India Ineffectual

Loyalty saved the day for Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil. Despite the opposition parties and some United Progressive Alliance (UPA) allies making strong calls for Patil’s immediate ouster for being ineffective in dealing with terror, the Congress came out in the open to get him out of a sticky situation.

Tabloid Called 'Intelligent Pune'

Good work and surprisingly not sounding as one of those tree hugging environmentalist but someone to help insure the surroundings of one of the heritage city that preserve loads of natural relief and relics, yet to be unearthed. Environmentalism that has merely turned into a coin which serves to the larger end of “curbing capitalism and globalization”; similar reports however reveal the darker side of colonization.

Noticeably, your tabloid has been publishing articles/ news coverage on the city that otherwise get little or no feature with big competitor and surely praiseworthy. Building new constructions to facilitate lifestyle may be politically correct, but there is a massive difference between building new construction and draining out quarries and water areas to create a model colony. A “green” dwelling has a twofold way of rewarding its owner: It helps the owner to save money on energy bills while at the same time cutting down on the actual energy that is used, thereby drained environment and the community from the natural sources which serve to the production of energy and surrounding that most crave.

To builders and illegal debris, representatives and municipal officials who are allotting funds or permission to builder who are trying to destruction of green and water spaces of Pune, one of the nicest places in the Western India, need to realize that that environment protection is not an elite movement but a diseases likely to afflict the pedestrian who moves on the street or stay in plush houses inhaling noxious gases that endanger the air quality of the city.

I appreciate you take a concern on the issue and support you for the good work.

Fifty-Two Seconds (puhlezzz)

Fifty-two seconds, Fifty-two seconds (puhleez…)!

In 52-seconds, you can walk through the seating areas in a dark auditorium, settled, adjust your elbows, stare around, and manage not to tumble. Have you realized how ‘important’ are those fifty-seconds are?

Walk into a multiplexes on the lazy afternoon and as the authorities play ‘National Anthem’ over the bazooka boxes and tricolor fly happily on 70mm; you can stumble, play mime, and ‘walk the carpet’. You mean, while ‘National Song’ is on.

Well, yea! Wat? You’re planning to stop, stand, and salute. (Jesus!) Last weekend, when I followed the rule and stand at the gate of auditorium, I got soft tapping, then fingers stroked me hard (thank gawd, it wasn’t on my a**), and later hit on my back. I put a brave face and keep standing through the tune till it finally waned out. The Richie Rich with tumblers of popcorn and wobbling glasses of ‘Coke’ seems not in appreciable and left dumbstruck, much before I open my mouth.

“…you’re blocking the way, dumb!” I’m flabbergasted. Wat? You wanna me to pay and put behind the bars. They played the ‘National Anthem’.

“Huh, big deal” as the mademoiselle walk the carpet with her unrevealing butt in chiffon agitatedly. Poor me! The usher keep stocking the ticket stubs and grinned. Where’s the fellow citizen?

Citizen? Did you said, ‘citizen’. There’s a popular saying, ‘ignorance is bliss’ so let be ignorant, as always.

[Rarely do we read about man found guilty for showing disrespect to National Anthem in this part of the world subcontinent. The latest one (when I googled) dated August 1, 1972 when one Masabkha Nawab Khan was issued non-bailable warrant for allegedly disobeying to stand. The country, since then, has grown to its world status quo to become ‘developed’ from ‘developing’ third world. Yet, Indians failed to live or develop; especially showing respect to National Anthem and other fundamental duties as citizen.

On serious note, I sincerely believe that auditorium authorities should stop playing ‘National Anthem’ if they fail to monitor people. Taken into consideration that these multiplexes are having large number of audiences visiting multiple shows and observing their behavior under microscope will be an unfeasible act. Yet, let the doors be locked and allow nobody to enter while the National Anthem plays, installed CCDs inside the auditorium to monitor and record the behavior and later take stringent actions by law.]

Outsourcing ties India and US

With U.S. economy sliding into recession, workers and families across the country need a ‘Perfect President’ who will stand up to corporate special interests and fight to create good, high-paying jobs in the U.S. Over the past three months, more than 140,000 employees in private sectors have lost their jobs. On the contrary, corporate profits has grown at a fastest rate of any economic expansion on record. Does creation of new US jobs affect India’s outsourcing plan?

An introspective view of the Indian outsourcing trend shows stable U.S. economy offers gradual growth and impact on the foreign exchange rates significantly. However, with divergent directions many vendors currently faced with significant financial challenges and talent crunch. Furthermore, businesses associated to offshore labor are shattered with price increase after the legislative budget FY’08.

Size of available labor forces determines the growth of knowledge process outsourcing industry in India. With relatively low labor costs, large English educated personnel, and high software skills, there is a high probability of India cornering a sizeable chunk (around $5 billion) of the estimated $17-billion KPO market by 2010-11.

Every year, an estimated 90,000 management students join the market compared with 13,500 in UK and Wales. In addition, every year 4, 50,000 engineering graduates, 1,500 doctorates, 2,500 pharmacists, and 55,000 software professionals added to the country’s workforce. Two other countries, Russia and China, come close to match the numbers.

Currently, under 0.1% of the total population employed in the public and private sectors are engaged in KPO services. Statistical analysis of the trend however, estimate that approximately 1,00,000 workforce to join KPO services by the end of 2010-11.

• The cost advantage for offshoring to India used to be at least 1:6. Today, it is at best 1:3.
• As the 1:3 cost structure becomes 1:1.5, it will soon become inefficient to use Indian labor.
• Jobs that are low value-added and easily automatable should and will disappear over the next decade.
• The Indians don’t do the thinking. The customers do. India executes.
• India’s $30 billion IT/ITES services industry, meanwhile, is slowly and surely losing its competitive advantage.
• Assuming a 15% year-to-year salary hike rate, and a 2007 cost advantage of 1:3 in favor of India, if U.S. wages remain constant, India’s cost advantage disappears by 2015.

One element that all outsourcing executives should keep in mind is that labor arbitrage is a fleeting opportunity. Outsourcing should provide your company with significantly improved capabilities and performance. If you’re just outsourcing for cheaper labor, you are truly missing out on the greatest opportunity that outsourcing provides.

America, American

A team of two member delegates visited us fortnightly to discuss the nuances and nuisances of project-to-be. Surprisingly, on third day one of them expressed her desire to see live camels, elephants, and snakes crawling in busy roads and Indians playing as ‘snake charmers’. My eyes were popped open and jaws dropped. Gawd!

After America dried up completely and the God of Outsourcing shifted it base to India, the country transform to a huge gizmo base. Do you still wish to see the feral inhabitants or foreign men worshipping thee? I will shoot Mowgli someday for it all begins with when the silence of the jungle was broken by an unfamiliar sound [baby crying].

No Unice

When I am writing this blog, there’s a city in unrest. Public transport disrupted, private wagons set ablaze, and city police touring areas where the goddamn’ mob has won their freedom of expression.

Did ‘ya say, “A riot? Hah!” Don’t be ridiculous or exaggerating asshole. These are only high spirited kids having just a little bit of fun. I mean, there has to be more to life than just being safe...I'd thank all the fundamentalists for making this a memorable evening. Come on, guys, cheer up! I mean. We do all the digging; Hannibal has all the fun, sitting out front playing Yosemite Sam and flames rolling from the wagon door. Gee!

The trouble began after MNS activists presided by Raj Thackeray—nephew to Balasaheb Thackeray, the undisputed and uncrowned monarch of Maharashtra went about manhandling North-Indian hawkers and taxi drivers as the constabulary remain mute spectator of the rampage. The crap-headed add-men over there, you know, those kings of bastardization, ever real and genuine and honest and original attached *spirit of nationalism,* to their toilet cleaner! Like a drunk in a midnight color.

Honestly, I admire Thackeray for finding home-made solution to issues. I saw we fight violence with violence. That's how we used to solve things back home. Enough to know what you stand for Mr. Thackeray—the law until himself! So, let’s play *separation*.

Mocking the Bharat Ratna

The recent row over ‘who deserves’ the nation’s highest civilian award, has been trivialized with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) attacked United Progressive Alliance government for having failed to confer the award to former prime-minister Vajpayee. Oops! Added to that the minister-in-serving ‘Mookherjee’ take a leap and have his back patted.

Oooh…dats like monkey jeering at each other or cat fight at its best; and the ‘junta’ loves their minister doing so.

Shockingly, if you follow the Constitution constitutionally then there is no place for titles in a Republic like India. Well to be straight-face, recognizing individual as ‘jewels of India’ by any stretch is an ‘act of favoritism’ and nothing less. As a matter of fact, one of the interesting research on ‘who deserves’ I find that ‘Indira Gandhi—one of the most criticized and loved woman from this part of subcontinent’ has awarded herself ‘the highest civilian award’ when she was in her office. That’s the height of self-obsession. And now, the row over Vajpayee ‘ain’t that height of forced hero worship’.

Lobbying heated and amidst of all that the glory of the award has phased out. Personally, I appreciate the bold step by Unite Progressive Alliance for denial and not having conferred the award for seventh year in row. Tracing the history in recent succession, ‘the awardees’ were largely chosen not for their contribution but for gaining political mileage.

Here’s few to look back:

• Rajiv Gandhi, the third from Nehru clan awarded posthumously (well, the greatness must be lying in having blown by suicide bomber) in 1991.
• Jai Prakash Narain was conferred the award in the year of 1999 when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was Prime Minister. (The truth is more to recognize a non-Congress movement and being a progeny of the movement).
• The VP Singh government conferred the Bharat Ratna on BR Ambedkar in 1990. Incidentally, it was Ambedkar’s year of centenary. Additionally, VP Singh government famed for notorious reservation bill that witnessed massive mass reaction and a tool to bolster the enlistment of privileged classes to government position, no matter ‘hw undeserving’. The country was then facing challenges of Dalit movement.

The question therefore rest with “Is political sycophancy the criterion of this award?” and the funny side of the story, ‘I don't deserve this award, but I have spondylitis and I don't deserve that either’.

U.S. Presidentship and Women...

According to a recently published article that voiced the views of a Baptist minister from American consulate citing 19th Amendment of U.S. Constitution declaring “…the President will be a man.” (Article II Section 1)

Rev. Rusty Weller has even moved petition drive seeking ban on Hillary Clinton (front-runner for American Presidential candidature and former First Lady of White House) from gaining ballot access in this year election. Having said so, he emphasized, “Nothing in the 19th Amendment neutralizes the gender-specific qualifications for President, so much work must be done before Mrs. Clinton or any woman can constitutionally serve in that role.”

Interestingly, “…four times in Article I, Section 7 the President is referred to specifically as a man. Twenty times in the entire President's gender is mentioned as male." Thus to be concluded, the constitution which framed and has fathered to many more clearly states the eligibility criteria for being President of America as a male-dominion barring womenfolk to compete.

Gosh! Who does call America – the free-willed country that upholds the statutes of liberty, equality, and judicious. And, all those say, “I love America,” answer this: Do women have nothing to say in America about equality?

Mumbai Molestation Bash

Let’s play politics. Now, with the Sena mouthpiece found whom to blame for the New Year’s molestation party—‘the outsiders’; it will be fun. Wonder, how the city rightist group takes to Holmesian act so bravely when the city’s at danger. (It’s another matter, that the brigade, famed for supporting the city culture at all wrong reasons but duly finds an accuser for each.) Dunno! But, it sound like the Sena has some allegiance to NASA who finds ‘aliens’ as the source of any destruction. Or, like Americans who look at Russians and now Muslims as the source of any world destruction.

Anyways, at least Mr. Commissioner is safe for he’s like any clichéd puritan find fault with attires of women who’re molested by a mob of eighty-something teen group. Pooh! Pooh!

Wondering who’re these ‘outsiders’, Sir? Another kid molested…another story of how safe is Mumbai city.