How to make aggression work like a charm

Competition is everywhere and getting ahead of rivals is the key to staying afloat. Corporates have to look at their bottomlines and think of strategies that will help them outsmart their peers. Sometimes, even pure aggression helps along with a will to excel. In the world of sports, where a player is good only as long as his/her last win and have to stay in great form during their peak years, aggression can lead them straight to the top.

Acknowledging this, former cricketer Javagal Srinath told CNBC-TV18 he saw two types of aggression - attitudinal aggression and physical aggression.

He said one is obviously, all about attitude and is an innate quality and how it gets manifested in the workplace or on the sports field is up to the individual. As he puts it, "It could be through resoluteness, it could be strong qualities hidden in you or a commitment to the game. While physical aggression is an outcome of anger and frustration."

RK Krishnakumar, who is Vice Chairman of Tata Tea and Indian Hotels Company and is also on the board of Tata Sons agreed and said, "Aggression is the foundation for business but need not be physically expressed always. In the case of business, aggression means swift global growth and protecting your bottomline as well and that means learning from the Art of War and therefore aggression is an essential ingredient of business."

He elaborated, "Globally, Jack Welch of General Electrics, GE, was aggressive. He transformed that company to being the most admired company besides being the largest in terms of revenue and profitability. That's a little more physical manifestation of growth. There is a genteel form of aggression as well, which transforms companies and catapults them to global leadership and which also does some fantastic transformation within the companies and (does) all of this based on a strong foundation of ethics. The name that comes to my mind is Ratan Tata."

In reality, aggression is not only about cowing down competitors and acquiring them but also about building one's own brands. Krishnakumar said, "It's combination of both - building your own brands and acquiring more brands to become a global player to acquire size and scale."

Corporate CEOs or cricket captains - both have to pull their teams towards the bigger goal. But moulding the team or the organisation into a cohesive fighting force is another of the head's chief responsibilities. Srinath explained that Saurav Ganguly is an aggressive captain and is good at "picking the team, persisting on the youngters and giving them a chance."

Krishnakumar elaborated, "I think it's important that the leader has the vision to drive the business aggressively. But it can't be successful unless its cascaded down into the organisation itself. That passion has to be shared by everybody in the organisation if you want to move the organisation forward." Srinath agreed, "It can be an individual thing, which could blossom into a team thing. You can train an individual to be more aggressive. I pick Virendra Sehwag as an example. He not only shows the responsibility but at the same time endorses the responsibility. He says 'yes I want to do my best in the first 15 overs'. Now getting engaged with that risky situation - the first 15 overs - and then talking positively about it, is what is aggression."

Srinath points out two other players who demonstrate different types of aggression on the field. One is Glenn McGrath who personifies subtle aggression and the other is Shoiab Akhtar who displays the physical form of aggression.

Managing aggression well and in a productive manner is the what leaders have to do. Krishnakumar agreed, "Managing aggression is one of the principal tasks of HR management. But in sports, the duration of that challenge is shortlived whereas in business you have a much longer timespan. You need different qualities in business. You need to supplement those qualities to achieve your goal."

He added, "You need to be able to endure in the game for a long period - sometimes a decade. Business cycles are getting shorter and shorter, so a very key requirement of business would be, where aggression is expressed as innovation." Some aggressive peddling of your brand is what Reliance is good at, while some other companies chose to do it in a more subtle manner. Both the routes lead to the same end result. As Krishnakumar puts it, "The end determines success. How enduring is that journey. How do you achieve global leadership? That's really the test and that only time will tell."

It's true that only time will be witness to whether Infosys - a newer company with bigger market capitalisation and a more aggressive company will outpace Tata Consultancy Services, TCS, which has been around longer.

Krishnakumar elaborated, "TCS has been there for longer years. It's been the first company to establish software in India but it's a division of the holding company - Tata Sons - so its fortunes have not been really visible until it went into IPO mode last year. Now you can benchmark TCS against anybody. In terms of the quality of profits or the size of the revenues, it's probably going to cross $2 billion. Some of these things have been subterranean and not fully out in the open. Now in the case of TCS, its out in the open. So, you need to come to a decision as to the comparable figures."

He added, "Aggression is a necessary condition for success but not sufficient."

Written for www.moneycontrol.com

Reshuffle raises doubts of US interference

The Cabinet reshuffle has happened with new inductees being polticians from Maharashtra like Murli Deora and Sushilkumar Shinde. But the word out is that it looks like a half hearted attempt to retain the older politicians despite their lacklustre performance and keep out the the younger fresh blood, who have proven themselves.

This reshuffle has been called "unedifying and uninspiring" by newspapers, among other things. But what suspicions have arisen is that the US is calling the shots and our foreign policy may as well be dictated to us by them. So is this is a fallacy or a genuine concern?

Political columnist of the Indian Express, Neerja Choudhary says that when Mani Shankar Aiyar got the petroleum ministry along with Panchayati Raj, it was then understood that he was sort of keeping the chair warm for the right person to come along, who now happens to be Murli Deora.

So as Choudhary told CNBC-TV18, "There is a certain perception that he's gone because he did not please certain powers and Murli Deora has come in because he's corporate-friendly, US-friendly and anti-Sharad Pawar etc. There are a variety of reasons, why he (Deora) was chosen."

The feeling is that Deora would be able to assuage hurt US sentiments, if any and polish egos up, if needed, because of his better rapport with Washington. Everyone agrees with Choudhary's perceptions, that Aiyar was going about securing India's energy needs and that it created a conflict.

Editor-in-Chief of the The Hindu, N Ram explains, "The prime minister's office, PMO, has made no secret of the fact that this came into conflict with whatever the prime minister wanted to do and I think, the prime minister is in a foreign policy trap, with the US dictating many of the terms on key issues. I have no doubt about it. This is not a conspiracy theory, the evidence is pretty clear."

Editor-in-Chief of Outlook magazine, Vinod Mehta has a middle-of-the-road viewpoint on all this. He says, "There was always going to be the politics of oil and this (Iran) pipeline will be embroiled in big power politics." He does feel though, that this reshuffle has done nothing - either elevated or damaged the prime minister's stature, image or position.

Well, if these concerns are valid, then short of invading India, the United States did the next best thing - direct foreign policy, in a not so subtle manner.

Note: The Cabinet reshuffle happened in January 2006.

Written for www.moneycontrol.com

Who comes first: brand or star?

The mother of all games in India is cricket. The game as well as its players are well known and by extension the brands that support the game too have become household names - Samsung, LG, Pepsi - and with many more adding to this brimming basket. What was a British legacy has now become a national mania. Former cricketer, Javagal Srinath attributes this to the "television revolution in 1983 as well as the Indian team winning the World Cup. So both culminated into a real explosion of cricket in India."

Chairman, SKA Advisors, Sunil K Alagh begs to differ. He said, "I don't think cricket is a brand. Cricket is a commodity. I mean it's the people in it who are the brands." Even though, cricket's associations with brands can be a little indirect, as is the case with the MRF Pace Foundation. Here MRF is brand, which has setup a foundation to train future generations of cricketers. In an ironic situation here, the players coming out of this Foundation are products of a brand!

But brands associate with big names and well known faces. The bigger the brand, the more well known the face is likely to be. Sachin Tendulkar is one of cricket's best names and an product that he lends his identity to gets instant recognition. The converse truth applies as well - that Sachin Tendulkar is synonymous with cricket - both the game and the person could easily be marketed as a brand or commodity. The areas of distinction overlap considerably.

Srinath said, "I think it is the game which really decides, the spectators decide on the nature of the game. Now it's not the guys with charisma who really make the difference, I think it's the nature of the game, the quality of the game which produces a lot of top class players. So I would probably beg to differ to say that yes they bring some sort of value, no doubt about it. But I think the intensity of the game definitely brings the crowds to the stadium."

On the other hand, had Sachin Tendulkar been a hockey player, he might have not had it so good in India, where cricket gets major brand endorsements and more media coverage than any other sport. Alagh said, "At one stage it was all hockey, and cricket was not as prominent as it is today." But hockey can get there and become a recognisable and more importantly, a saleable commodity, if there is a will to push it as well and as much as cricket. All this, ofcourse, ties up neatly if a player is also a consistent and keen performer.

Alagh reiterates, "It (hockey's success) won't happen overnight. You need to begin first by branding them. In India, unfortunately you will have to begin by branding them in the names of companies. If you take the Premium League in UK, they have got Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool. So whoever stays in Liverpool, they pay their fee, the club becomes rich, they are able to attract players and they play the game."

Keeping that in mind, the latest experiment in Indian hockey has been a bold move. They have got regional teams battling it out at the Premier Hockey League. But Alagh suggests, "At this stage of the game, what went wrong was to call the teams 'Hyderabad Blues' or 'Chennai Blues' because they have gone one step ahead, which does not bring in funding.

"So the way I would do it is, maybe pick up Pepsi or Coke or xyz companies initially, so you get a base for finance, then you start seeing how much money starts flowing in - in terms of players, in trying to get viewers, in getting television rights and then move on to calling teams 'Hyderabad Warrior' or 'Sher-e-Punjab' or whatever. That's how I would do this." Also picking up sportspeople who have the glamour quotient helps.

Good looks will lure brands and so will intelligent marketing. How you market a sport matters, for depending on those objectives, a cricket match or a football game can be plugged. Alagh explained, "You can be in cricket, you can be in football and you can be a purist, in which case you are doing it for yourself. Perhaps, you are doing it for your country, which is fine. Once you say that's my objective, the whole system of marketing such an event becomes very different. If you say no, my job is to make the sport popular, to bring crowds into the stadium and to generate funds, then you have to go down to the average viewer and ask him what does he want."

The flip side is that the very brands that sports stars endorse could be flawed. Worms in Cadburys bars, pesticide in Coke being two obvious examples. Here the responsibility lies with the brands to acknowledge the flaws and not attempt to cover it up. Sports people only bring in emotional value that can be attached to those brands, especially in the minds of the cricket-loving public.

Pegging brands to their performance may not always be a good idea. Alagh told CNBC-TV18 why it's a bad idea, "What happens is that when the consumer watches a bad performance, you are affecting your brand. So try and build on the image of the player so it doesn't matter whether he scores a duck in one inning or he scores hundred in another inning, it doesn't have a direct repercussion to your brand immediately."

Brand building has its own pitfalls. Young and new players can be hyped up way too much and then they face the enormous expectation of the public. If they are just average Joes, then both the player and the brand could be in trouble. But if done adroitly, the correct impression can be planted in people's minds.

Srinath agrees, "The right platform has to be created for launching a new player. I think the World Cup is probably the most ideal platform for any cricket team to launch a new player. I can recall the example of Inzamam-ul-Haq in the 1992 World Cup. He was unheard of and straight from district cricket and Imran Khan said that I am introducing a new cricketer into the world of cricket - Inzamam-ul-Haq and he is as good as Sachin."

"Now that positioning of Inzamam-ul-Haq in the minds of other teams was so well done by Imran Khan, because he compared Inzamam-ul-Haq with Sachin. So the whole cricketing world, stood up to look at who is this Inzamam-ul-Haq and what he is all about? An instant brand building was done."

Written for www.moneycontrol.com

Little children go hungry in India

India is on the go to achieve greater heights but in the rush to get there, are we leaving our younger and defenceless citizens behind? A report suggests that our under 6 year olds are malnourished, stunted and usually not immunised against dieseases. In fact, their plight may be worse that expected. India has the highest rate of malnourished children, India also has the dubious record of having the highest number of children who are sexually abused and the highest rate of child labour. As usual, India seems to score the highest in the worst possible denominations.

The recent National Family Health Survey shows that 79% are anaemic, 46% are undernourished and 27% are stunted. Economist and Right to Food activist, Jean Dreze told CNBC-TV18, "These figures are embarrassing in several ways. Firstly, they confirm that the levels of child malnutrition in India is the highest in the world, which was also known for quite sometime. What is perhaps more embarrassing is that according to the same survey, there has been no improvement in child nutrition in the last eight years, despite runaway economic growth - this is truly alarming and should be a matter of national debate."

"I think it's also embarrassing that it has eight years for us to know this. I mean, why has it taken eight years for a survey to note this and why have such important facts and figures have not yet been officially released."

A UN report called 'Progress for Children' shows that the percentage of malnourished in India is almost twice that of sub-Sahara Africa, three times that of Thailand, six times that of China and is shockingly, is worse that Afghanistan! Supreme Court Commissioner on the Right to Food, NC Saxena admits this is an embarrassment, especially since the economy has grown by 8% every year and malnutrition has gone down by just 1% in that time period.

Executive Director of Haq, Meenakshi Ganguly says that this reflects the poliical will towards our children. She says, "When we were looking at the number of questions raised on children in Parliament, we found only an average of 3% of questions were raised on any issue by legislators - so that's the interest they have in our children."

In India, the worst offender against children is the state of Uttar Pradesh. Here are some figures - 52% of children under 3 years are undernourished and 28% of the deaths of children nationwide, happen in this state. Food meant for children is given to cattle. This kind of situation continues because of the lack of political will and as CEO of Child Rights and You, CRY, Ingrid Srinath puts it, "it reflects on our failure collectively. We've failed to make it important for our politicians to address the needs of our children."

NC Saxena feels that malnourishment have been targeted well by some states like Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Maharashtra while many other states have fallen behind. But he feels the target audience should be children between 1-3 years, the programmes should be taken to remote tribal villages and Dalit bastis and health and sanitation should also be looked at holistically - only, then can the Integrated Child Development Scheme or ICDS be considered successful.

The Supreme Court has ordered the government to roll out 14 lakh aanganwadis (day care centres) by 2008 - so they have been given 2 more years to universalise the ICDS scheme. Saxena's says, "I won't say the government has ignored the order - in fact, ICDS centres have expanded from 5.5 lakhs to 11 lakhs - so the government has tried to increase the number - but these centres have not become operational, which is why it is the state government's fault. The procedures are very long and the government has not tried to simplify the procedures."

He adds, "You have to make budgetary provisions through Parliament, through the assemblies and then recruit and all other kinds of formalities need to be completed."

Tamil Nadu is a state, which has a 75 year old social history that has empowered rural and local governments, feel Srinath, and therefore, they have been able to overlook factors like caste, class, gender and provide their children with adequate food, while in Uttar Pradesh, this is not the case. Ganguly agrees and says that, politicians have to be made accountable for this major problem, and they have gotten away because they have not been held accountable systematically.

Dreze also suggests that the government looks at spending on children's health and well being as a form of investment for the future. He also feels that just because they don't have the right to vote, they can't be politically marginalised, as they are going to be the citizens of tomorrow.

Written for www.moneycontrol.com

How to motivate people

Ace bowler Javagal Srinath has scorched the cricket fields and now brings some of the on-field expertise to highlight business strategies with Managing Director, Centurion Bank, Shailendra Bhandari. Both of them talk to CNBC-TV18 in a freewheeling interview, where they banter and field their opinions on how to get people motivated into giving their best.

Srinath speaks on what it takes to succeed and where it takes and how it is really the inner self which has to persevere and emerge triumphant against all odds. He says, it is the basis of success in all fields and for all kind of sports.

Srinath elaborates, "It's extremely important. Motivation is the foundation for any sport or for any profession. But somehow or the other, we have failed to really define motivation. You can see motivated people, you can see people who are not really motivated but somehow or the other we have failed to define what exactly motivation is all about?"

He does emphasise that it's people who "seek challenges and who persist in the face of diversities, adversities, as well as in periods of duress and somebody who is consistent, who is always keen to learn and somebody who has performed for a period of a time. These are the signs that you see, from a highly motivated character."

But Bhandari has a slightly different opinion of what is motivation and how it can be harnessed to make employees more enthusiastic about their work and their office environment. He says, "I personally think that motivation starts off with a commonality of a goals because you as an employee are motivated, but you could be motivated just to get a big bonus. So the important thing is that your goal has to be the same as the corporate."

"Now once those two come together and once you recognise what your doing and you see the rewards coming in, the two starts happening. To me, the final part of it is when an employee, who is in sync with the corporate's goals, he is motivated. He is excited by what he is doing. But to me the final part is, when he identifies with the organization."

Where Srinath and Bhandari differ is on who should be targeted for a serious dose of motivating. Srinath firmly feels that you can motivate yourself to greater personal success. But Mr Bhandari feels motivating the team at large, for the good of an organisation is how it should be done.

Bhandari says, "Motivation is again individualistic on the first level and then it goes on to collective consciousness and collective motivation. It's all the more important, for you to be motivated on an individual basis. Once you are motivated own your own or even 4-5 people who are extremely motivated, will make things fall into place and probably from a distance, you can see that the team is motivated."

He adds, "NR Narayan Murthy is, in some ways, is a great example. Because as a person, he is not that charismatic, say like Steve Jobs, who is the head of Apple. I mean he (Steve Jobs) is charismatic but their personalities are different. NR Narayan Murthy comes across as a tremendous intellect, a man who is driven to create something."

On the Indian cricket team and of his former colleagues, Srinath says, "Anil Kumble is a highly motivated individual. He is somebody who is extremely resolute. And number two is Sachin Tendulkar. He has been going on and on and on and he has had a lot of injuries, which he has carried along with him, but in spite of it, I think, he has a burning desire to continue playing cricket for some more time."

Despite setbacks, to learn from failure is important. Bhandari says, "I think it's (to cope with failure) essential, I presume similar to cricket, where you can be in form and out of form. Business does go through cycles and very often you can also just have bad luck. For instance, recently you have seen the tsunami occur, and if you happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, your business could take a beating. So I think a leader has to have the ability to actually withstand failure, which may or may not happen to you, to learn from it and to build from it."

Many times, though, timely criticism has saved a situation from deteriorating and encouragement has got superb results from people, and the same goes for players, be it in the corporate boardroom or the playing field.

Srinath agrees, "I think when a guy enters international cricket, his career is in a very infant stage, that's the time he requires all sorts of support from the social environment. That could be from parents, coaches, or the media. They are all external motivators. They write few lines about it, you feel good about it and if they write bad lines about you then you are dejected and you are de-motivated. So that's the reason why intrinsic motivation is extremely important. There should be pride, prestige and belief in what you are trying to do."

Bhandari reiterates saying that money is not always the sole motivation driving people's ambitions. He says, "It goes without saying, that if someone is going to actually try to create long-term value for the company, he has to see long-term value for himself. He has to identify with the company."

In the international scenario, where a corporation can have offices abroad and where people can be from various backgrounds, motivating each employee individually may not be possible. He says, "It is going to become more process driven and less personal. It will be much more goal driven, much more performance appraisal driven. There will be matrix organizations. You will probably have a geographical boss, you will have a matrix boss. So there are ways to handle it, but you can't do it on a personality basis. That won't work very well."

In cricket, Srinath says, "The coach and captain play an extremely important role in the player's career. I think Saurav's perseverance on the young wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel is good and I think the best thing about Saurav's captaincy, is his faith in Harbhajan Singh and Yuvraj Singh. Although Yuvraj has proved himself and sometimes he has not, but Harbhajan Singh has delivered. So that's the reason why the combination of Harbhajan Singh and Saurav Ganguly always does well for the team."

The former cricketer adds, "External forces are motivating you is a perishable one. It can't really last long, you got to stand on your own legs. As soon as you finish college, I think you got to stand on your own legs, you can't be expecting somebody else to help you out. I think they will probably be of some use to you but I mean, you can't be expecting to get motivated by what they do or what they don't do."

Bhandari has some parting advice for those looking for some motivating mantra. He says, "Obviously look for personal gain, in the sense that you will look for money, you will look for happiness, but I would say that early in life, identify a team with whom you feel you can belong. And once you do that, that belongingness, the feeling of ownership will foster its own motivation. Make sure that it's a team, which gives you enough wealth etc, so that doesn't fall by the way side. But once you feel that you belong to such a team, you are going to feel truly driven."

Written for www.moneycontrol.com

Lost innocence

The government has recently banned children below the age of 14 from working in the hospitality industry and as domestic help. But, as early as 2001, a constitutional amendment passed guaranteeing education to all children under 14 is yet to be implemented. But Raj Mangal Prasad, who is Vice President of the NGO Pratidhi called this a cosmetic step.

He explains why he said this because he felt that steps needed to be taken to improve the infrastructure, education prospects for these children as well as provide their parents with an alternative source of income. He feels the ban should have been the final step and not the first one and so late in the day.

On the other hand, International Labour Organisation, ILO, Director Leyla Tegmo-Reddy says that this is a positive first step and that registration and monitoring will come as a natural corollary to this ban. She says that on the question of rehabilitating these kids, there is the "Child Labour Project in 250 districts (in addition to the 150 now added by the Labour Ministry). There is 'Sarva Siksha Abhiyaan', which provides education to children under 14. Sometimes, people don't know about these schemes but we need to develop better safety nets."

Also on children being banned from working in hotels, tea stalls, dabbhas, this has always been the case, says Indian Hotels and Restaurants Association, Honorary Treasurer Santosh Shetty because he says they have always been governed by the Shop and Establishment Law in Mumbai. But he told CNBC-TV18, "The new law will prosecute the employer and that is grossly unfair. We do send them to school. We make them work only six hours a day and we don't make them work at night."

Reddy explains that rehabilitation can be done through "resident welfare associations, we can do some advocacy, some training. I think we should be working in schools, where middle class or upper middle class children can make very good advocates. We can work with teachers and the media but there must be a very constructive approach to this issue."

She says that going back to the drawing board and starting over is not an option and that people have as the situation of these kids is quite bad - they work long hours sometimes in hazardous jobs. So, to get started somewhere is the idea and then beefing up programmes for these children's rehabilitation will have to be undertaken with seriousness.

Though, Prasad says that unless the government leads by example and uses its resources to set the ball rolling - to rescue underprivileged children from working and putting them into schools - this ban will only remain a pipedream. And as a example, he points out that, even though government officials are banned from employing children as domestic help in their homes, one has to only go to a government colony and see for themselves, that a lot of children still continue to be employed in their homes! So, why should this ban, change anything at all? He may just have a point here.

Written for www.moneycontrol.com

India-Pakistan kiss and make up in Cuba

Havana seems like a good meeting point for Manmohan Singh and Pervez Musharraf. It was away from either India and Pakistan and may be the romance of Cuba worked its charm on the heads of the two countries - they got talking again about what really matters. Now the question is just what have they agreed to do and how much will the good rapport they share with one another, help them achieve their goals? So what was said in that one hour between the two?

Media Advisor to the prime minister, Sanjaya Baru told CNBC-TV18, "They have a working relationship and the Prime Minister has once described President Musharraf as a 'business-like person'. They were meeting after one year and they had a lot to discuss." He adds, "Compared to the chill in the air last year in New York, there was a different atmosphere and a willingness to listen to each other and work together."

But terrorism emanating from Pakistan has always been a problem for Pakistan and is also always a bone of contention, whenever the two sides talk to each other. This time, the joint statement issued in Havana says that a mechanism is going to be put in place, to deal with this problem. This initiative has been called the India Pakistan Anti-terrorism Institutional Mechanism. According to the statement made, this will "identify and implement counter-terrorism initiatives and investigations." So, just what does this amount to?

Baru explains, "I think the Foreign Secretary designate, Mr Shivshankar Menon spoke at length when he addressed the media is Havana. He also said that this is an idea that has to be fleshed out further. The real point is that today, we have a platform where one can actually exchange information rather than talk through the media and make public pronouncements. We can take to Pakistan, the information we have with respect to terrorist incidents and seek the commitment for dealing with it. We are looking at credible ways in which we can exchange information and deal with the problem."

Then there is Kashmir - the other 'issue' that refuses to die down. In January of this year, President Musharraf had suggested joint management and self governance of J&K and this sent the Ministry of External Affairs into a tizzy. Now, will this option be considered once again? Baru says, "The phrase 'out-of-the-box thinking' was originally Dr Manmohan Singh's phrase. I don't think we should be giving General Musharraf the credit for coming with out-of-the-box solutions. I think it's the Prime Minister who is seeking out-of-the-box solutions."

"For 50 years, the two countries have not been able to find a way out of the impasse. What the Prime Minister is seeking a credible way out, which is acceptable to India and Pakistan and everyone else, then we need to find those ways."

So, there may be back channels at work here which have come up with some innovative ideas and that could be from where the two leaders takeoff, to find a more satisfactory and hopefully permamnent solution to atleast one of the two big problems - Kashmir.

About terrorism - well, it is not only India's problem anymore. Osama bin Laden has ensured that it has been democratically spread to countries, which never suffered the way India did before. So, now every country on the world map is involved in looking for a solution to terrorism.

Written for www.moneycontrol.com

Bushfire of a different kind

With the US and India having signed the Nuclear Pact, that diplomatic circles are calling a giant and a historic step forward in Indo-US relations. But as there always is, there's another voice being raised. The Left has its own set of fears and it doesn't help that President Bush has run roughshod over some other countries in our neighbourhood lately. Besides, having cosied up to Pakistan all along has not exactly made him popular here.

So this nuke deal may be his way of appeasing India just a little bit. Strategic Affairs editor of The Indian Express and the author of a new book on India-US relations, 'Impossible Allies', C Raja Mohan feels that this deal is good news because "it confers on India, the legitimacy of being a nuclear weapons state and secondly, it gives us access to the entire nuclear energy market. Also, it gives us strategic parity with China and differentiates us from Pakistan."

Deputy Editor of The Hindu, Siddharth Varadarajan whose opinions have also been against such a deal taking place, now feels that because of the vigorous debate in this country over the nuke deal, the technical parameters have been met. As a result loopholes were plugged and unpleasant caveats were taken care of.

He credits it to "the negotiation process, in which public debates also played a role" and therefore this "agreement is something we can be happy with and a lot of the Indian reservations over what happens has been taken care of. This removes us from technological collonialism." So with this prickly nuclear issue out of the way, there is scope for growth in other spheres.

C Raja Mohan adds that in India, things do tend to get blown way out of proportion and some quarters overdid the anxiety and some of the fears were unrealistic. But India has been in control of this deal, and all of what the top scientists wanted is ably represented and will reflect in the deal, the details of which the Prime Minister will finally tell the Lok Sabha soon.

So what is not clearly known is the nature of safeguards that we have to accept, which have yet to be determined by the IAEA. The Prime Minister has assured the public that he will get them to create India-specific safeguards. But Rajamohan says that the IAEA has already said in July of last year, that India will get the same treatment as the others. Besides, there is actually a chance that the IAEA may be more stringent on India because we have not signed the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, NPT.

C Raja Mohan explains what India-specific safeguards mean in such a case. He says, "Unlike the non-nuclear states under the NPT, who have to put their entire nuclear programme under safeguards, we don't have to do it. And unlike the nuclear weapons states, who can switch in and out of the military and civilian list, we won't have that option. What we put in the civilian list, will stay there permanently and that's the only bad thing, of this undertaking."

Former ambassador to Washington, Lalit Mansingh feels that one of the safeguards could be that India has been assured that in times of an emergency, the civilian facilities could be shifted to do military duty. This is despite the 'perpetuity clause' signed yesterday.

Even Varadarajan who has come around to seeing the deal, as a good one has reservations on the issue of safeguards - on whether the US will sign off on the deal, that India wangles out of the IAEA. Even though, India's unique position means that the IAEA may not give India the same deal as the other five nuclear NPT countries, Varadrajan feels "it's not the end of the world."

C Raja Mohan agrees and says that when the big boss wants something, then the other countries will follow suit, so with the US endorsing this deal, India gets the opportunity to change its position in the nuclear order.

Mansingh adds, "If you think of worst case scenarios, you are going to be scared. But this is where the world is heading and besides the IAEA has been supportive of this, the UN Secretary-General has supported this and Russia, Britain France has also supported this deal."

Now it remains to be seen, if US President George Bush can sway the US Congress to support this deal. Again the consensus is that, though he has expended his political capital with the disastrous war in Iraq and the Katrina hurricane scandal, this is one deal that he just may be able to get support for. One of the chief reasons being that, if the President has chosen to make a foreign policy decision of this magnitude, then it must have been done with support in the first place.

But Varadarajan says that India should take this deal as a separate entity and not add any political baggage to it. So, India should not have second thoughts on its own political relations with other countries, that the US is threatening with sanctions - for instance like what is happening with Iran.

Another reason why India is getting the royal treatment today, could well be that India may be expected to support Bush's other foreign policy measures, vis-a-vis other countries. Varadarajan advises that, India should be able to see through this ploy and should remain firm on its position, otherwise India stands to lose its credibility.

For more on C Raja Mohan's book 'Impossible Allies' click here: http://www.prakashbooks.com/details.php3?id=19862&c=Current%20Affairs%20/%20Politics

Note: At the time of writing this editorial, the deal had yet to make its ponderous way through the House of Representatives, let alone the Senate. So, please keep that in mind, when reading this article.

Written for www.moneycontrol.com

Two women prove how successful feminine shakti can be!

Deepak Chopra may be guru to Hollywood stars but he's sure not to have these two women on his speed dial. For a man raking in the bucks, selling old wine in stylish, new bottles, he's got some antediluvian ideas. He believes women in the corporate world lose their feminine shakti!

He certainly should line up to meet Swati Piramal and Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw. Both of whom are in cutting edge careers. Director of Nicholas Piramal, Swati A Piramal and Chairman & Managing Director, Bicon, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw are the women, who are in the forefront of the biotechnology movement in India. The West may be miles ahead of us, when it comes to biotech research but these two women have atleast given us a good start.

Mazumdar explains, "I think what has happened is, biotech has been a sort of an untrodden path and it hasn't been a crowded space. In fact, it has been a fairly unexplored space, so I think the focus on the opportunities, were more in the pharma sector and less in the biotech sector and in terms of scientific challenge, there are plenty of women in this country.

Though, women have never had it easy, even in the West, there is a belief that scientific careers are not meant for them. This kind of statement created quite a ruckus recently, when the Harvard dean and Former Treasury Secretary, Lawrence Summers made it. Mazumdar told CNBC-TV18, "Well I think that was quite a controversy and I don't think there were too many people, who would agree with his view, we don't agree."

Piramal explains, "Women in science, they are really coming up and Larry Summers talked about some of the hurdles and I think we have those, but the point is, how do we get across those hurdles. I am on the Prime Minister's advisory board, and we're writing a paper called Women in Science, on how do we get more women in India to study science."

Indian women could be cajoled into studying sciences, Swati Piramal explains, "There are 3-4 things that really make them scientists. One of them is a parent who really believes that a child can learn science, whether it's a boy or a girl. The second is that, someone has told her that you can achieve, you can do this. The third is, somebody has taught you this love for science - a teacher, a professor, a book, it could be anything. So these are the three factors which I think really influences a woman, and of course, the last is a role model."

Ofcourse, these two women are exactly the kind of role models for a future generation of female scientists. They have started the race and the baton will surely be passed on. In fact, they are already making a difference in boardrooms.

Piramal elaborates, "I actually found myself, though I am scientist, on three finance and insurance companies and I asked them why did you ask me on the board, they said we want people who can think of things in a different way and not their own standard. And I think, women bring that sort of diversity, the differentiation and creativity, this is kind of natural for them."

Mazumdar agrees and says, "There is a little sensitivity attached to whatever you are doing. When it comes to human relations, I think their sensitivities are far more acute amongst women, than it is among men."

"Very often in my company, many of my male colleagues when they are faced with the human relation dilemma, they come to me and say, hey do you think, I should dissolve this problem. You can ask them why they come to me, they say, somehow, you give us a very different way of thinking about these issues and maybe that's the way it's going to be solved."

Both of them are representing a new science and they have been the faces of India abroad in their field. Mazumdar acknowleges this, "Yes, I have sort of been a brand ambassador for Indian biotech for many years and yes there has been a credibility issue because India has never been really an R&D hot bet and I think that is something that I wanted to kind of change - that we are not just imitators, but we are innovators."

"But today, I think when I stand there, people sit and listen to me and take me seriously and I think that's the transformation I am seeing." Piramal admits that people do seem to take them seriously now. Especially with India's potential to deliver affordable drugs for five billion people.

Mazumdar explains, "Obviously, when you are in a business like ours and when you are driven by an ambition to basically deliver a billion dollar drug, out of your research table, I think that is really a very exciting space to be in. I think, to me affordable drugs for a large part of the world is something that is very possible, only out of India. And I think, if we can really develop an important drug in an affordable way out of India, that would mean a lot to me."

The flipside to being so incredibly focused is that one could lose out on the lighter moments in life. Kiram Mazumdar says that after Biocon went public, she's become a bit boring! The pressures of running a company with shareholders to answer to have not left much time to pursue her interests much.

So, she considers it a bonanza, when she can catch a rock or a western classical concert, in India or abroad. She also tries to watch a game of tennis, when the Wimbledon's on but even though she like golf, she hasn't been able to tee off for two years now! Well, you win some and you lose some.

Both have also authored and co-authored books, appreciate art and both are a 'husband-wife team', as Mazumdar puts it. She says, "There is another dimension which I never thought about, even though I knew about it, and that is, we both are a husband and a wife team. The most important role that someone can play in building these careers for women, are husbands."

Swati Piramal has co-authored two books with Mrs Tarla Dalal titled 'Eat Your Way to Good Health,' and another 'Diet and Nutrition Guide for Patients with Renal Disease and Renal Disorders'. While Kiran Mazumdar's coffee table 'Ale & Arty: The Story of Beer' is for the lager fans.

The multifaceted Piramal has also directed a music video called 'The Science Anthem with some of India's greatest musicians, lyricists, dancers and filmmakers and written an Indian opera called 'The Dance of Life', which tells the story of 2,500 years of Indian scientific discoveries, including astronomy, mathematics, ayurvedic medicine and other life sciences

That beauty is a part of their environment is obvious, as anyone who has been to Kiran Mazumdar's lovely home in Bangalore would attest. Swati Pirmal admits she was struck by Mazumdar's office. She says, "I visited her beautiful research centre, which is just stunning, all the work that she is doing and I really enjoyed her office, there were lots of beautiful paintings."

Swati Piramal's a free spirit who is into communing with nature. She says, "My big indulgence is my boat. Whenever I can, I take off with a few friends and we have this gourmet meal on the boat, with a glass of wine, with the sea and some great music for company. It’s so nice to get away from the city of Bombay because we have too much of traffic and buildings and when you are close to nature, you kind of respect everything."

These infrastructure problems do exist and that's what is keeping India back, on delivering on the brand-India promise. Mazumdar explains, "I don’t think the government is doing enough, because all that we want from the government is an enabling environment and infrastructure. Now in our business of biotechnology, there are lots of initiatives being taken and I think we have to address these with a sense of urgency. Somehow, I just feel that the government is not quite in sync with India Inc."

Piramal says, "I spoke to the Prime Minister only a few weeks ago and I said please do something to implement all the things that we have put together. If they can put that, India will really become a world power."

They have visions for a better country, and by the nature of their work, a better world. They also continue to be looked up to but whom do they idolise? Mazumdar says, "When I was setting up Biocon, I looked at certain people who have done things very differently. So I was very inspired by Jack Welch. In India, I was inspired by Professor Mashelkar because he was a big change-maker in science and technology. I was also inspired by Vaghul of ICICI and Narayan Murthy."

"The one woman who influenced me in terms of business, was Anita Roddick of Body Shop. I used to like her style of doing business because I have always looked at very unconventional people. I like unconventionality in people and I am very unconventional and when I set up the company, I certainly wanted it to be a very different kind of organisation and I insisted that every single person in the workplace call me by my first name, and I said everyone should call each other by their first name and it was quite an alien concept in those days."

Piramal's icon was the ultimate beacon of hope for the downtrodden, Mother Teresa. She recalls, "The one who really moved me, when I met her was Mother Teresa. She came to my hospital and she gave out packages to all the little kids who were paralyzed and she wrote that working for children is working for peace and she was so beautiful, that I can never forget her face. She was truly one of most beautiful women I have ever seen."


To order Kiran Mazumdar Shaw's coffee table book:
http://www.prakashbooks.com/details.php3?id=5965&c=Cookery,%20Food%20/%20Drinks

Written for www.moneycontrol.com

He brought the Satya Paul brand to life

He is the man who helped give the Satya Paul design label, a fresh lease of life. Sanjay Kapoor is an economist armed with a management degree from the University of Rochester. A short stint as Assistant Manager with Citibank later, he made a decision to do something entrepreneurial.

He teamed up with Jyoti Narula in the early 1990s to start Genesis Colors, to export designer neckwear. He formally tied up with Satya Paul in 2001 and has kickstarted their mission to corporatise the ready-to-wear market in India.

He says he decided to do something by himself because he didn't want to work for someone else for the rest of his life. He had also spotted a gap in men's wardrobe - that India was exporting a $2.5 Madras plaid shirt but neckties were being ignored. Being a banker, he realised how important ties were to complete the corporate look.

So he started Genesis Colors in just one room in his parents' home and now he has given the Satya Paul design label, a pan India footprint. With 13 standalone stores across the country and a foray into women's wear, Kapoor is now working on promoting a menswear line.

Managing Director of Genesis Colors, Sanjay Kapoor told CNBC-TV18, "In the next 18-24 months, we will be coming out with a menswear line."

His joint venture with Satya Paul has been on since 1992, but it has become more of a partnership now, with Satya Paul's son Puneet joining him and Jyoti Narula as an equal partner. He feels marketing a designer brand is something that needs newer and fresh approaches

In keeping with this motto, Satya Paul fashion shows have been held at Madame Tussaud's or models have catwalked to the notes of Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia's flute. Kapoor is always looking out for innovative brand promotion strategies.

With a view to building economies of scale, he is open to private equity funding and is also looking at issuing an IPO. Backing promising designers is also part of his mentoring strategy and they have made a start with Sanjana Jon and Deepika Gehani. This might pay in the long run as well, when these young designers hitch their wagon exclusively to Kapoor's successful brand.

There is an irony in this tale. Kapoor remembers a time, when he had just started out and bankers were wary of extending loans because they didn't feel garment exporting could be banked on.

Today, he fends off plenty of calls in a week, from investors and venture capitalists, VCs, who are looking to buy a bit of his business. Suddenly, now he seems to have a very appetising cake, from which he's eating all by himself - barring the two others who were smart enough to get on board when they did.

Note: At the time of writing this story, his deal with Sanjana Jon was on but since then, they have parted ways because of major differences.

Written for www.moneycontrol.com

If London & NY can do it, then so can India!

She is one of the crop of Generation Next investment bankers who dabble in global depository receipts, GDRs, in the US, do some interesting mergers and acquisitions, M&As in London, sell equities to foreign institutional investors, FIIs and have a world of experience in a very short span of time. The managing director at Kotak Investment Bank, Falguni Nayar is one such bright spark.

She began doing her homework on stocks early when her father was investing in them, she would look up P/E margins in the newspaper. It was then she knew she wanted to go on to do an MBA course, so IIM - Ahmedabad beckoned. She liked everything in her course but soon decided to specialise in finance. She graduated and went to work with Ferguson & Consulting, which she credits for giving her "a very good, all-round experience in the aspect of management."

But all the same, she did move on to Kotak Investment Bank in 1993. She joined the M&A department. She told CNBC-TV18, "Around the early 90s, Kotak had set up an investment banking division and they were doing a lot of equity deals and they wanted to build a strong M&A department and they felt that I had the right skill set. So I had to build it from there. Fortunately for me, within six months I got transfered to London and I moved into the equity business. So I set up our London office to sell equities to FIIs as well as high networth individuals, HNIs."

"So I think it was a good call, otherwise for many years in M&A, I may have not seen enough action. I was fortunate because by then, Uday (Kotak) had probably seen potential in me, so he asked me set up our London office. Then when I moved to the US, I set up our US office. So my career continued to progress.

In the US, she did get some experience working with Goldman Sachs for about 6-8 months. She was particularly impressed with a big name on Wall Street back then - Abby Joseph Cohen. She elaborated, Around 1998, Abby Joseph Cohen was a big name on the street and listening to her was fascinating. I must say, that I do believe in growth and I do believe in secular growth and I was convinced with her story that the US was in for further growth, even in spite of high valuation."

"I think at that time, US price-earnings multiples were around the low 20s and I thought that their accounting system was so strong and she (Abby) used to constantly highlight that compared to Europe or Japan, the US accounting (practices) was so strong, that I thought that US multiples would expand even from there.

She has also seen the internet bubble days but she acknowledges "I saw the value creation so to speak during the internet bubble days. On hindsight, it was truly a bubble. But there are always risks and at that point it didn’t feel like that. The fact was that every merger was accruing value for these firms because they were trading at such high multiples, that once they acquired some earnings, that multiple created huge market cap growth. So, it was a virtual cycle that taught me a lesson that there are (business) cycles."

Then she came back to India in September 2001. Here, she started on the sell side of equities and came across a gamut of investors. She's dealt with and serviced so many investor relationships, she has developed a couple of investment philosophies. She explained, "There are value investors who go for value stocks. There are growth investors who like growth stocks, then there are macro-investors who take a macro theme - top-down investing."

"A top-down approach is selecting the sector and then winners within that sector. So that’s the third type of investors and then you have arbitrage investors, who always try to arbitrage. It could be arbitraging differences between convertible and equities or a special situation arbitrage, where a merger ratio is announced and the stocks don’t reflect that. So those are the special situations."

"We also had investors who were long-short investors. They take a call upstream and buy downstream. They want to be short even within the intra-sector. At every stage there is may be one philosophy which is more prevalent than others, but there are investors with different philosophies in all phases of the cycle."

"Unfortunately, on the sale side you don’t have the liberty of choosing any one philosophy and just sticking to up. You have to really know your client and see what investment will suit his style."

She describes her personal style as being an optimist and a bullish person. She is also a growth investor who sometimes thinks a contrarian investment strategy may work. She said, "I believe in the structural factors and the macro economic factors, which drive growth over a longer term. So since I have a such a long-term perspective, within that, I do believe in secular growth and I think there are countries like India and China, which will see a very long-term secular growth."

"However, I have to some extent, matured. I mean there was a time when I used to really believe only on secular growth and now I truly believe that even if it’s secular growth, there will be cyclicality."

In India, she quickly moved into the flow of things and was involved with the big Maruti Udyog, MUL, initial public offering, IPO. She explained, "There are simple rules by which we evaluate a stock. What we (Kotak) thought as an investment bank did add value in terms of fitting Maruti within a (financial) yardstick with regard to international investors. While the stock was priced at 20-times historical multiples, we had worked with the company for certain improvements to their earnings model, so it was a huge success. So I think you need to have that clear judgment about what investors will think based on certain yardsticks of finance."

She's also level-headed about PSU disinvestments and about the share prices going down. Falguni reiterated, "It’s a market and there will be buyers and sellers. I mean for everyday when there is buying, there is a seller out there. So I just felt that to a certain extent, to be concerned about stock prices going down or selling in those shares was not right."

"Bankers are always working in the interest of their clients and even the bankers in the (PSU) deals were also working in the interest of clients. But it is a market and there will be some investors who will sell a particular stock during the time, when they think that IPOs are coming out and they don’t necessarily always gain because the stock may outperform during the period up to the launch. So even if the deal happens at market or slight discount to market, the stock maybe 10%-15% higher."

Apart from such hi-flying issues, she has also pioneered the GDR market - by marketing them under her own brand name. She said, "That’s where my international experience came to use, the offices (she set up) as well as the legal and compliance aspects. So I knew how it works. So when I came back, I worked with my equity team towards being one of the first Indian investment banks to in fact, lead manage as well as participate in GDR transactions in our own capacity, and similarly even on a convertible. Kotak did one of the first convertibles ever done by an Indian investment bank."

"I think this business has been done by foreign banks, but as an Indian investment bank, we are one of the first who are also offering a full service product range to our clients. So clients don’t need to come to us for domestic offerings and go to foreign investment banks for ADRs/GDRs, we are trying to offer them an integrated package."

Since, she's also looking at M&As, she has a gameplan in mind. She said, "For a successful M&A banker, sector expertise is very important and I am going to be focusing on having sector experts in as many sectors as we want to service. It’s only when you have the expertise on your sector, then you can be a true advisor to senior corporates heads like CFOs/CEOs. They really need you to be able to give them ideas on how they can take their business forward through M&As. So, you need to be very knowledgeable on their sectors."

Falguni is foreseeing a huge record volume in the IPO markets. She elaborated, "I think we are going to see a lot of IPOs as well as secondary offerings because we are in that growth phase, so there is a need for growth capital and also infrastructure - related financing will start off. Also new sectors are coming into play. So I definitely think that the markets are positioned well."

She signs off on a buoyant note feeling that Mumbai has the potential to become a powerful and truly world class financial centre, like London or New York. She has some parting pearls of wisdom for anyone looking to follow her footsteps. She said, " I would say that customer needs are important. Everything needs to be done from a customer’s perspective and you have to give excellent quality of execution, to satisfy that need."

Written for www.moneycontrol.com

Providing you with a classy makaan

Want a swanky home with a swimming pool on the roof and in a area like western Bandra, then you should book a flat at the upcoming Buena Vista. The going rate there is Rs 20,000 per square foot. And you thought good things came only to the deserving. In reality, it comes to the people who can afford it - good or bad.

The man who is selling such expensive real estate is Boman Irani, the 37 year old Chairman and Managing Director of Keystone Group. He has a Mechanical Engineering degree from the Mumbai University. He came into contact with real estate developers at the young age of 19, when he was trying to sell a family property. Though far from being organised, this industry lured him in.

He told CNBC-TV18, "I got into this industry because I realised the scope this industry had. Roti, kapda, makaan are the basic needs of any human being and the makaan had a long way to go in this city. This is what I set out to do and this is what our future goals will be."

Despite no degree, pertaining to putting up buildings he still wanted to be here. He recalls, "When I put up a building in Dahisar, I found out that the rooms we were making were too small and I asked my architect if we could make them a little bigger. He told me about what the city is like, what the area is like, what the people are like and where exactly I should go and get my grounding from. Basically just being interested teaches you a lot."

He does admit that there is a lot more that needs to be done in Mumbai and he feels it is happening - slowly but steadily. But he says that it takes a slap in the face for the sharpest reations to occur - like for instance the July 26 floods finally made the Mumbai authorities wake up.

But of his company's residential properties, he says, "We've decided to concentrate on locations and build only in places which will be considered great places to live in." So he settles on locations, he would be comfortable and want to live in himself. His company has been making apartments, keeping in mind what people want and if they are getting environmentally conscious now, his firm has been using sewage treatment and rainwater harvesting techniques for 6-7 years.

He feels people should be educated about the fact that to live in such environment-friendly homes has a cost attached to it. He says because people don't understand the sewage treatment technology, he's had people complain about treated water being used to water the gardens, just because their children play in the garden! He says that people should undertand the technology and ofcourse, make sure their children don't drink that water!

A Rustomjee home will be an efficiently functioning property, or so claims Irani. With the garbage disposal, sewage treatment, swimming pool all working and being maintained in perfect order. He promises that his firm builds quality into design and keeps people's needs foremost in mind.

Today, Keystone Group has a turnover of Rs 150 crore and employs over 200 people. So with his company doing well, he has set up the Rustomjee International School in Borivili (W), which gives good quality English education to children, who normally wouldn't be able to afford it. He says, "I told the teachers at this school, that it won't give me any shame if no engineers, doctors, scientists or artists come out of this school, but it would hurt me immensely, if I found out that one of them turned out to be a thug, rogue, cheat or a killer."

He has started a programme called 'Shiksha', where child labourers are taken to school between 1.00-3.00 pm and 5.00-7.00 pm and taught. There the child is taught basic reading and writing, about hygiene and moral values and basic things they need to know about this city.

With work and philanthrophy taking so much of time, how does he relax? This multifaceted man unwinds by reading, listening to music, riding his bike, going for long drives. Just to give himself that extra edge, he's also learning karate.

For more information on Keystone projects:
Call: +91·22·56766888
or e-mail : info@rustomjee.com
Website: http://www.rustomjee.com/index.asp

Written for www.moneycontrol.com

Clemenceau controversy: A lethal weapon

Green groups are up in arms and it's a cause that has found many believers and some recent converts. The decommissioned French warship, Clemenceau is a sailing load of asbestos and it's on its way to Sriram Scrap Vessels at the Alang shipyard in Gujarat. There it will be broken down. This ship has created such a ruckus because it is believed that it carries lethal amounts of asbestos, which is going to ruin the health of people, who work on dismantling the ship.

This is a Rs 40 crore contract, which has been rejected by other countries like Turkey, Greece and Spain but there are as many countries willing to pounce on it, if India says no as well. Bangladesh being one of them. Newspapers have been making environmental activism a daily feature, which is a good thing, since in this case, the Supreme Court has ordered the government to prevent the ship from coming near Indian waters till February 13.

The apex court order couldn't have come sooner because Greenpeace's toxic campaigner Ramapati Kumar told CNBC-TV18, "There are a lot of hazardous materials on board, which makes it unsafe. And also because, they lied from day 1 - they said it would go to Turkey for scrapping, once it is decontaminated but when it arrived there, it was found that it had not been decontaminated and due to Greenpeace's intervention, Turkey refused to accept it."

Both France and India are signatories to the Basel Convention, where it was promised that toxic waste would not be imported and exported. The French are conveniently arguing that warships are an exception to that, while the Chairman of the Monitoring Committee, Dr Thiagarajan says that no such exceptions must be made.

Well known environmental lawyer and Magsaysay award winner, Mahesh Chandra Mehta says that Dr Thiagarajan is right and at this point, this ship is not a warship at all, but rather, almost like junk. Ofcourse, it hasn't helped that the warship has 220 tonnes of asbestos on board and that France promised to decontaminate 90% of it but didn't do it.

Now, the French are singing a different tune and are saying that according to the weight of the entire ship, there is only 45 tonnes on board, which is 0.02% of the whole and which the French Defence Minister, Jean Francois Bureau calls "very neglible."

Not only is Greenpeace skeptical, but even the French NGO, 'Ban Asbestos' says the ship must be carrying somewhere between 140-180 tonnes compared to the official figure and Technopure - the French company, which was supposed to carry out the decontamination process - said that the real figure could also be as high as 500-1,000 tonnes.

Technopure provided the Ship Decommissioning Industry Corporation, SDIC, two quotations - 3 million euro and a 6 million euro - so that the high level of contamination could be properly dealt with - but the cheaper one was chosen. Kumar feels that the French government is lying and that Technopure is the one telling the truth. He feels that Technopure wasn't allowed to do a proper job about decontaminating the warship.

He's even more convinced because he heard the French ambassador make a remark on a TV channel, that India was a poor country and needed the money. The implication being that morality and environment issues shouldn't be made such a big deal about. The ambassador said they had 'got a good deal'."

Congress party spokesperson, Jayanti Natrajan says that India should institutionalise mechanisms that should prevent such issues becoming a controversy in the future. But at the same time, with regard to Clemenceau, she feels that if there is the slightest danger to workers' health, then the ship should not be allowed into Indian territorial waters.

But as things go in India, the environment minister, the deputy minister and the Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, have refused to reassure people, while in France, public opinion and newspaper editorials are urging the recall of the warship back to France. But now, the matter is in the hand of the Indian Supreme Court and the French government, and something should be done soon before it blows way out of proportion.

Kumar also puts the blame, where it also partly and correctly belongs and says, "The Ministry of Environment and Forests culture of silence is giving tacit approval to the whole game that France is playing. France is lying and India is willing to accept those lies."


Want a ringside view to see how a ship's torn down? Click here:
http://www.hms-vengeance.co.uk/farewell2.htm

Written for www.moneycontrol.com

The code that still intrigues

The Da Vinci Code has been a crucible for religious dogma, myth and emotions to flourish. Some Catholic countries have taken up the cry to ban this movie, while China does what it pleases, and this time it has flouted a Vatican ban and actually screened the movie there!India seems to always make a noise, just because everyone else seems to be doing it. Is there a case for banning the The Da Vinci Code in India or are the Indian Catholic organizations making an outrageous demand?

Spokesman for the Catholic Bishops Conference of India, Father Dominique Emmanuel told CNBC-TV18, "Not all the Indian Catholics are demanding this (ban). There seems to be one Catholic secular forum, which I happened to hear only in the last few days. I do not know what this organization is and there is one Mr Joseph Dias who is demanding this ban."

The fact is that this movie is based on a novel which is a work of fiction, even though this is something that Sony Pictures, (the producers) are not willing to put as a disclaimer and the author Dan Brown himself believes that Jesus Christs bloodline exists.

So there is enough fuel to keep the fire raging here but there was another Fire a movie made by Deepa Mehta that also created a furore in India because it touched on the topic of lesbianism and that time, it was Father Emmanuel who had called for reason. So whats so different now?

Father Emmanuel says, "I have said the same thing now that it is a work of fiction but having said that, what Dan Brown has cunningly done he has brought in certain factual characters in it. If it was a fiction, why did he not use fictitious characters? The way he is misleading people is that, he is talking about fiction and bringing in real characters like Jesus Christ."

He adds, "But nobody should be stopped to see it. While we are talking about the intolerance of the Christian community, I feel that the media has been a bit intolerant towards those who are protesting it because everyone in this democracy has the right to protest that is freedom of expression. If Dan Brown has a right of freedom of expression to what he does, certainly, there are other people who have a right to protest, if they feel they have to."

But some of the protestors are taking things too far. One of them is an activist, Nicholas Almeida who has asked for both the book and the movie to be banned and also has offered a Rs 11 lakhs as a reward to anyone who delivers Dan Brown dead or alive!

Almeida seems to be the Christian version of a Muslim religious fanatic and he says that he has the right to threaten Dan Browns life because "for the of Jesus Christ I can do anything on this earth because "under the garb of freedom of expression, it does not give licence to any person to show my religion at the lowest level."

Hes also going to increase the reward to Rs 22 lakhs, if the movie is released in India and he plans to stand outside theatres and appeal to people not to watch the movie because it hurts his religious sentiments.

Where religious sentiments are concerned, another book got its author a death sentence. Salman Rushdie lived his life in fear of being killed for his book The Satanic Verses and if that book could be banned, then why cant The Da Vinci Code?

Former Attorney General, Soli Sorabjee though doesnt agree with banning The Satanic Verses in the first place. He explains, "I do not agree that the ban of Satanic Verses was correct and besides what was banned was importation of the book. There was no question of banning the exhibition of the movie, if it has been passed by the Board of Film Censors. The two things are entirely different."

"When one comes to the exhibition of a movie, you are in the realm of Article 19/1A Freedom of Expression which ofcourse is not absolute but the grounds on which it is going to be restricted are specified in the Constitution. The relevant grounds would be either obscenity or immorality. Hurting the feeling of a community is not a ground on which you can ban a book or ban the exhibition of a movie."

He also does not agree with the like of Almeida and says that "someone should file an FIR and then action should be taken against him."

He explains. "In the first case, there is no law of blasphemy in the country. In the Indian Penal Code, it says that if any person deliberately, with malicious intention, publishes something, then he can be prosecuted and punished. That law is there in the Indian Penal Code as far as criminal law is concerned. When we come to the question of exhibiting a movie and censorship the relevant heads for censhorship would be what they consider immoral or indecent. The fact that youve hurt the feelings of some people is not a valid ground."

Managing Partner, Counselage, Suhel Seth puts it in a colourful manner. He says. "There are three things here. One is that Christians, who were known for their tolerance have had within themselves, some elements including people like Almeida who believe that by offering a bounty, they are holier than the church. Nicholas Almeida has brought more disrepute to the Catholic movement and to the church in India, by even offering this bounty because one would not have expected it from Christians."

"If you look at the book, it says there are three facts. It doesn’t talk about the whole book being factual. Today, there is a situation in Mumbai, where you have a gentleman who is saying he will go on a fast unto death."

He adds, "The third point that I need to raise is that, we need to stop when films like The Da Vinci Code is being screened in predominantly Christian/Catholic countries, why should India always be at the periphery of lunacy, when it comes to tolerance of creative expression?" He concludes, "This is a country, where you analyse and analyse till you paralyse."

How true! Meanwhile, a perfectly good movie is being held up because some people, for lack of better sense, are going against the tenets of the God they claim to follow. He talked about peace and justice and love for all mankind and had he lived today, may have just enjoyed the movie with a slight ironic smile like the one which plays on Mona Lisas lips!

Written for www.moneycontrol.com

Why finance is no longer male turf

Both of these high profile women bankers came to be where they are, via two very different routes. Deputy MD of ICICI Bank, Kalpana Morparia didn't even want to be there in the first place! She had no great aspirations and just wanted to be married and have kids.

She credits her mother for giving her the impetus to get an education and then take up a job because she wanted her daughter to have an independent income. So she did her BSc in chemistry and microbiology and then did law and in 1975, she found herself working for ICICI Bank.

Since then, she hasn't looked back or regretted her decision. The only regret she has, is of a very personal nature. She says, "One of the biggest disappointments that I had to come to terms with is not having children. Once you get that maturity, to accept such a severe limitation in a woman's life, I felt, if I could do that, I can just about handle any other disappointment."

On the other hand, Morparia's counterpart, Director of Kotak Mahindra Capital, Shanti Ekambaram did her schooling in Ahmedabad and came to Mumbai to attend Sydenham College. She was good at math and wanted to be a chartered accountant. She knew she was destined for a career in finance.

Both of them have given the world of finance, a more humane face. Being women has been an asset rather than a liability, as these two have successfully proved. But they also admit to working in very enabling environments.

Morparia says of her bank, "ICICI is place which gives you a lot of freedom. It really enables you to bring in all your inner creativity. It really inculcates the entrepreneurial spirit in an individual. And an entrepreneurial sprit with the backing of an organization - you can't get any better than that."

"I was also lucky to have good mentors. I have been here for 30 years now. It was a very different style of mentoring but they always created opportunities where l could grow in every opportunity that I was given."

But she does acknowledge that the fame that ICICI Bank has got for giving women such a leg up is now such a cliché! She explains, "I have been making this point at virtually every forum that I get. It's really got to do with the general neutral points. In ICICI, it does not really matter whether you are a male or a female except that we can dress better than men. But there is absolutely no discrimination at the time of recruitment, career progression, assignments or compensation."

Ekambaram agrees, "What is required in your business or your daily decision-making is a certain level of competence and I think if that's given and as long as your committed, I don't think there is too much of a difference. Yes, women do bring a certain amount of emotional quotient, EQ, which may perhaps make them more sensitive to certain situations and they may be able to handle certain situations better."

"But EQ without IQ means nothing. So at an IQ level, if that is a given, the EQ gives you an added advantage of being sensitive in certain situations and may be handling people better, or diffusing a certain situation or bringing a certain sensitivity to certain situations helps, but otherwise I don't really see too much difference."

Morparia feels because of their sensitivity, they make for better mentors as they tend to understand that people do have a life outside of the workplace and hence are more accommodating. But, she's also seen changes taking place. Now, more of her male colleagues can't make it to a meeting on a Saturday because it's their turn to babysit!

However, even if the number of women bankers are on the rise, they don’t have it any easier. They have to live up to expectations as well. Morparia agrees, "This is a world, which is driven purely by performance and no investor of mine is going to say, well you have a large proportion of women in your house. So it's okay if the first quarter numbers are not met."

Her career has thrown up many challenges. Morparia elaborates, "It has been a very varied career. I was a lawyer for 20 years of my career in ICICI. My first real big challenge came in 1996, when Mr Kamath asked me to move to treasury from law and I had never handled treasury and he also put me through corporate communications as part of that. So that was the real challenge - suddenly being thrown into doing something new."

"Another big challenge I faced, was the merger of ICICI and ICICI Bank and another one, which is now almost through, is the Dabhol settlement."

Ekambaram is all proactive and on the go. She says, "I deliver the best when I am pushed into a corner because I hate to lose. When I am pushed into a corner I think it brings out the best in me because it's all systems on wire. Your mind just thinks of 50 different things that you can win and I hate to lose."

She goes onto explain, "I have a favourite theory. I think your best competitor is yourself. You must learn to keep on beating yourself in whatever you do, only then will you excel. But the important thing in our organisation is teamplay. There is no substitute for hard ground execution, dirt under the finger nails work, and that can happen only when you have a team and you have five people in that team working towards one goal and actually delivering it."

Morparia believes, in the future, banking will see a lot of consolidation. She says, "Come 2009, when foreign banks will have an ability to make acquisitions, that's when you’ll see some serious M&A activity. The second trigger could be, if the government decides to privatize some of the public sector banks."

That’s in the future, but what’s in store for both of them, after the hurly-burly of corporate life passes them by? Ekambaram has eclectic plans for after her retirement. She says, "I want to do something different. I want to be a TV anchor. I used to anchor shows for Doordarshan in college and do radio shows for All India Radio But do something different is always that I have said. I dream of getting back to dancing. I almost became a professional dancer, I have done seven years of Bharatnatyam."

Outside work, Morparia unwinds at the movies or could be caught reading Stardust, a film gossip magazine! Sundays are for working out at the gym. Ekambaram is also a Hindi movie buff and loves old Hindi film songs and you would never guess this – cartoon movies! She thrives on Cartoon Network.

Written for www.moneycontrol.com