sociology-economic changes making them more grounded or rude? The challenges int he society making them more enthused or de-motivated? The unethical dramas in the society making them more principled or setting the stage for more corruption/unethical path for the future?

Let me present my thoughts in Youth Empowerment series...

Nationalization of 'Factionists' assets

TV9 - Telugu has captions comming up now and then..kind of their Tag lines..I saw yesterday " Factionists properties/assets should be nationalized".. Its been a habit of media especially TV9 to give some fancy one liners and give an impression that they care..

To begin with how can one define a 'factionist'? IS there a true factionist today? Most of them are disguised as business men and politicians. Some of them are so called popular leaders are biggest factionists who are amassing huge assets and literally looting the country and its citizens...

On top of it...Government who is responsible for protecting national/natural resources is colluding with people who are amassing such wealth by not sharing profits/revenue with the country appropriately. Government should bring in strict rules/regulations to feicerly protect natural resources and create laws to protect revenue/profit that is generated out of such resources.

The current Government is supporting and parterning with businessmen/factionists who are doing such lootery. Today, factionism is "required" to loot these resources and make such profits. Ethical busniness leaders like TATA's are not in such businessses since they cannot resort to such means.

TV9 instead of researching such a huge issue and educating the masses on how seriously we are being looted by such politicians and their supporters comes up with filmy/good to see comments and pave way for irresponsible journalism. Media should bring in pressure on the Government to act responsibly with proper solution and not loosely defined terms.