Some time back, I had posted a blog on the social behaviour called ‘spite’ and its usage by Kerala society in plenty. The attitude of the Malayali as a spoilsport when he despises others gaining, again had come to the fore, last week.
It is not new for Kerala to have summer rains. In the normal climatic conditions, the summer rains are expected every year during the March timeframe. It is also harvest time for paddy in big agricultural clusters such as Kuttanad, Trissur and Palakkad. For a farmer, it is not difficult to anticipate the summer rains coming and to complete the harvest well before that. Kuttanad cluster being one continuous stretch, the farmers got their act ready by getting the harvesting machines to do the job. But will the Kerala State Karshaka Thozhilai Union (KSKTU) allow that? In a state ruled by LDF and led by the messiah of the labour, how can harvesting be done by a machine? KSKTU never admits that they do not have sufficient manpower to complete the job before the rains came, but were adamant that the harvesting machines will not be allowed (Spite in full swing!). The deadlock continued and before the resolution, the rains came, spoiling the entire crops and bringing about a loss of about 100 crore Rupees to the farmers. The farmers are crestfallen as their investment and efforts are completely lost, not to speak of the forthcoming loan dues and the resulting harassment by the bankers and money lenders.
Let me tell you, this will happen only in Kerala. In the name of ‘isms’ and unrealistic social parity, these comrades spoil everything. No remorse was ever evidenced by the LDF leaders on the steadfast attitude displayed by its labour union, resulting in huge losses to farmers and the trade. Even today, one reads about the Chief Minister justifying KSKTU and blaming the centre for not sending the agricultural loss assessment team to site immediately. Little does he realize that if he intervened on time earlier, the whole loss could have easily been avoided. The comrades are like that. For whatever is their failure, the blame goes to the others, to the centre, the opposition, the rich and those in the management. Given a chance, they would have blamed the lord of rains, Varuna. They did not do so because the communist are supposed to atheists. Absolutely defying logic, they go on with their smatterings. Will it be dark all over for everyone, if you close your eyes?
The communist see everything as a class struggle. Portray it as the fight between haves and have-nots. They bring about continuing economic losses in the state. Demolish business establishments, hotels, hospitals all around, in the name of archaic land rules. Do not allow harvesting to take place just to protect the paltry numbers in the cadre. Will not allow construction of roads, for trying to find the ghost of corruption in the dark (As if the guys are saints. Little does the cadre realize that the leaders of the party are the richest in the state!)
Any society which arrests economic progress is going to decay. The leaders of Kerala are taking the state to its deathbed with their antics.
As posted earlier, fundamentally the attitude of not letting others gain, even if one loses out, continues unabated. An attitude of ‘don’t mind the brother dying for wanting to see the sister in law, a widow’.
Absolute nonsense, what else?
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Monday, March 17, 2008
HARDWARE MANUFACTURING IN KERALA
In the seventies and early eighties, Kerala led the front in electronic manufacturing. Keltron spearheaded the movement. The products of Keltron brought pride to every Malayali. Companies such as BPL, ITI, Instrumentation Ltd, OEN etc also helped the manufacturing cause. Later, we had a great fall from the leadership and today Kerala does not figure anywhere in electronic or IT manufacturing. Other than and V-Guard, FC OEN & OEN in the organized sector and some loitering public sector companies, what we have today is few local UPS manufactures and hoards of computer assemblers.
Early Indian IT Scenario
In the late Seventies, due to Central Govt. policy changes, companies such as IBM, ICL etc left India. The chasm created by the exit of these companies was filled fully by indigenous computer companies. They came out with their own product and solutions. The global IT industry was at its nascent stage then, with no standards available to be followed. Proprietary hardware and software ruled the roost. Lots of the State Government companies went into computers. Meltron, ESPL, Hartron, Uptron, WEBEL etc from the State Govt. sector and ECIL, ET&T etc from the Central sector had actively participated in the early IT evolution in India.
Private Indian Companies took over the leadership from Government companies in the second half of Eighties. Those were times when standards were emerging in IT industry. The Personal Computer (PC) came into being. Companies such as HCL, Wipro, Hinditron, PCS DG, and Zenith came out with Mini Computers, Personal computers and workstations. Marketing and advertisement campaigns boosted these companies and products.
IT Manufacturing in India now
Opening up of Indian economy by the Center in the early Nineties and the resulting globalization helped the multi national hardware giants to set foot in India again. Today, we have a thriving hardware market in India ably backed up by Indian manufacturing. Both on quality and standards, Indian IT products are at par with its counterparts in developed world. In this financial year, Indian PC sales had crossed 5 million mark and every year, this is growing in excess of 20%. We should also take into account computer peripherals and accessories into this. And together, this forms big time manufacturing endeavor for the country.
Core IT manufacturing never happened in India. We have no plants or factories that manufacture Computer motherboards, Drives, Controller cards and Display and Storage devices. This has now become the monopoly of Taiwan, China & South Korea. So, what come to India for manufacturing are fully manufactured sub systems, which get integrated as a computer system or a peripheral, in Indian factories. Even this activity requires high level of automation and strict quality checks. And remember, the quantity is huge.
The size of the opportunity
Convergence of Mobile phone and Laptops are now taking place. Palmtops and other mobile devices are getting sold and used very well. With ‘devicification’ IT (devices and appliances delivering distinct IT utility), the scope for manufacturing and high level assembling is very high. Indian market itself for these devices is huge. The sales could exceed million numbers for each of these units. I find it as an exiting opportunity for Indian IT manufacturing!
Whither Kerala?
However none of this manufacturing ever came to Kerala. To a large extend, IT manufacturing today is concentrated in Bangalore, Delhi, NOIDA, Mohali, Chennai, Pondicherry etc. I am very impressed at the growth of computer manufacturing facilities in Pondicherry. Full credit for this must be given to the Pondicherry administration. Today, every major computer brand, national and international, is manufactured here. For a geographically spread country like India, this alone will not be sufficient. One see States like Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Uttranchal etc wooing major IT manufacturing companies and MNCs to set up their manufacturing bases in their State. And they are offering plenty of sops & incentives for the same.
Perception of Kerala as a manufacturing base (for anything) is very poor. The major reason sited very early is the militant trade unionism in the State. Though it is a thing of the past, doubt still lingers in the mind of industrialists and businessmen. Another major negative factor is the frequently occurring bandhs and hartals in the state. It is a major show stopper indeed.
Anyone who had done business in the State will also comment on the attitude of Government and bureaucracy towards businessmen and entrepreneurs. Unless and until proved otherwise, an entrepreneur here is viewed as an exploiter, a tax evader and a profit monger. Inspector raj and visit raj still continues in Kerala. Kerala laity even now believes that companies are meant for employment and not for profitability. Who will invest here when our business objective itself is faulty?
The political leadership is highly insensitive towards business and manufacturing. They will think of business people only during election time. As soon as they come to power, rhetoric and highly ambitious statement are made before Chambers and businessmen. The Ministers and bureaucrats make three four world tours to invite businessmen to set base in Kerala. But when anyone tries to start one, he is forced to go through umpteen hurdles, particularly from the bureaucracy. There is absolutely no empathy towards business fraternity here.
Computer Assembling/Integration in Kerala
Though Kerala’s share of IT consumption comes to only 4 to 5 % to the national average, it is still a big number. Out of about 200,000 plus computers (including Desktops and Laptops) that comes to Kerala, 50% still are assembled. More than 100,000 computers get assembled in Kerala, that is. 40 to 50% percent of computers will also go with add-ons such as printer, UPS, Scanner etc
But this assembling is not at all done properly. No scientific and automated process is followed for assembling. No quality test happens. The assembling and integration are not done in proper ambience. Static electricity, rough handling of components etc can reduce the longevity of the product.
Assemblers are a fragmented lot. There are close to 2000 computer resellers/assemblers in the State. Out of this, tax registered companies will come to about 1000 and the rest are one man, two man armies. But still the sales happen because the buyers are highly concerned about the price. Even today, an assembled computer cost 30% less than a MNC brand and 20% less than a national brand. Since assistance for operation and usage is required even after installation, buyers prefer ‘friendly neighborhood’ assemblers. If one put some values to the numbers that is assembled in Kerala, the Kerala assembled computer market would exceed Rs. 250 Crores.
The Keltron Angle
Purchase by State Government depts. are done through public and closed tenders. In the past years, there had been an effort by State Government to revive Keltron from the dumps and this had resulted in Keltron getting into computer sale, particularly to the Government. Since it is a Government to Government deal, the buyers do not bother much, as compared to buying from private companies. Keltron is taking advantage of the situation and in the process, they are able to generate good margins for themselves. However what needs to be understood is that Keltron only acts as a trading house or at best, a VAR. No Keltron brand computer is sold. If Keltron takes a market vision and applies itself to address it through proper planning and scientific manufacturing methods, it could capture a good percentage of the above assembled market pie. However lack of focus and sincerity combined with poor marketing efforts makes Keltron just an ‘also ran’.
Some time back, there was a move by Kudumbasree to manufacture computers as a part of its self-help group (SHG) activities. However, it had not registered any impact in the local computer scenario.
Scope for IT manufacturing in Kerala
This could be anybody’s guess. However looking at the ever increasing number of computers and devices that get sold every year, the gut says that the scope exists. If the local manufactures can find market in outside States too, the scenario is all the more encouraging.
Firstly, State Government must have designated hardware manufacturing parks. Uninterrupted quality power, single window clearance, Tax concessions, testing facilities etc could help local manufacturing. IT hardware manufacturing does not produce pollution and it does not create environmental hazards. Therefore, it could be considered as clean manufacturing.
The Government should take efforts in bringing in one or two major MNC or national player to Kerala to set up the manufacturing base in Kerala. This ‘bringing home the leader’ would help set a manufacturing ambience in the State, which could encourage others to start hardware manufacturing facilities here. Look at what Uttaranchal Government did this year. It gave free space and tax concessions to HCL to set up its manufacturing facility in the State. Today HCL is using this facility for manufacturing computers that it sells to entire north India which will amount to more than 200,000 computers a year.
Last year, Dell computers had decided to set up its manufacturing base in Tamil Nadu. One sees a ‘Maran’ hand behind it. I would call that as commitment to State by a politician. Our MPs, MLAs and Ministers must take note of it, than fighting (in the open) among themselves or undoing the policies of the previous Governments. Other brands such as Lenovo are scouting for setting up its integration base in India. Largescale manufacturing/assembly facilities in Kerala by MNCs can help them make cost effective computers meant not only for the local market but also for Middle East and African markets. With the developments happening in Cochin Port and Cochin International Airport, there is a distinct possibility for this to happen. The Government and political leadership must cash upon this opportunity. If the Government can give the level of encouragement as done by other Governments such as Uttranchal, Himachal, and Andhra, I am sure this can come true. Employment generation and the resulting economic upliftment of the locals would give ample gratification to our leaders.
If the government can also assist the local manufacturers by getting Keltron/ Kudumbasree to give them umbrella marketing coverage for their products, it can help develop a good number of process oriented IT manufacturing units in this State. It could be an arrangement similar to the current V–Guard stabilizer business model.
The State should be able to incorporate studies about hardware manufacturing models and processes in the syllabus of engineering studies for degree, diploma and certificate courses, with stress on practicals. This would bring out good number of graduate and diploma engineers, who will be prepared to go into manufacturing companies. These institutions must encourage entrepreneurship of the student fraternity and should set up incubation and testing centers within it, to help budding entrepreneurs.
If the Government is serious about setting up of electronic or IT manufacturing bases in Kerala, it has to get out of the current attitude of ‘come to us if you want’. For the number of engineering graduates and diploma holders that is produced every year in Kerala, the State needs to think in terms of encouraging such endeavors. IT manufacturing will qualify for the white collar job aspirations of Malayali and looks as a good option. The lethargy and complacency that the State shows towards electronic/IT manufacturing must give way to enthusiasm and encouragement of entrepreneurship in the field.
Let a thousand IT flowers bloom in Kerala!
Early Indian IT Scenario
In the late Seventies, due to Central Govt. policy changes, companies such as IBM, ICL etc left India. The chasm created by the exit of these companies was filled fully by indigenous computer companies. They came out with their own product and solutions. The global IT industry was at its nascent stage then, with no standards available to be followed. Proprietary hardware and software ruled the roost. Lots of the State Government companies went into computers. Meltron, ESPL, Hartron, Uptron, WEBEL etc from the State Govt. sector and ECIL, ET&T etc from the Central sector had actively participated in the early IT evolution in India.
Private Indian Companies took over the leadership from Government companies in the second half of Eighties. Those were times when standards were emerging in IT industry. The Personal Computer (PC) came into being. Companies such as HCL, Wipro, Hinditron, PCS DG, and Zenith came out with Mini Computers, Personal computers and workstations. Marketing and advertisement campaigns boosted these companies and products.
IT Manufacturing in India now
Opening up of Indian economy by the Center in the early Nineties and the resulting globalization helped the multi national hardware giants to set foot in India again. Today, we have a thriving hardware market in India ably backed up by Indian manufacturing. Both on quality and standards, Indian IT products are at par with its counterparts in developed world. In this financial year, Indian PC sales had crossed 5 million mark and every year, this is growing in excess of 20%. We should also take into account computer peripherals and accessories into this. And together, this forms big time manufacturing endeavor for the country.
Core IT manufacturing never happened in India. We have no plants or factories that manufacture Computer motherboards, Drives, Controller cards and Display and Storage devices. This has now become the monopoly of Taiwan, China & South Korea. So, what come to India for manufacturing are fully manufactured sub systems, which get integrated as a computer system or a peripheral, in Indian factories. Even this activity requires high level of automation and strict quality checks. And remember, the quantity is huge.
The size of the opportunity
Convergence of Mobile phone and Laptops are now taking place. Palmtops and other mobile devices are getting sold and used very well. With ‘devicification’ IT (devices and appliances delivering distinct IT utility), the scope for manufacturing and high level assembling is very high. Indian market itself for these devices is huge. The sales could exceed million numbers for each of these units. I find it as an exiting opportunity for Indian IT manufacturing!
Whither Kerala?
However none of this manufacturing ever came to Kerala. To a large extend, IT manufacturing today is concentrated in Bangalore, Delhi, NOIDA, Mohali, Chennai, Pondicherry etc. I am very impressed at the growth of computer manufacturing facilities in Pondicherry. Full credit for this must be given to the Pondicherry administration. Today, every major computer brand, national and international, is manufactured here. For a geographically spread country like India, this alone will not be sufficient. One see States like Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Uttranchal etc wooing major IT manufacturing companies and MNCs to set up their manufacturing bases in their State. And they are offering plenty of sops & incentives for the same.
Perception of Kerala as a manufacturing base (for anything) is very poor. The major reason sited very early is the militant trade unionism in the State. Though it is a thing of the past, doubt still lingers in the mind of industrialists and businessmen. Another major negative factor is the frequently occurring bandhs and hartals in the state. It is a major show stopper indeed.
Anyone who had done business in the State will also comment on the attitude of Government and bureaucracy towards businessmen and entrepreneurs. Unless and until proved otherwise, an entrepreneur here is viewed as an exploiter, a tax evader and a profit monger. Inspector raj and visit raj still continues in Kerala. Kerala laity even now believes that companies are meant for employment and not for profitability. Who will invest here when our business objective itself is faulty?
The political leadership is highly insensitive towards business and manufacturing. They will think of business people only during election time. As soon as they come to power, rhetoric and highly ambitious statement are made before Chambers and businessmen. The Ministers and bureaucrats make three four world tours to invite businessmen to set base in Kerala. But when anyone tries to start one, he is forced to go through umpteen hurdles, particularly from the bureaucracy. There is absolutely no empathy towards business fraternity here.
Computer Assembling/Integration in Kerala
Though Kerala’s share of IT consumption comes to only 4 to 5 % to the national average, it is still a big number. Out of about 200,000 plus computers (including Desktops and Laptops) that comes to Kerala, 50% still are assembled. More than 100,000 computers get assembled in Kerala, that is. 40 to 50% percent of computers will also go with add-ons such as printer, UPS, Scanner etc
But this assembling is not at all done properly. No scientific and automated process is followed for assembling. No quality test happens. The assembling and integration are not done in proper ambience. Static electricity, rough handling of components etc can reduce the longevity of the product.
Assemblers are a fragmented lot. There are close to 2000 computer resellers/assemblers in the State. Out of this, tax registered companies will come to about 1000 and the rest are one man, two man armies. But still the sales happen because the buyers are highly concerned about the price. Even today, an assembled computer cost 30% less than a MNC brand and 20% less than a national brand. Since assistance for operation and usage is required even after installation, buyers prefer ‘friendly neighborhood’ assemblers. If one put some values to the numbers that is assembled in Kerala, the Kerala assembled computer market would exceed Rs. 250 Crores.
The Keltron Angle
Purchase by State Government depts. are done through public and closed tenders. In the past years, there had been an effort by State Government to revive Keltron from the dumps and this had resulted in Keltron getting into computer sale, particularly to the Government. Since it is a Government to Government deal, the buyers do not bother much, as compared to buying from private companies. Keltron is taking advantage of the situation and in the process, they are able to generate good margins for themselves. However what needs to be understood is that Keltron only acts as a trading house or at best, a VAR. No Keltron brand computer is sold. If Keltron takes a market vision and applies itself to address it through proper planning and scientific manufacturing methods, it could capture a good percentage of the above assembled market pie. However lack of focus and sincerity combined with poor marketing efforts makes Keltron just an ‘also ran’.
Some time back, there was a move by Kudumbasree to manufacture computers as a part of its self-help group (SHG) activities. However, it had not registered any impact in the local computer scenario.
Scope for IT manufacturing in Kerala
This could be anybody’s guess. However looking at the ever increasing number of computers and devices that get sold every year, the gut says that the scope exists. If the local manufactures can find market in outside States too, the scenario is all the more encouraging.
Firstly, State Government must have designated hardware manufacturing parks. Uninterrupted quality power, single window clearance, Tax concessions, testing facilities etc could help local manufacturing. IT hardware manufacturing does not produce pollution and it does not create environmental hazards. Therefore, it could be considered as clean manufacturing.
The Government should take efforts in bringing in one or two major MNC or national player to Kerala to set up the manufacturing base in Kerala. This ‘bringing home the leader’ would help set a manufacturing ambience in the State, which could encourage others to start hardware manufacturing facilities here. Look at what Uttaranchal Government did this year. It gave free space and tax concessions to HCL to set up its manufacturing facility in the State. Today HCL is using this facility for manufacturing computers that it sells to entire north India which will amount to more than 200,000 computers a year.
Last year, Dell computers had decided to set up its manufacturing base in Tamil Nadu. One sees a ‘Maran’ hand behind it. I would call that as commitment to State by a politician. Our MPs, MLAs and Ministers must take note of it, than fighting (in the open) among themselves or undoing the policies of the previous Governments. Other brands such as Lenovo are scouting for setting up its integration base in India. Largescale manufacturing/assembly facilities in Kerala by MNCs can help them make cost effective computers meant not only for the local market but also for Middle East and African markets. With the developments happening in Cochin Port and Cochin International Airport, there is a distinct possibility for this to happen. The Government and political leadership must cash upon this opportunity. If the Government can give the level of encouragement as done by other Governments such as Uttranchal, Himachal, and Andhra, I am sure this can come true. Employment generation and the resulting economic upliftment of the locals would give ample gratification to our leaders.
If the government can also assist the local manufacturers by getting Keltron/ Kudumbasree to give them umbrella marketing coverage for their products, it can help develop a good number of process oriented IT manufacturing units in this State. It could be an arrangement similar to the current V–Guard stabilizer business model.
The State should be able to incorporate studies about hardware manufacturing models and processes in the syllabus of engineering studies for degree, diploma and certificate courses, with stress on practicals. This would bring out good number of graduate and diploma engineers, who will be prepared to go into manufacturing companies. These institutions must encourage entrepreneurship of the student fraternity and should set up incubation and testing centers within it, to help budding entrepreneurs.
If the Government is serious about setting up of electronic or IT manufacturing bases in Kerala, it has to get out of the current attitude of ‘come to us if you want’. For the number of engineering graduates and diploma holders that is produced every year in Kerala, the State needs to think in terms of encouraging such endeavors. IT manufacturing will qualify for the white collar job aspirations of Malayali and looks as a good option. The lethargy and complacency that the State shows towards electronic/IT manufacturing must give way to enthusiasm and encouragement of entrepreneurship in the field.
Let a thousand IT flowers bloom in Kerala!
Sunday, March 16, 2008
ARE WE HEADING FOR AN INDIAN IT RECESSION?
What began as a by-product of Y2K crisis in the late 90’s in US and across the world had done very well for India, for we are now rated as an IT superpower of the world. IT & ITES is providing tremendous level of employment opportunities to people of the country. Close to 35+ % of India’s export is IT. The beauty of IT is the high levels of remuneration that is drawn by the employees in the industry. And this is impacting highly in the growth of India’s BFSI, Construction, Automobile and Retail industries. To the Indian economy that has been on a roll for the last decade (growing at a good 8.7% average), the IT industry had contributed significantly. In essence, IT industry has become an unavoidable part of India’s success and anything that impacts it, will also affect Indian economy.
Some developments that had already happened and certain other forthcoming events are going to bring some gloom to India’s IT sector. Let me list them out as under:
. Rupee appreciating against US Dollar
Over the last six months Rupee had appreciated considerably against dollar and it has exceeded 10%. While the impact of this was very highly felt in extremely competitive export verticals such as textiles, apparels, coir, brass products etc, IT segment is also getting affected slowly. As a sunrise industry, the margin in India’s IT export is considerable, but it is slowly coming down, as the industry matures and as more competitive nations are joining the fray. Expenditure in Indian IT companies are very high, particularly the compensation part and major Indian IT companies have started feeling the pinch already.
. The ongoing US recession
Most of you are reading about it. Yes, US is undergoing one of the severe recessions in its history. Among many other reasons, the main causes of the recession are the busting of housing bubble and the catastrophe that the ‘sub prime’ lending has brought. In a way, both are interrelated. What began as a bubble in housing in US plateaued in 2005 and started reversing by 2006. The housing prices fell and the demand started to dry down. By the year 2000, seeing the growth of housing Industry, banks and other lending institutions had started giving loans (of all type) based on house collateral, to sub premium customers belonging to middle class and the lower strata of society. As the price of the housing was appreciating, the lending process became very casual, careless and rapid. When the housing bubble bust, many of the borrowers were not able to repay the loans and started defaulting. As per accredited sources, the losses would amount to US Dollar 200 Billion (Rs.800,000 crores) . This is now affecting all the other avenues of US economy such as stock market, forex, manufacturing, Service and the like. In a flat world as we see today, the ripple effect of this is very fast. You would have noticed the Indian Sensex and Nifty falling rapidly. This has more to do with the US recession than anything else. As already said, the recessionary effect on US service industry will be very high and it is expected to stay for a couple of years. This would easily hit on Indian IT and ITES industries immediately.
. The US election
This year is election year in the US. There is Obama and Hillary on one side and on the other, John McCain. It is still not clear as to who will be victorious in the democrat camp. Many eyes are now focused on Obama. If you go by the trend of last 3 decades, Republicans and democrats alternated the election wins and as per the same, it is the chance of the Democrats to come to power in USA.
We Indians need to understand that historically, India grew when Republicans came to power as they took more pro India decisions than the Democrats. The recent Patriotic Employer act that is co-sponsored by Barack Obama is anything to go by, India would suffer heavily if he comes to power. Even if it is Hilary Clinton, the chances of India getting favours out of America will be limited.
The patriotic Employer act, if it comes to power, will stop outsourcing activities and curtail employing non Americans in American corporations. The first hit of this act will be India. It could be so bad that we won’t be able to get out of the fall.
Now that you had seen the impact of all the above causes, you will agree with me that there is sufficient reason for Indian IT industry to be concerned. New recruitments will come to cease (as per NASSCOM, another 1.5 million employment will get generated in the coming 5 years) and sumptuous increment in salary will become a thing of past. (Already I hear about the retrenchments happening at the middle management level in TCS, Infosys, Wipro, HCL etc).
Is there a remedy? How can we minimize the impact of this impending recession?
On a lighter side, all of the Indian IT industry should combine to do a ‘homam’ to pray for McCain to come to power. If that happens, to an extent, the rot can be stemmed.
The first thing is spread the risk evenly. Our IT industry will have took up at Europe, Australia, Latina America, Middle East Asia etc for spreading its wings. This will take away Indian IT industry’s absolute dependence on US for survival and growth. Not easy to implement this but efforts must begin at the earliest.
The second is to concentrate on the burgeoning domestic IT market (currently estimated to be at about 16 Billion US dollar, including hardware). One cursory look on our trade and commerce will give us the input that scope for computerizing is tremendous in Indian government, corporate and SME segments.
Another important aspect of getting out of the IT recession by the companies would be cut the cost drastically. The obscene levels of salaries that are doled out to employees must stop. Salaries must get rationalized at par with other industries such as manufacturing, banking etc. With that, the sign of Indian IT industry maturing will come to the fore. I am sure IT employees (including their parents) will take the suggestion with a pinch of salt.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
RELATIONSHIP AS AN ASSET
Doing business is not an easy exercise. It needs focus, time, resources and above all, good strategies. In these days of increased competition, mergers and acquisitions, high attrition of employees, continuing need for business process re-engineering and heavy impact of new technologies, the business leader is always on his toes.
Is that all? There are other possible difficulties such as tough customers seeking best deals (in price, quality, service, warranty etc.), short term horizon of employees, suppliers getting acquired, investors selling out, tough corporate governance, strict independent board of directors, very tough neighborhood and community etc are other impediments that the business leader has to face. Communication means such as Internet, e-mail, mobile phones, laptops and palmtops are revolutionizing the way business is done. Communication revolution is ensuring that everybody is getting connected and all have equal access to information.
Business ecosystem today goes beyond company, employees, customer and suppliers. Other stakeholders including investors, financiers, government and public at large have become very much part of the ecosystem. These multiple stakeholders are all wanting to be treated well.
All businesses are becoming more and more competitive. This calls for companies to spend plenty of time, energy and resources to come out with strategies for building and sustaining competitive advantages that help market leadership. Product, service and solutions are fine tuned, packaged and positioned well for the customer to buy and use them. As market become more and more developed and mature, the product differentiators become thinner and thinner. When everything looks the same, how would an offer of a company differ from that of its nearest competition?
It is here that Relationship comes in. When all offers look the same, it is the relationship that the company has built up with its stakeholder becomes a true differentiator.
Relationship is a unique strategic resource that cannot be appropriated, duplicated or stolen (which happens to product, process and technology). Thus, it becomes an irreplaceable asset.
When organizations manage the unique asset called the relationship it helps by building connections with people for reaching at mutually beneficial deals. Building the network of long term relationships through trust helps to form win-win outcome for both stakeholders. Relationship asset management helps to attract, retain, motivate valuable employees, boost effectiveness of sales, improve investor confidence (and therefore better access to funds), strengthen community relations, maintains positive media coverage, broaden available business opportunity and in all, strengthen the company.
HOW DOES RELATIONSHIP ASSET WINS FOR CUSTOMERS?
. Superior products and services that meet their needs and deliver value.
· Personal attention to individual needs and interests.
· Greater ease in doing business as suppliers and merchants come to know their needs and characteristics.
· Meaningful recognition for loyalty in the form discounts or useful premiums.
· Appreciation and if appropriate rewards for referrals, recommendations and introductions. · Lower “switching cost due to a reduced need to search out, comparison-shop and get to know vies suggestions and suppliers.
· Suppliers who will go the extra mile on rush orders, equipment breakdowns, or inventory shortages, and who will do everything possible to assure product availability.
HOW DOES RELATIONSHIP ASSET WINS FOR COMPANY?
· Lower sales costs due to an improved stream of referrals and reduced “churn” in the customer base.
· Improved ability to outmaneuver competitors due to better information on customer needs and closed integration with their processes
· Improved market intelligence from customers willing to share information on their peers and your competitors
· Increased sales on improved market share and greater “share of wallet”.
· Higher profits thanks to lower sales costs, higher volume in purchasing, and improved economies of scale in production.
· Customers who will understand and work with your during supply shortages, power outages, transportation breakdowns, or other disruptions.
· More opportunities to make friends and to help other parties in your Relationship Web.
Thought it is fact that each product, service or solution will deliver some value to customer, competition decreases the gaps between offers of participating companies. In such a situation, what delivers a deciding value will be the relationship between the customer and the company. It is therefore imperative that companies and organizations build and sustain relationship asset with its stakeholders, particularly the customers.
Is that all? There are other possible difficulties such as tough customers seeking best deals (in price, quality, service, warranty etc.), short term horizon of employees, suppliers getting acquired, investors selling out, tough corporate governance, strict independent board of directors, very tough neighborhood and community etc are other impediments that the business leader has to face. Communication means such as Internet, e-mail, mobile phones, laptops and palmtops are revolutionizing the way business is done. Communication revolution is ensuring that everybody is getting connected and all have equal access to information.
Business ecosystem today goes beyond company, employees, customer and suppliers. Other stakeholders including investors, financiers, government and public at large have become very much part of the ecosystem. These multiple stakeholders are all wanting to be treated well.
All businesses are becoming more and more competitive. This calls for companies to spend plenty of time, energy and resources to come out with strategies for building and sustaining competitive advantages that help market leadership. Product, service and solutions are fine tuned, packaged and positioned well for the customer to buy and use them. As market become more and more developed and mature, the product differentiators become thinner and thinner. When everything looks the same, how would an offer of a company differ from that of its nearest competition?
It is here that Relationship comes in. When all offers look the same, it is the relationship that the company has built up with its stakeholder becomes a true differentiator.
Relationship is a unique strategic resource that cannot be appropriated, duplicated or stolen (which happens to product, process and technology). Thus, it becomes an irreplaceable asset.
When organizations manage the unique asset called the relationship it helps by building connections with people for reaching at mutually beneficial deals. Building the network of long term relationships through trust helps to form win-win outcome for both stakeholders. Relationship asset management helps to attract, retain, motivate valuable employees, boost effectiveness of sales, improve investor confidence (and therefore better access to funds), strengthen community relations, maintains positive media coverage, broaden available business opportunity and in all, strengthen the company.
HOW DOES RELATIONSHIP ASSET WINS FOR CUSTOMERS?
. Superior products and services that meet their needs and deliver value.
· Personal attention to individual needs and interests.
· Greater ease in doing business as suppliers and merchants come to know their needs and characteristics.
· Meaningful recognition for loyalty in the form discounts or useful premiums.
· Appreciation and if appropriate rewards for referrals, recommendations and introductions. · Lower “switching cost due to a reduced need to search out, comparison-shop and get to know vies suggestions and suppliers.
· Suppliers who will go the extra mile on rush orders, equipment breakdowns, or inventory shortages, and who will do everything possible to assure product availability.
HOW DOES RELATIONSHIP ASSET WINS FOR COMPANY?
· Lower sales costs due to an improved stream of referrals and reduced “churn” in the customer base.
· Improved ability to outmaneuver competitors due to better information on customer needs and closed integration with their processes
· Improved market intelligence from customers willing to share information on their peers and your competitors
· Increased sales on improved market share and greater “share of wallet”.
· Higher profits thanks to lower sales costs, higher volume in purchasing, and improved economies of scale in production.
· Customers who will understand and work with your during supply shortages, power outages, transportation breakdowns, or other disruptions.
· More opportunities to make friends and to help other parties in your Relationship Web.
Thought it is fact that each product, service or solution will deliver some value to customer, competition decreases the gaps between offers of participating companies. In such a situation, what delivers a deciding value will be the relationship between the customer and the company. It is therefore imperative that companies and organizations build and sustain relationship asset with its stakeholders, particularly the customers.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
THE GENESIS OF ROTARY COCHIN INTERNATIONAL
I joined the Rotary movement in 1997 as the member of Rotary Cochin Harbour and attained big recognition by becoming the best club secretary of the district during the Rotary year 1999-2000. Soon after, things started turning sour and I decided to quit the club in early 2001. Though I found the Rotary movement very dear to me, there were difficulties with some people inside the club. While the hurt and pain was very much there, I did not have any idea to start a new club. I thought I would cool off for some time and later accept an invitation from one of those city clubs (which I have been receiving plenty) and join up to continue as a Rotarian.
It was then that Rtn. Lellulal, who too had been cooling his heels after leaving Rotary Cochin Downtown, where he was the charter Secretary, approached me. I had known Rtn. Lellulal even outside Rotary. Initial cajoling by him did not break the ice. He was persistent and finally (almost after 2 months) I said, “why not”?
How to start a Rotary club and whom to invite to be its members? Lellulal took it as his job to find a sponsoring club. Regarding membership, he thought we would have a mix and match of existing Rotarians and newer one, as there were some existing Rotarians who were interested in joining up with him. I did not want that to happen. It is one thing to leave a club but it is sacrilege to start another club with members taken from existing clubs. I too was not keen to invite existing Rotarians to the new club. Besides Lellulal and I, we had decided to have the rest of the membership to come form non-Rotarians. The first person I brought into the discussion was Hari, who was a partner in my business. Thereafter, I made a list of some of the friends and acquaintances that I have had. I sent them a well-drafted letter explaining Rotary and the advantages of being a member of Rotary movement and invited them to the new club. Later, I followed it up with phone calls. Barring two people, everyone (it was 22 of them) accepted my invitation, which was very heartening indeed.
In an evening of October 2001, all were invited to Hotel Avenue Center, Cochin. Participants were introduced to each other and club vision was put across to them. Many of them had heard of Rotary and the acceptance within the gathering was very good. So we decided to go ahead with the formation of a new Rotary club. Lellulal talked to Pres. Thomson Thomas of Rotary Club of Ernakulm (the club where he started his Rotary membership) and got him to sponsor our club. Pres. Thomson appointed Dr. Peter John, a senior Rotarian and past president of the club, as the GSR (Governor’s Special Representative) to form our club.
Then came the name for the club. Our GSR suggested the name as Rotary club of Lakeside Cochin. Lellulal suggested ‘Cosmopolitan’ as the name. My thoughts on the name were in some global, universal levels. Finally, the brainstorming within the membership resulted in the name Rotary Cochin International. There were big objections from the fraternity from outside, including some past DGs. Everyone feared that Rotary International would not pass the name, as it would be an affront to it. Our then DG (Rtn. Kuriachan) checked with me to change the name. By then I had my defense ready. Having researched through the Rotary International directories that I could lay my hands upon, I came out with at least 10 clubs with the international affix after the city of its origin. (Malmo International, Moscow International, Seattle international etc., in fact later we started a fellowship of the Rotary clubs the world over having the ‘international’ affix to it). This had convinced the DG amply and he forwarded our papers to RI with his recommendations for chartering our club. Honestly, we were very confident of getting the name and were never bothered about the objections of the fraternity. Later, when the approval came, every one’s envy was very evident. It was a sort of deja vu for many of them. (“Why didn’t we think of it earlier as the name for our club”?).
Though we did not go for much fanfare in inaugurating the club provisionally, December 2001 onwards, we started meeting regularly at Hotel Meridien on every Wednesdays at 6.30 PM. (We continued to meet in Hotel Meridien for about 18 months thereafter). We got senior Rotarians like K N Shastry, Balagopal, Lalichan, Rajmohan Nair, and George Korah etc to address our club to give the members appropriate Rotary orientation. By March 2002, our Charter certificate came through from RI. 6th March 2002 was our charter day. The charter presentation was held very colourfully at Hotel Renaissance, in presence of members of Ernakulam club, our member’s family and invitees, sister club presidents and secretaries, district officials and other well-wishers from Rotary. DG Rtn. Kuriachan handed over the Charter to our Secretary (Harikrishnan PK) and me. DG Kuriachan and PDG Venugopal C Govind inducted all new members into Rotary.
Besides me, Lellulal and Hari, the other charter Members were M/s. Aby, Madan, Rajeev, Rajeev Nair, Vijay, Murali, Cinu, Prashanth, Manoj Joseph, Manoj Kumar, Baiju, Dr. Siby, Ravikumar, Reji Ramen, Reji Abraham, Balakrishnan, Shaju and Dilip. Lellulal was the senior most in age and Prashanth, the baby of the club. From the original 22, two did not join but we had a new aspirant with high Rotary pedigree with whom the total charter membership came to 21. A majority of the charter members continue to be in the club. Considering the geo-political situations that Rotary is going through, it is indeed a matter of great joy and pride to see the charter members forming the crux of the membership and always be part and parcel of all activities of the club.
In every word, RCI was a new generation club. Youth power was the essence, professionalism the core and creativity at its helm. Our newsletter letter that was released on the charter day ROCOINT confounded many. Formed of the first two letters of our club nomenclature, it moved away from the traditional ways. With Madan being the charter editor, it was to be!
What was the uniqueness of RCI when it all began? Firstly, all the charter members were professionals. Most of them were in specific hi-tech vocations. Sports in general and Cricket in particular was glue that bonded the members together. The age of members was within plus minus 5 years. There was no communication and generation gap within the membership.
RCI had grown from strength to strength। It had become very much part of Cochin and district 3200 Rotary map. In many activities, be it sports, arts or charity, RCI has been making big impact, year after year. There are many wonderful projects that the club is doing including Bhavana, the Youth festival for differently abled children. It has 5 PPs now. The membership had grown to 36. There are 3 lady Rotarians in RCI. Club members had gone on to be part of District administration (AG/GGR/ District Zone Secy./Dist. Sergeant at arms/ Dist. Jt. Secy./ Conf. Jt. Secy etc all) many times. Personally I am very happy to comment the friendship and dependence for each other within the members, which includes their families. This shows that beyond Rotary, we had formed a cohesive society having similarity in thoughts and action. All members cherish and depend on the relationship that they had built up with each other in RCI.
What is in the Charter President’s wish list for RCI of the future? Continued cohesiveness and feeling for each other comes as the first priority। Quality membership is another। A club not getting corrupted by the vicissitudes of position and power that Rotary offers is a major hope and all members enjoying Rotary meaningfully, is the mother of all wishes.
It was then that Rtn. Lellulal, who too had been cooling his heels after leaving Rotary Cochin Downtown, where he was the charter Secretary, approached me. I had known Rtn. Lellulal even outside Rotary. Initial cajoling by him did not break the ice. He was persistent and finally (almost after 2 months) I said, “why not”?
How to start a Rotary club and whom to invite to be its members? Lellulal took it as his job to find a sponsoring club. Regarding membership, he thought we would have a mix and match of existing Rotarians and newer one, as there were some existing Rotarians who were interested in joining up with him. I did not want that to happen. It is one thing to leave a club but it is sacrilege to start another club with members taken from existing clubs. I too was not keen to invite existing Rotarians to the new club. Besides Lellulal and I, we had decided to have the rest of the membership to come form non-Rotarians. The first person I brought into the discussion was Hari, who was a partner in my business. Thereafter, I made a list of some of the friends and acquaintances that I have had. I sent them a well-drafted letter explaining Rotary and the advantages of being a member of Rotary movement and invited them to the new club. Later, I followed it up with phone calls. Barring two people, everyone (it was 22 of them) accepted my invitation, which was very heartening indeed.
In an evening of October 2001, all were invited to Hotel Avenue Center, Cochin. Participants were introduced to each other and club vision was put across to them. Many of them had heard of Rotary and the acceptance within the gathering was very good. So we decided to go ahead with the formation of a new Rotary club. Lellulal talked to Pres. Thomson Thomas of Rotary Club of Ernakulm (the club where he started his Rotary membership) and got him to sponsor our club. Pres. Thomson appointed Dr. Peter John, a senior Rotarian and past president of the club, as the GSR (Governor’s Special Representative) to form our club.
Then came the name for the club. Our GSR suggested the name as Rotary club of Lakeside Cochin. Lellulal suggested ‘Cosmopolitan’ as the name. My thoughts on the name were in some global, universal levels. Finally, the brainstorming within the membership resulted in the name Rotary Cochin International. There were big objections from the fraternity from outside, including some past DGs. Everyone feared that Rotary International would not pass the name, as it would be an affront to it. Our then DG (Rtn. Kuriachan) checked with me to change the name. By then I had my defense ready. Having researched through the Rotary International directories that I could lay my hands upon, I came out with at least 10 clubs with the international affix after the city of its origin. (Malmo International, Moscow International, Seattle international etc., in fact later we started a fellowship of the Rotary clubs the world over having the ‘international’ affix to it). This had convinced the DG amply and he forwarded our papers to RI with his recommendations for chartering our club. Honestly, we were very confident of getting the name and were never bothered about the objections of the fraternity. Later, when the approval came, every one’s envy was very evident. It was a sort of deja vu for many of them. (“Why didn’t we think of it earlier as the name for our club”?).
Though we did not go for much fanfare in inaugurating the club provisionally, December 2001 onwards, we started meeting regularly at Hotel Meridien on every Wednesdays at 6.30 PM. (We continued to meet in Hotel Meridien for about 18 months thereafter). We got senior Rotarians like K N Shastry, Balagopal, Lalichan, Rajmohan Nair, and George Korah etc to address our club to give the members appropriate Rotary orientation. By March 2002, our Charter certificate came through from RI. 6th March 2002 was our charter day. The charter presentation was held very colourfully at Hotel Renaissance, in presence of members of Ernakulam club, our member’s family and invitees, sister club presidents and secretaries, district officials and other well-wishers from Rotary. DG Rtn. Kuriachan handed over the Charter to our Secretary (Harikrishnan PK) and me. DG Kuriachan and PDG Venugopal C Govind inducted all new members into Rotary.
Besides me, Lellulal and Hari, the other charter Members were M/s. Aby, Madan, Rajeev, Rajeev Nair, Vijay, Murali, Cinu, Prashanth, Manoj Joseph, Manoj Kumar, Baiju, Dr. Siby, Ravikumar, Reji Ramen, Reji Abraham, Balakrishnan, Shaju and Dilip. Lellulal was the senior most in age and Prashanth, the baby of the club. From the original 22, two did not join but we had a new aspirant with high Rotary pedigree with whom the total charter membership came to 21. A majority of the charter members continue to be in the club. Considering the geo-political situations that Rotary is going through, it is indeed a matter of great joy and pride to see the charter members forming the crux of the membership and always be part and parcel of all activities of the club.
In every word, RCI was a new generation club. Youth power was the essence, professionalism the core and creativity at its helm. Our newsletter letter that was released on the charter day ROCOINT confounded many. Formed of the first two letters of our club nomenclature, it moved away from the traditional ways. With Madan being the charter editor, it was to be!
What was the uniqueness of RCI when it all began? Firstly, all the charter members were professionals. Most of them were in specific hi-tech vocations. Sports in general and Cricket in particular was glue that bonded the members together. The age of members was within plus minus 5 years. There was no communication and generation gap within the membership.
RCI had grown from strength to strength। It had become very much part of Cochin and district 3200 Rotary map. In many activities, be it sports, arts or charity, RCI has been making big impact, year after year. There are many wonderful projects that the club is doing including Bhavana, the Youth festival for differently abled children. It has 5 PPs now. The membership had grown to 36. There are 3 lady Rotarians in RCI. Club members had gone on to be part of District administration (AG/GGR/ District Zone Secy./Dist. Sergeant at arms/ Dist. Jt. Secy./ Conf. Jt. Secy etc all) many times. Personally I am very happy to comment the friendship and dependence for each other within the members, which includes their families. This shows that beyond Rotary, we had formed a cohesive society having similarity in thoughts and action. All members cherish and depend on the relationship that they had built up with each other in RCI.
What is in the Charter President’s wish list for RCI of the future? Continued cohesiveness and feeling for each other comes as the first priority। Quality membership is another। A club not getting corrupted by the vicissitudes of position and power that Rotary offers is a major hope and all members enjoying Rotary meaningfully, is the mother of all wishes.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
WEALTH CREATION - KERALA MODEL
As economies of the countries grow, there comes an urgent need for the entrepreneurship to grow up in the place, for undoubtedly, entrepreneurship is the basis for economic growth of society and nations. What is entrepreneurship? It is all about the start up of enterprises by individuals or group, based on competency, talent, opportunity and or an idea. Entrepreneurship results in creation of wealth, which in turn is distributed among the stakeholders, thereby achieving equity or inclusivity. Society/community grows based on this economic activity, resulting in better living condition and life prospects for its members. Due to a combination of reasons, Keralites (particularly those within the state) are not entrepreneurial. Rather than starting ventures, they would like to be taking up employment, where the risk element in minimal and the safety element (perceived), higher. However Malayalis have their own versions of wealth generation activities. After observing the scene closely for many years, I site some of them as under:
Join Politics:
This is the safest bet for Malayali today. And indeed it is big time business and a definite wealth creation activity. It really does not matter whether you are right, left or centre as far as your political ideology is concerned. In Kerala, the wealthiest guys are politicians who have investments in every sunrise business, in many cities inside and outside the State. In the guise of saving the country and serving the poor, you could really save yourself. Every opportunity to serve is a possibility to have a 'deal'. The percentages are good. Many of the deals have the possibility of annuity income coming year after year. Very lucrative field indeed, if you have the patience and attitude for the same.
Take your cut: There are different models of taking the cut. Malayali is not exempt from the simple act of bribery, which is a universal phenomenon. The act of taking bribe is a fantastic wealth distribution activity, specifically when there are layers of people involved in the process. Depending upon the size of the cake, the pie varies. There are instances where bribe in percentages or in absolute term are very very high. Lavleen deal, Palm Oil deal (there are thousands of them) etc are prime examples of this type of taking the cut. Another model of taking the cut is typically the Nokku Coolie that is collected by the comrades belonging to trade unions. Do nothing and keep collecting is the motto. There are plenty of examples to cite. Typical is the Tipper lorry with sand coming to the construction site and delivering the same on auto mode and the then paying the Nokku Coolie to the comrade who will come to collect it at prefixed rates. Originally this was considered as a sort of compensation for the opportunity lost due to automation coming in, but now it is an accepted practice. The beauty of or this type of wealth creation is that it is achieved without moving a muscle? I was impressed to find the formula that the comrades apply something as minimum as ten percent of the total construction cost coming to him/party as Nokku Coolie.
Buy Lottery Tickets: Malayalis want the state to provide for them. Since its attempt to run public sector enterprises came cropper, the State started the activity of running Lottery. It is said that fifty percent of Malayalis sell Lottery and the balance, buy it. Since the Lottery is conducted by the State itself, the trust is very high (it is another matter that the State pinches a lot out). The State Government almost died when private lotteries such as Lotto etc came to set base in the State. By applying so many measures, the State had been able to retain the exclusivity in this matter, thereby enabling Malayali to find his wealth generation activity through the draw of lots!
Invest in Blade Cos. Average Malayali would not ever want to flex his muscle at all. So whatever saving that he can lay his hand upon, (pension benefits, LIC mature amount, hard earned money sent by son from Gulf, etc) is put into the blade company (the so-called NBFC companies) which run in the guise of Nidhi company, Kuri company, Teak Tree plantation ownership, Goat farm ownership, Jasmine garden Ownership etc, who promises of paying high percentage of interest, in addition to the one gram gold coin that is given whenever the deposit was started (gold in whatever weight is a big incentive to Malayali, there is one more such incentive – scotch whisky). From time to time (almost at a fixed intervals), these companies take birth to the absolute happiness of Malayali (only to vanish in two years!). He never minds becoming a prey. It almost looks like that the Malayali gets up every day morning with a prayer, “God, please let somebody cheat me today”. If something worse happen, it does not bother him, after all, he could commit suicide in the end.
Join the MLM Company. Today, this is one the highest wealth creation activity in Kerala. Logic is set-aside for these multi level marketing companies to flourish. MLM forms groups, chains and sub chain of people and sell into the chain; those fancy products (Protein tablets, Magnetic beds, Websites (?), Woolens, Insurance policies etc) at unrealistic prices and share the margins based on some pre-fixed formula. It is another matter that the guy who really benefits this exercise is the one at the top of the chain. If one applies the logic, he would realize that one is paying 3 to 4 timers the actual cost of the product. He would have been better off buying it or an equivalent of it from outside and it would have ensured good savings for him. However, Malayali is willing to pay high to be part of the chain. I had seen many relatives and friends falling prey to the hype of these chains and moving away dejected later, after having lost considerable time, efforts and money on the endeavour. As an attractor, tricks such as the promise of the member’s personality development through grooming exercises and motivating speeches is very well employed in this MLM way of selling. It indeed is very impressive to watch such MLM meetings happening in huge stadiums where thousands of people from all over the State converge to partake. These conventions give an impression of the utsav taking place. As already stated, the guys at the top of the chain make substantial money and those at the bottom, wither away.
Be an NRK’s Sidekick There are many NRKs. Mostly they dwell in Middle East nations, in addition to US and Europe. At these places they would do anything (even if it is dirty and manual a job) to make money. But by the time, he comes home for annual leave (he will positively come home every year, the lure of the Coconut land is very high indeed), friends, kith and kin gets attracted to him and forms his sidekick (shinkidi). In about a months time the NRK goes back to grind the body and soul all over again. After having squeezed the very last out of him, our shinkidi will wait for the other NRK to land. Life goes on thus.
Blackmail This is developing into a good means of wealth creation lately. Probe deep into every individual is a Malayali pastime. Whatever information thus gathered (whether true or not) is put to use to blackmail hapless individuals particularly ladies, a majority of whose husbands are away and working in outside countries and states. The remuneration comes in cash, kind or both, including the pleasure of flesh. What a scene! Do nothing; take away everything, including chastity!
Conclusion In management parlance, lately one has been hearing the importance of doing smart work than hard work. The pre-runner of this smart job (in a crass manner), had been followed by the guys in Kerala, for decades. No wonder Kerala is called God’s own country. For, every one inside resembles a God who does nothing, who drinks to glory, who indulges in the pleasure of the company of roving beauties and who whiles away time gossiping about the neighbours. To create a balance (of both economy and population), the hardworking ones are identified in his/her twenties and exported out, only to work hard for sustaining the life and pleasure of the Gods inside Kerala. The privileges of remittance economy is truly tremendous indeed!
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