A well-rounded society is what we need today

Over the past few weeks I have been pained to see the small world around me. Small, because, some of these people coming alive on television screens, in newsprint and in various gossips around every nook and corner of the country have influenced or helped me shape my beliefs.

So, it became a perfect situation for me to do an introspection. To understand, if what I assumed was misplaced, or whether these individuals just represent the myriad society around us. To scratch a bit below the skin, on whether these individuals represent the truth which wholly depends on falsehood.

The environment is vitiated. I just want to break-free from the clutches of despair. I want to be part of the process to instill courage into our young people - don't believe this country exists because of corruption and don't hold your charge back to lead this country out of this rut. You and me, all of us have to be ruthless in our thought process. All of us have to be change agents. Be innovative and seek ideas which can support all of us to wear just one garb. The garb of truth. The garb which has zero tolerance for corruption. Because, the thought of corruption first corrupts the mind which thinks about it and then spreads like cancer, wreaking havoc and depriving every individual who gets associated with it. Cancer corrupts the physical body, but this one corrupts the soul itself. And a corrupted soul can think no further than self.

Helping the innovator innovate - where is the 'mentor'?

MENTOR - capitalised - a friend of Odysseus entrusted with the education of Odysseus' son Telemachus (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mentor).

In Hindi the word gets translated to संरक्षक (sanrakshak) though I like परामर्शदाता (paramarshdata) more. These words have been used in Indian mythology repeatedly. Which just goes on to show that Indian society had an excellent model for anyone seeking guidance since time immemorial.

I find traces of such actions today. If someone becomes successful, s/he is too busy creating more success for self than being able to mentor someone else to gain success. Has our society become too self-centered or egoistic?

Affordable Education Devices

Three terms which first need a bit of detailing before we proceed. We will consider a country like India to build upon these terms.

Affordable - what is affordability? A large percentage of the population earns less than $ 1 every day. And then there are world's richest men and women staying in the same country. Afforability has different connotations across the entire spectrum of population. The rich can afford anything under the sky. The poor can't afford anything, unless provided for by the Government. The middle class, of which the numbers are swelling constantly, determine the affordability pattern in India.

Education - what is education? The Government of India took a big step forward when the Right to Education Bill was adopted recently. Education has always been a central theme in most of the Indian homes. Nearly 30% of the incomes are spent on an average by Indian households for the purpose of education. People really do spend a lot, compared to other countries. But who is really spending? It is again the middle class and the upper class in the financial strata of the country. The poor again have to be provided free education to bring them into the ambit of inclusive growth. I hail the leadership in the government to creatively pursue this course aggressively. An educated youth in the lower financial strata will determine the path of this country - for they would be in pretty large numbers. The more knowledgeable they are, the more profound would be the development of the country.

Devices - what devices? Mobile phones created the voice communication revolution in India, as in many other developing countries. Staying easily connected provided many new opportunities to the citizens. A cobbler in my neighbourhood could increase his turnover by nearly three times. He is old and cannot move much. So, he employed a youth and provided him with a mobile phone. Everyone in the neighbourhood is so used to home delivery. They call up this young gentleman who in turn would pedal around to pick up the repair items. The old cobbler has been able to provide employment to a young man and also increase his income. There are innumerable stories like this across the country. But does a mobile phone provide a mechanism to enhance knowledege, education and skills? Not beyond very simple terms. For that a set of specific devices are required.

Before stepping into my next writing, I want to hear from my fellow bloggers on what they feel is the right mix of devices for creating an affordable education environment.

The under-belly of growth and innovation - kill corruption first

Every country has a genesis and an attitude. We cannot do much about history, except to be either critical or supportive of it. But we can definitely carve out a future without being over-burdened by history. A Tianmen Square happens in China and yet the country gets an increased FDI. A Hyderabad or Kolkata happens in India and we self determine the collapse of the entire system and how FDI will turn its back upon these two places. We are over critical of ourselves, not that I hate self introspection.

If there is a direction, irrespective of change of course to be adopted to reach the target, as a nation we should be united to achieve success. If we flounder in between, we do that as a nation and it is upon ourselves to chart the path again.

We have everything any nation would aspire to seek - all forms of wealth. We need to exploit this wealth to generate more to be prosperous. And wealth is not money alone. And it should not definitely lead to hegemony of any kind. That is definitely a genesis we Indians do not believe in.

So, let us rise as a nation. Our aspirations and belief are a significant element of the wealth we are seeking. If, for example, we as a nation can just take a concerted decision to completely shy away from corruption, and I mean completely shy away, we can possibly lay the foundation for a strong reputation. Wealth will automatically follow such a nation.

Seizing the opportunity at Copenhagen

There are very few times world leaders get the opportunity to impact the entire human kind. Copenhagen provides this opportunity to leaders of both the developed and developing world.
Everyone realizes the damaging impact human race is making on earth. We should not end up being the dinosaurs, who once upon a time existed. The way we hate bad periods of history, our future generations should not curse us for an opportunity lost. To achieve something, we will have to loose something. If the developed nations believe they can still continue to be a consumer society and be guided with principles which dictate greed and needs only, then we are not far from extinction.

If the developing world believes their past has been good and they will never turn into consumer driven economies, then we are turning our backs to truth. The BRIC countries are already demonstrating some of the vulgarities of high consumerism.

I can only wish for the world leaders to have large hearts in Copenhagen. A large heart to consider the need for the existence of human race.

How many years for LEDs to gain mass market acceptance?

It took CFLs 18 years for mass market adoption. With current focus on green energy, how many years will it take for LEDs?

You may post your response here:

http://polls.linkedin.com/p/69352/bugjm

BK - The Man who created Enterprises out of People

A few days back, on 21st September, Mr. B.K.Singh (BK to many) who headed Tata Motors Service, Dharwad Plant and Telcon at one point of time, breathed his last at Jamshedpur. There was a multitude of people from all levels of various Tata and other organizations who came to pay their last respect to this great man.

As a young GET, who joined Tata Motors(Telco at that time) in 1988, the leadership at Jamshedpur had many creative and hard working people. Each one of them stood perfected to treat the newcomers with an open mind. That provided a platform to experiment and learn. My best professional learning definitely happened at Tata's and it is a gratitude I know that can't be repaid back in any form, whatever I try. I considered BK as the most apt mentor, guide and guru amongst these great stalwarts. BK was an avid reader - he would get up early in the morning to have his 90 minutes of reading and be punctually there at the plant gates just before 7:00 am. He carried expertise in multiple fields but would be keen to learn things which came to him new. He provided wide-ranging opportunities to people and believed in taking risks to become an ultimate winner.

While he didn't know how to operate a computer himself during his Telco days (later, post retirement, he became an internet buff and would query me on stuff which I found difficult to respond), he mentored one of the first CAD implementations happen in India, the first Product Data Management implementation, the first ISO:9001 across the Tata group and one of the earliest(maybe the first) across the entire Indian manufacturing industry. The first castings and forgings export to Japan from an Indian company(Niigata, etc.) happened during his days at Forge and Foundry. The High Pressure Moulding Line really became successful due to his patience and perseverance. When the Tata Cummins project looked doubtful, he spearheaded successfully the project for Tata Motors trucks to carry Tata Cummins engine. The Dharwad plant was setup in motion by BK. Tata Motors Service got a rejuvenated look after BK took over. While I was associated on most of these programs, including the first indigenous product of Tata Motors (it wasn't a truck or a car, it was the Tata Wheel Loader - you can see the picture above), there must definitely be a million more things which can be mentioned by others who came across BK.

But the most important aspect of BK was his people management skills. Everyone looked at him as a solution provider to the toughest of the problems. Anyone in a situation would land up in front of him - and knew BK would help. BK on his part believed in enabling people to be successful. He would let people explore beyond the normal realms and provide constant encouragement during every phase. I believe BK created enterprises out of people. As I look around the world and see many successful ex-colleagues from Tata Motors and talk to them about their personal success, each one of them contributes it to a large extent due to their association with BK. For me, BK was a mentor, guide and guru par excellence. I knew if I faced a situation, whether a professional one or related to family, BK would always be there to provide a sound advice. I am surely going to miss him.

Building an Innovation Factory

What does it take to make an innovation factory? The Indian word "jugaad" is actually a poignant reminder of an innovation factory existing at every nook and corner of the country. But does the juggad action lead a nation up the value chain? It might impact an individual and a few people around, but does it create a significant value for a large segment of the global economy?

I tried looking at some of the jugaads around me and sought answers to my questions. The first one is called JUGAAD! Can I have a better start? You can see the picture above. What makes this 'Jugaad' click so well. It is the economics and economics alone. Even after encountering numerous problems associated with home-made low technology product such as these, the end-user is happy to pay only a fractional cost compared to a commercially available product and yet achieve the end objective. Does it make the automotive industry in India or globally learn from such innovation? A few years back this question would not have gained any attention. Today, after the runaway success of Tata's Nano car, individuals, corporates and governments would realize the basic essence and importance of such innovation. After all, the most important and impactful innovation of human history, the wheel, was but just a wheel. Centuries later it gave birth to engines, cars, trains and enumerous other forms which assist us in our daily life.

The big question is, how do we spur such innovation at the bottom of the pyramid? Yours and my lifetime may not see such wheels doing anything impactful, but we will leave behind valuable discoveries for our grand-children and their grand-children to savour.

Trained experts to take technology from labs to factories

A new set of entrepreneur creators is on the way. Not one, but two hundred of them. It's like motivational experts who help pull-in innovation on one side and then create success on the other side. The creation of this bridge is definitely a welcome development.

Most of the public sector entities involved in basic research or even application research areas didn't know where to go with their innovations. Just clinging onto the IP didn't help anyone. It also didn't motivate the IP creators to continue to generate more. And obviously, successful entrepreneurs’ who do not have their own R&D setups aren't clued in to innovative ideas or products. With the unleashing of the labs into the public domain, the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR) has taken the first baby steps into the open world.

I am sure this will delight the research community and even more so, we will be able to see some interesting technologies, products and services getting built for the benefit of everyone.

Innovation in eAgriculture

I guess everyone will say yes. But still, nothing much happens for this sector if you look at the prosperity index of marginal farmers over the last few decades.

It was a delight to see some action at SINE Lab in Mumbai... http://www.polymericsensors.com/home

These kind of solutions will definitely help farmers who cannot reach the soil and water testing labs and can jointly own the testing kit to further reduce the cost of ownership.