Resurrection of Bharatiya Janata Party

Resurrection of Bhartiya Janata Party…

BJP has been going through rough & tumble of political chaos and churning. This is due to a flawed vision at the levels that matter. All the political parties must look back to see the path traversed, pitfalls faced and to make sure the future is secured. The process BJP is undergoing is no different except that they crossed over the time frame which has little relevance today and tomorrow. The Gen-Next which would decide the future of political parties at the polling booths does not care who Jinnah was and the newfound love of BJP for him. Today it does not matter if he was secular or not. So why so much noise about a non-issue?

We have made too much of so called secularism. Congress has arrogated the tag of being the only secular party in the country while openly wooing so called “minority”. The word minority has become insult to a population of about 150 million citizens of the country. Hindus do not have minority status in J&K! If since independence Congress had not been partial to this minority as treasured vote bank, BJP would not have hardened its stand on so called Hindutva. And if a “Bhartiya” political party can not protect the interests of Hindus who would do it. There is nothing wrong, therefore, in having the agenda of Hindutva to emphasize its commitment to preserve religious heritage & philosophy and yet be secular enough to protect minorities. Muslims are very much part of the heritage of the nation and would remain so. That is the bottom line. So can we get on with building the nation through economic development?

Whatever be the philosophy and stated intentions of a political party, what matters most is the cruel realty at the ground level created by them for the people to see and believe. So the Sikh riots or Bofors guns are as much to haunt Congress as would Babri Masjid and Godhra to BJP. They are equally secular or non-secular parties. It is time therefore for these parties to realize that the approach of segmentation based on religion or caste will not take them far. Dalit cause of Mayawati would sooner or later end up in political sublimation if there are only statues around and fruits of development are not reaching the dalits.

Party with a Difference

The BJP has kicked the storm which will take its toll on the leadership. BJP is the only party in the country which has had a good system of internal elections, organizational structure and embedded work philosophy and not a dynastic but evolving as well as revolving leadership. While there have been aberrations creeping into BJP from Congress culture, by & large BJP has been more disciplined due to its soul of RSS. However, in last couple of years BJP has lost its sheen due to internal jockeying for power.

In last few weeks the party has reminded us of the situation in Congress party during the regime of Sitaram Kesari. It took congress almost a decade to come out stronger though by default and without its own expectations in 2004 election. Thereafter, the party has built up its fortress and strengthened itself considerably in recent Lok Sabha elections.

Nirnayak Sarkar

Ever since Rajnath Singh has taken over the reigns of the party, there have been fissures and pressure groups working against each other. We have seen the results at the peak of election campaign which was marred by open differences with Arun Jaitley. The BJP positioned itself to provide the nation a “Nirnayak Sarkar” or decisive leadership, but failed to achieve the same internally within the party. Decisive does not mean autocratic decision making at the cost of the party. It turned out to be divisive leadership! In public life perceptions of people count more than self assessment.

Restructuring the Party

If BJP has to stand up and get counted in forthcoming assembly elections in the states, there is no time to be lost. It must come clean and very fast to create impressions in masses of being a “Nirnayak” or decisive party. It is time for Rajnath Singh to quit owning responsibility for the mess and leave it to Advani (and Bhagwat of RSS) to restructure the party. With even former RSS chief Sudarshan having praised Jinnah, the chapter should be treated as closed. The leadership should be seized with getting all the war horses back on the track including Arun Shourie, Jaswant Singh, Vasundhara Raje, Khanduri, & Yashwant Sinha and restructure the organization to put the vigor and confidence that is required to go to polls. One man one post principle of the past can provide the solutions to most tricky problems.

Prime Ministerial Candidate for 2014

Time has also come for change of leadership at the top. While L.K.Advani should continue to be leader of the opposition as country needs his experience for that role, there should be unmistakable number two who would be the prime ministerial candidate for 2014. Advani should groom this candidate in next few years. Let the younger generation come to the top which would be the answer to Rahul Gandhi’s ascent to top position in next elections. However, one should not miss out on the experience v/s Rahul Gandhi positioning in 2014. That would put the priorities and responsibilities straight till parliamentary elections. What Jinnah was and what Sardar Patel did or did not do would not be the issue in the elections. What L.K.Advani and Rajnath Singh do or did not do would certainly decide the fate of BJP for next ten years.

Economic Development and not Hindutva

Let BJP demonstrate to the world that they have enough democracy and tolerance within the party and that there is no dearth of national leadership. The elders like L.K.Advani, Arun Shourie , Jaswant Singh or Mohan Bhagwat should be the guiding force. Let the party reflect the aspirations of younger generation. The older generation has the experience and wisdom which led to BJP’s rise in last twenty years. Let that be used for building and strengthening the party. The nation needs a strong BJP with an agenda inclusive of all the streams of the society focused on economic development. Let it shun religious segmentation for political gains. BJP lost more than it gained on this count in last 5 years. Let there be economic segmentations based on poverty line. Hindutva is a way of life reflected by thinking, tolerance and morality. That is about the character. That can remain unquestioned. But what about more than 250 million people who are below the poverty line? Only economic development can bring them up. It is time to move to more acceptable and lasting national agenda for strategic repositioning of the party looking to build a prosperous & modern India.

“Vikas Ke Jorpar, Garibi Rekha Ke Upar” (not Garibi Hatao) should be the agenda which would include Hindutva and all minorities alike defined by who is below and who is above the poverty line. Let BJP come out stronger out of the mess and position itself as a party with a difference which people would welcome. Rear view mirror should give way to crystal ball view. Are you ready Rajnath Singh?

Vijay M. Deshpande
Corporate Advisor,
Strategic Management Initiative
Pune

August 27, 2009

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Retirement@62...64...66?

Retirement @ 62…64…66?

It has been reported that the central government is considering raising the retirement age for the central government employees from 60 years to 62 years to manage the cash flow problem posed by payments of gratuity. The move is expected to ease off pressure of payments to the retiring employees during next 2 years. The government would of course do all the calculations & projections of cash flows involved and defer the problem of today to tomorrow. The underlying assumption is that after two years the finances would be in much better shape to pay not only the carry-forward- retirees (CFR) of two years but also those who would have retired in any case in next two years if the age limit was not changed. In the mean time the government would have to pay full salaries and benefits to these CFR personnel who are in any case in retirement mode. The burden therefore is considerable and unlikely to ease off pressure two years later.

More than just managing today’s cash flow, the issues involved are having far reaching impact on various other aspects:

1. The IAS lobby seems to be concerned only about the blocked promotions for few bureaucrats and just for that they may succeed in blocking the move. But that would be blessing in disguise resulting in the demise of ill conceived move.

2. The central government would automatically show the way for the cash strapped states also and they would follow sooner than later. This would add pressures on the states for implementation of 6th pay commission as well as increasing retirement age to 62 years. 30,000 teachers in Maharashtra went on strike demanding implementation of 6th pay commission which was not done in spite of central assistance. Thus states are unable to keep the pace without generating resources of their own. The proposed move would add to economic woes of all the states further.

3. The move would automatically push the central public sector enterprises also to adopt the same, pushing their costs further and reducing their profit margins for even healthy ones.

4. While the employees on the verge of retirement are definitely a resource of experience and knowledge to the governments, the efficiency and effectiveness is a big question mark for a larger segment of such employees. While the top levels may still be assets, the middle and lower levels are more likely to be liabilities. If the government needs to retain experts and knowledgeable employees at different levels, it may do so by offering them post retirement assignments as is the practice in any case. This would certainly make a very large saving on the wage bill and yet make good personnel available if essential.

5. The government on the other hand has a target for generating jobs for youth. The cost of employees at entry stage is much lower than at retirement stage. If the government enhances retirement age to 62, it would not have a case for recruitment at entry levels. The government would be better off letting the employees retire at 60 and induct fresh recruits for training and development.

6. The central government should be setting examples by sizing down the bureaucracy and not carrying the excess baggage longer than necessary. That is better way to manage the cash flows than deferring the repayments of inevitable “debts”. The government should in fact have a plan to make the human resource management its top priority to improve organizational methods, systems and delegation of authority to make the organizations nimble and quick footed instead of carrying the flab. There is no point in carrying on the back the employees who have been counting months and days for retirement. Such employees in countdown mode perhaps would have stopped contributing meaningfully already.

7. In order to manage cash flow and liabilities on account of the gratuity etc. the government may explore possibilities of deferring only the gratuity component with over due interest. The gratuity could possibly be credited to provident fund account for a period of two years qualifying for payment of interest. Retirees could always draw funds from PF as per existing rules to manage their commitments every year so that they are not hurt. Alternatively they may draw entire gratuity amounts with interest after two years.

8. At a time when fiscal deficit is sure to exceed 7%, it would be prudent to cut expenditure not just in short term but in long term also. Delaying the obvious would not solve the problem. There have been no efforts to downsize the bloated bureaucracy. In fact employees should be encouraged to take VRS. Air India has been told by PMO with a directive to take 30-50% cut in wages, allowances & incentives across the board to manage financial situation. Can the rest of bureaucracy have similar solution to the problem...ironically having got huge benefits of 6th Pay Commission! If Air India is sick, so is the Central Government with inability to make payments of gratuity and pension for retirees. Knowing very well the financial situation, why 6th Pay Commission recommendations were implemented? Public sector companies and states are clearly told to implement Pay Commission recommendations only if they are able to pay. Why different parameters for central government departments and public sector companies & states?

9. The savings accruing due to increase in retirement age for about 1.5 lakh employees is estimated around Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000 crores. The government should explore other alternatives for saving such amount so that spin off effects on state governments and on its own long term finances will be avoided. Today the age may be raised to 62, tomorrow after say few years, it may be raised to 64. Where does it end? Let the government not hide behind the statistics of UK, US or European countries where the demographic profile and life expectancy is permitting them to let people work beyond 60-62 also. India has growing younger population and we have to create jobs for them. So blocking the employment opportunities for young or bloating to keep elderly, as we are broke, is short sighted policy. Nay, it is fiscal profligacy to manage fiscal deficit if at all.

Vijay M. Deshpande

Corporate Advisor,

Strategic Management Initiative Pune
August 21, 2009
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Sam Pitroda for NIHA with Cabinet Rank...

Sam Pitroda for NIHA with Cabinet Rank…

It is reported that Sam Pitroda may be appointed to head National Information Highway Authority (NIHA) with cabinet rank like Nandan Nilekani. That is a welcome move. In my blog dated July 8, 2009 on the budget, I had mentioned about “privatization of CEOs” for government projects and need to bring in people like Nandan Nilekani for large ticket government projects for effective implementation. In another blog on disinvestment I had mentioned about need to bring in people like Sam Pitroda to head Air India for restructuring purposes. I am happy to know that Mr.Sam Pitroda is tipped to head NIHA with cabinet rank.

What I can see is a clear emergence of “A Creamy Layer” of executive wing of the cabinet manned by professionals. Hitherto, occasionally, even professionals have been made cabinet rank ministers for running ministries as was the case with PM himself. However, first time we see a distinct difference in role of a cabinet rank minister with concern for accountability for results. One would say that the cabinet ministers are all accountable. Well, yes! But there seems to be a sense of helplessness when it comes to performance evaluation and accountability of political class. This gets overshadowed by political considerations and compulsions of coalition.

With cabinet ministers like Nandan Nilekani and Sam Pitroda the focus is on getting the best people for executing most difficult and path breaking government projects. National Information Highway Authority would deal with e-initiatives of the government including e-governance, e-learning, e-health. It will establish national connectivity between India and Bharat. The digital divide is likely to be bridged providing for capturing more accurate data, implementation of projects, real time assessments and faster decision making. Integrity of data and speed of communications also means possibility of delegation of powers for implementation of projects cutting down the red tape.

Each ministry functions with long terms plans as well as short term. But they are within ‘routine context” of a National 5- year Plan of the planning commission. In spite of all such plans and ministries, Rajiv Gandhi felt the need for his technology missions though they all were not necessarily successful. Rajiv Gandhi was looking at the essence of missionary zeal and sharp focus to execute the plans. Unfortunately, with the change of government, the plans are abandoned. Latest example is of national project for linking the rivers of north and south. Their foot prints are lost in the sands of time. These are the kind of projects which have the potential of a truly strategic lift off for the country.

Be Unique ID Authority project or NIHA project, their strategic importance is very high for putting India into different trajectory of growth as a modern nation. In fact both of them are interlinked for mutual success. The ministries should not be burdened with such strategic projects since neither they have wherewithal to manage them nor political will. And yet these projects are highly critical for national development & growth. These projects are needed by the nation, even if it is not on political agenda of any party for elections. A success or failure of any such project may not mean anything to common man and yet if not done it is a tremendous setback for the nation.

The picture therefore emerging is that there should be a separate wing of cabinet for “Authorities” executing projects of truly strategic importance and far reaching consequences. They are not to be mixed up with the regulatory authorities. These projects are enablers for other ministries to implement their plans as detailed in National 5-year Plans. Such projects should not be abandoned due to changes in government and must be guaranteed for completion by constitutional process. Since the ministers in charge of such projects are not elected representatives, they may be allowed to continue, even if there is a change in the government, till either their term is complete or the project is completed.

We need similar treatment for projects in say agriculture & rural development. In UPA I and now in UPA II also, importance of agriculture was secondary to sports, or cricket, if I may say so. If Dr.Verghese Kurian was to head an “Authority” once again, we can have “White Revolution II ” which is needed. Or if Dr.M.S.Swaminathan could head an “Authority” to increase agricultural productivity, it can make considerable difference to our farmer’s lot (instead of loan waivers to avoid suicides). If an “Authority” on plasticulture is established on similar footing there would be tremendous potential for harnessing drip irrigation in the times of poor mansoons and increasing acreage under cultivation. We could just stop blaming El Nino every time and go on to cheer up farmers!

Performance of power sector is poor with power generation lagging behind the targets with no major power plants commissioned since 2003. 1500 MW (largest Hydro Electric project in India) Nathpa Jhakri Power Project in Himachal Pradesh took 11 years to be completed in 2003 after planning for 30 years. Ultra Mega Power Projects (UMPP) have yet to kick off. We have perennial power shortages and black outs while we dream of making a Shanghai out of Mumbai. This is what happens if it is left to normal supervision of the concerned ministry. Any moves for add-on cabinet minister?

Any business organization has two distinct activities and therefore people to manage them--one is strategic and the second operational or tactical. What we have had till now is governance in operational mode. Exceptionally, we have had few areas identified clearly with strategic importance such as “National Security Advisor” or “Special envoy of prime minister for Afghanistan”. Practically, every major and critical ministry has a scope to have another cabinet rank minister from private-professional category to transform the field and to raise the bar of performance. How is that for “Public Private Partnership”?

By the time UPA II innings comes to a close, we should have fairly good experience and assessment of this model of executing projects of national importance. May be in future we have key ministries split with cabinet rank ministers for strategic (professionals) and operational (political) goals for effective governance. As I can see the potential of this experiment, we may have to restructure the future cabinets on these lines for effective governance and delivery. If I may add, it would then be truly “inclusive” (of professionals) government.

Dr. Man Mohan Singh has made path breaking decisions to induct Nandan Nilekani and now, as is reported, Dr. Sam Pitroda in waiting. May the breed of such performing authorities grow by the day!

Vijay M. Deshpande
Corporate Advisor,
Strategic Management Initiative
Pune

August 13, 2009


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Swine Flu- A Challange to Healthcare System

Swine Flu- A Challenge to Healthcare System


First death of a 14 year old girl in Pune has sent the alarm bells ringing allover the country. In Pune, people had to plead for testing early due to long waiting time and luckily one such patient testing positive could start treatment earlier. In fact it has been a wake up call to the healthcare system which was complacent since there was no fatality so far though swine flu is more than three months old phenomenon. Suddenly the administration has woken up and there are hurried consultations and announcements. Most appalling of them has been that the treatment will be given only at government hospitals and private hospitals have been prohibited to treat swine flu cases. The private hospitals have so much investment in best of equipments, facilities and trained manpower. They are national resource and must be in the loop to tackle crisis.

In the current crisis the inadequate government system is learning on the job and improvising as the situation unfolds without any plan. Today, Maharashtra government has announced opening up of 8 pre-testing centers. This is at best ad hoc action. Just imagine Ganesh Festival, the most important in Pune, is round the corner and socialization is on peak at this time of the year. Is the administration having a plan to handle the situation ahead?

Inadequate infrastructure:

Initially, the incoming passengers from overseas were being checked for swine flu symptoms. Due to inadequate staffing it was relaxed to just declaration by passengers. Initially the source of virus was from returning travelers. Now local spread has become larger than imported source. Over last 2 months it has assumed disastrous proportion with first death in Pune.

The rate, at which the new cases are coming up, shows that the problem is multiplying fast. We need a responsive system to tackle fast spreading virus. It is understandable that the virus is new and there is no previous history to guide. But can we be caught napping with a population of a billion plus? It is reported that in due course up to two billion people are expected worldwide to be affected by swine flu. India and China have highest density of population and therefore are most vulnerable. If the virus spreads uncontrolled, it will become unmanageable. The virus is not going to vanish in next 5-10 years as reported. State of Maharashtra has only 2 labs for testing. There are only 18 labs in the country with 37 hospitals to attend. That is inadequate by any measure. Can we learn from experience of Mexico where swine flu originated? We are just not geared to face the grim situation which may develop in next few months as the cases multiply.

Learning from Experience:

In last decade we have had new biological threats with potential for global spread and large scale damages in short time. We had Anthrax threats, SARS, Avian flu and now Swine Flu. We heard dengue only in last decade. World is yet to overcome and contain HIV successfully though it is more than 25 years old. Every time it is a new learning process and different solutions. We can expect new viruses to keep showing up simply because of global warming, draughts, floods and changed ecological systems. So, how does one prepare to tackle such unpredictable menace? We need to learn from past experiences and evolve a strategic network which will spring into action when alerted. It is equivalent of “Rapid Action Force” for public health security.

Public Private Partnership:

As is generally known government hospitals are ill equipped and the attitude of the staff leaves much to be desired. In times of crisis like these, we need to pool together all the resources which can be marshaled for speedy service to the people needing immediate attention. Today the situation is that in Pune, people with suspected symptoms of swine flu are being told to come tomorrow! There is considerable gap between the government instructions and the ground reality. Why only government hospitals and not private for treatment of swine flu? What is special that is needed to restrict treatment to government hospitals? After all, their experience in swine flu is also limited. The private hospitals can be updated on handling and managing the situation and brought on board since there is tremendous shortage of beds in designated hospitals.

Following steps may help to improve responses and create permanent strategic infrastructure to deal with exigencies of this nature in public health arena effectively:

1. The central government has just announced conversion of National Institute for Communicable Diseases to National Center for Disease Control (NCDC) with grant of Rs 500 crores for up gradation of facilities and laboratories. This is welcome move though very late. The modernization program must be properly defined and focused otherwise it will just be another black hole sucking resources. NCDC functions just as wing of health department with typical government approach. It must be made autonomous body and run by qualified professionals for effectiveness. The policy making bureaucracy and executing bodies must be separated for accountability.
2. NCDC should be nimble, quick decision making and executing body. It should be restructured to serve new mandate with teeth. NCDC has baggage of 100 years as it celebrates centenary and must change its work culture to suit the fast paced responses required to control spread of diseases.
3. The state governments can select all good hospitals including private ones in every city (at least district level), evaluate for their preparedness to handle such exigencies. Such hospitals should be designated and listed with NCDC. The government should equip the listed hospitals out of the funds received from government. Private hospitals may add additional equipments, if required, at their cost or out of grant from NCDC. NCDC should ensure that the state governments and private listed hospitals train the doctors and staff periodically for handling such situations. This can be refreshed when early signals come from any country about potential new virus so that experience of other countries gets disseminated among the healthcare professionals.
4. NCDC should initiate and coordinate development of new anti viruses from time to time with various organizations and institutions engaged in such research and development work. They should be networked online with these designated hospitals and institutions for speedy communications and consultations with experts in any location.
5. The roles of various agencies and different government departments involved in managing crisis must be well defined and understood so that there is clarity all the time. There should be standard operating procedures in a situation like this. The city hospitals should not send the public to just one or two designated hospitals in a city like Pune with 30 lakhs population. They must participate in tackling the problems in direct consultation with NCDC if required.
6. African countries are known to have flying doctor service for reaching remote areas. There may be some lesson for us in their experience in view of large number of villages without adequate medical facilities in India.
7. These hospitals must have same charges for testing and treatment of specified diseases both in private domain and government, so that the patients are not harassed.
8. The healthcare professionals should address the needs and chalk out a detailed plan of action.

Effect of Globalization:

In these days of globalization the overseas travel is far more easy, frequent and a sure carrier of viruses across the nations and continents. The epidemics have the potential to assume global spread quickly. While checking millions of incoming passengers becomes necessary that can not stop the spread of a virus. Businesses worldwide are immediately affected due to any threat of epidemic as global travel gets reduced significantly as was noticed during onset of SARS, and even swine flu in last few months. If there is inadequate response system in the country, the impact is much more than a normal economic slowdown. An advisory issued against travel to India would cost us dearly in terms of loss of business. Effective systems must be seen to be in place to handle such threats to public health. We must have new strategies to combat as times change.

Vijay M. Deshpande
Corporate Advisor,
Strategic Management Initiative, Pune

August 7, 2009


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