Shesh, living every moment!

Sheshagiri Rao, an highly energetic and enthusiastic guy, hails from Mysore, one of the most culturally rich and historically important city of India. I got to know him in my first year of BE, that is year 1999. I was quick to observe that Ideas flow from him like water from a waterfall. Non stop, pure and enlightening. His persona is charming and friendly, knowledge abound and eclectic. The best thing I found in him is the freedom with which he shares and dessiminates his ideas and real life experiences. Spend a moment with him and he will ensure that it has been a learning and enjoyable experience for you. A mutidimentional and mutifaceted being, his interests and skills are so diverse. I have seen him doing atleast the following things so passionately, reading, trekking, travel, music, swimming, adventures, spiritualism, organizing events, cooking, computers, kannada love, cycling, jogging, debates, photography, entrepreneurship. The list being limited only by my observation.

Be in touch with him and he will surely help you stretch your imaginations to it's real potential. He has made the same very simpler for me now with the official launch of his personal website www.sheshagirirao.com. All the best for your endeavours Shesh!

What India and China can learn from each other?

India and China togather form around 40% of world population. Instead of competing with each other if they can collaborate and work cooperatively it will be mutually beneficial to both the countries. China's economic growth started in 1978 whereas India's economic liberation started around 1991. Hence China had come a long way in it's economic growth and GDP. If one looks in to the problems that both the countries are facing they are quite similar in nature. Both countries are fighting against unemployment, poverty and disparities between states. They have been fighting similar problems but the approaches has been different. In some cases Chinese approaches are superior and India should learn from China about how they should apply these for their own benefits. Similary China can learn from Indian approaches that are superior from them. Politically Indian govt might not be quite stable but still democracy is the best political system a country can posses to boost and sustain long term growth prospects. Chinese govt has been authoratorian and in the coming decades may have to face rebellions from a growing educated upper class. It's current political system if not amended can lead to problems in the future. Another area where Indians have outperformed is banking and financial sectors. Interest rates in China are as High as 50% whereas it's single digit in India. Indians have a better education system too. They have done well to establish globally recognized T-Schools like the IITs and B-Schools like IIMs etc. Indians are highly skilled in various domains. They have emerged as super leaders in the field for Information technology. Even BPO and KPO industries are booming in India. Indian is the global service and support centre of the World. When it comes to going global the knowledge of English plays a key role and Chinese need to collaborate with India to setup systems to improve the skills that they lack tremendously. Privatisation is another area where India is doing good.
There are many areas where China has outsmarted India. These are the areas where India should give it's attention as there are several opportunities of growth. There is lot of scope for learning new techniques and methodologies. China's emergence as Manufacturing Hub and the way they have captured the global consumer markets have been outstanding. Excellent leadership, realistic strategies and availability of cheap labours are the means by which they could achieve this. If India can lay a similar growth platform and integrate the efforts of it's population on it, it can rise well in the manufacturing sector. In China the markets are very competetive. There will be around 100 players in a single industry like automobile manufacturing itself. If you look at India it has been more monopolistic. The high competetion has been the major reason for such low pricing of chinese products. China inspite of being socialistic have managed to attract FDI as huge as $60b whereas India being an open market have managed only single digit FDI. Chinese have setup world class infrastructure. Indian cities like Mumbai or Banaglore have lot to learn from cities like Shangai. Both China and India understand that they need to keep political differences aside and work togather for economic development. They understand the huge potential for growth in each other. Both the developing countries can go a long way once they establish systems of learning from each other, identify common goals and set up new trade practices and policies for further growth.

Are congress and Natwar guilty?

Paul volcker's much hyped report is supposed to have taken names of Natwar Singh, the external affairs minister and congress party for paying kickbacks to saddam hussain's Iraqi regime in the oil-for-food program. The MM singh govt has set-up probe committees to look in to the allegations, de-throned Natwar singh from external ministry portfolio and asked UN for the details and proof of allegations. BJP, not missing any chance to sling mud on the congress, is demanding dropping of Natwar from the Cabinet, proclaiming MM Singh as the weakest PM of India and blaming UPA for the national shame it has created for the country in the International arena.

Done all this, it still looks like we are far from knowing the genuineness of these allegations. It's easy to make a guess that there should have been sufficient evidences on the ground of which Volcker would have published his report. But making guesses doesn't solve the problem. Only time can tell who all will be exposed and indicted by the report!

Indian team is performing

Performance of every team depends upon individual performances. Hence removing non-performing players out of the Indian cricket squad and giving chance to performing budding young talents in the team should be a continuous process. The captain is at the heart of team and should act as the role model for the team. Removing Ganguly out of the team, making Dravid as the captain and addition of young talents RP singh, Sreesanth, Dhoni, Gambhir to the team are welcome decisions for the future of Indian Cricket.

Let's wait and watch what's more in store for Indian Cricket team in the coming tournaments.

rain rain go away!

Every season we curse nature for eithere too much of rain or hardly any rain. Do we expect nature to calculate and estimate how much rain a piece of land should receive and then pour only the calculated amount. If we do so, we will continue to see droughts and floods screwing our motherland. we will see farms drying up, huge losses in agriculture, prices soaring high, farmers commiting suicide, lack of water supply and so on in an year because of drought. Another year we will observe flood, roads overflowing, transportation jammed, waterlogging in houses and companies, accidents, loss of lives and property and so on. What do we do? Sit an observe every year, pray to rain gods for more rain or no rain, raise loads of funds for the victims after rain gods have turned their face away and done the damage, give the impression of fast recoup of city by propagandizing Bangalore is back to normal, Mumbai fights back etc and then wait for the same predicament to fall on us in subsequent years. Why are our actions so curative and not preventive at all? Who has the power, authority and resources to avoid such mishaps. Is it not we the people and our government.

First step, is to set-up disastor avoidance committees in addition to the disastor recovery committes. The prime objective should be to minimize the damages caused by natural disastors. This committee should be completely accountable for all the losses caused by a natural disastor. Next step is to make the committee completely analyse the causes behind the extent of damages caused every year. For example, if Hosur raod in Bangalore turned in to a Hosur ocean, they should investigate and analyse the causes and it's solution. May be better drainage system, planning of roads, construction or other such factors would have reduced the damages to a large extent. The committee should take preventive actions and these actions should be justifiable and measurable in the event of subsequent natural disastors. Last step is to make ourself and our nation completely prepared for such hapless events by our sustained, concentrated and determined efforts.