What is populism? Is populism per se bad? These questions have been haunting me for very long. Populism as defined would be representing the interests of ordinary people. So populism is not per-se bad.

As a youngster who graduated in Commerce, I was dead opposed to any type of subsidies (read populism). However with age I have realised the importance of subsidies in India and full endorse them. However I abhor populist schemes like Free Color TV, DTH connections but I fully endorse the Rs.1 per KG of rice. It is just that target audience has to be clearly identified and reasonably good quality of rice has to be supplied.

Subsidies in India are in the form of Food Subsidy, Agricultural Subsidy and Middle Class Subsidy.

Let me start with food subsidy. Most Indian families have availed this subsidy and if you include the subsidy on domestic gas cylinder, even the economist who cries his throat hoarse against subsidy has availed it. I feel that this subsidy can easily be graded. There is no point in giving the same amount of subsidy to a slum resident and the one residing in a posh flat. Food subsidy was essential to India’s growth given that growth of income was limited as also job opportunities. One form of food subsidy was the mid-day meal scheme. Initially it was highly criticized but over a period of time it has contributed a lot to reducing school drop-outs. This should be made compulsory in all schools having students from the Below Poverty Line.

Agricultural subsidy comes in the form of subsidized urea prices; subsidized electricity; loans write-off; no income tax on agriculture and minimum support price. I will stick my neck out and say agricultural subsidy was essential for India given the food situation at the time of Independence. Whether it is relevant today? My answer would be a partly yes and partly no. Minimum Support Price has to be given for all class of farmers because we can’t compromise on availability of food. However, all forms of subsidy have to be given only to the small and marginal farmers. It does not matter whether many of those holdings are mere benami but the small and marginal farmer has to be supported. The big fish have to be treated on par with other citizens. However, I don’t understand the absurdity of not taxing farmers of commercial crops; will somebody please explain this to me?

A strong middle class in the country could be created only because the Government for nearly 4 decades made everything affordable and kept the prices under control. How much ever, the educated upper middle class denies this; the truth is there for all to see. This attitude lingers on and every time there is a price rise, we cry from the roof tops. Middle/Elite Class is as hypocrite as it can get. We don’t vote but complain about bad governance. We crib about subsidy given to the poorest of poor but cry when the price of petrol is increased. Middle/ Elite class are as much a beneficiary of subsidy (read populism) as the poor are. What else do you think the stimulus packages are? How do you define the tax breaks given to IT companies? Is tax deduction on housing loans not a form of subsidy?

A poor man contributes to this country as much as a citizen from Elite/Middle Class. Contribution to a society must not always be measured in monetary terms. As per a survey conducted by the National Survey Organisation in 2008, 20% of the population survives on an income of Rs.12 per day. To get this income of Rs.12, they have to slog really hard. This population has to be kept in good humor and hence populist measures like Rs.1/kg of rice are essential. Just imagine if this hungry lot turns violent across the country, the cost of containing them would be very high. It is not about yielding to the demands but accommodating various sections of the society in an amenable manner.

Populism is essential to attain growth (read tax deductions; tax breaks; stimulus packages, etc) but it is essential also to ensure that the larger majority of the country is kept in good humor and most importantly atleast with a partly filled stomach.

Balu

Fuel price rise is becoming a global crisis. We can no longer piggy back on Left Ideology and play Ostrich with the impending economic disaster. Everybody has tomake some sacrifice to tide over the crisis.

The Government on its part could drastically reduce duties on petrol and diesel.Government every year has its target for collection of duties from each economic activity and let’s say for this year from the sale of petroleum products it is targeted at Rs.1000 crores. The rate at
which oil prices are increasing globally,this target will be met easily and possibly surpassed. The Government could do a bit of sacrifice (if they are serious about controlling price) and reduce the duties on petroleum products. Further, the Government should be bold enough and adopt differential pricing for domestic gas cylinders. It is ridiculous to note that a family living in a premium apartment (costing Rs.1 Crore) pays the same price for a domestic gas cylinder as a family which stays in a slum. It is very easy to implement this because every subscribers address is known. A similar method could be adopted for supply of diesel and petrol also. Differential rates should be adopted for public utility vehicles and private vehicles. Similar differentiation could be done in case of two wheelers and four wheelers. If the oil companies want to suffer losses by supplying at the same rate for all types of vehicles, so be it. That is part of their benevolence and nobody can help it. It is time that the Government made some serious investments for research in the field of Solar Cooking. In a country like India, even if 30-40% of the families switch to this method and use it for 7-9 months a year (given the
weather conditions), the differences that it could make to our fuel bill will be enormous.

The Opposition on their part especially the confused Left should understand that global prices of fuel are increasing and we have no means but to comply. Why don’t these people understand that just because we don’t charge market rates, OPEC Countries don’t supply fuel to us at subsidized rates?At the end of the day, we have to pay market rates and this money comes from nowhere but from within our Budget. Does the Left support a situation wherein a capitalist is getting subsidized fuel from the money which is meant to prevent a poor farmer from committing suicide?

We on our part could reduce the use of personal transport as much as possible but then for today’s urban middle class it is shame to land up at a friends place and say I have come by public transport. For our own economic good and to prevent global warming let us walk for distances less than 2 kilometers and also teach our children to do so. As far as possible
let us use public transport to commute, these days they are quite good and frequent also.

The situation is very grim. We have to change our old habits of using fuel or else face the fate of inhabitants of Jurassic Park. Politicians on their part should stop worrying about their votes. Those in the ruling party have to take strong calls and those in the opposition have to adopt
a policy of “Bolthi Bandh” and not call for bandhs over every fuel price rise. If we don’t learn to make little sacrifices as a country, we better get ready to kiss goodbye to the growth we have achieved in the past 5 to 6 years.This situation is going to hurt all of us but then we have no option but take the bull head on. If we bury our heads in the sand just like an ostrich does, sooner later, economic disaster will hunt us down.

Remember 1990, we had to pledge our Gold.

Balu AM

If your mentor gives applause for all the good things you did; great. If your mentor is satisfied with what you have done and never induces you to push your limits; beware! Great leaders are great followers too. Leaders ideally will have mentor(s) who shows them the way to greatness.

A little experience with LeadCap has provided with the following understanding about the roles of a mentor when developing a potential leader into a great leader and also the role of the person mentored in the process.

Roles of the mentor:

1. Keep the vision alive with actions and words
2. Assurance that s/he will become a leader
3. Push her/his limits to greater heights
4. Freedom to fail

Roles of potential leader:

1. Decision to lead
2. Very positive ‘I can’ attitude
3. Challenge the self every minute of every day
4. Raise the bars
5. Work really hard

In a movement where we are building a nation of leaders each and every person must raise their bars and aim greater heights. Meeting with the defining moment and decision to lead is just a beginning. When the worldly comforts and sloth slows you down, remember that in the leadership journey you have to push your limits and keep the leadership quotient high with string of decisions. “Never give up” should be the mantra.

Mohammad Nibras P.K.
LeadCap

Ever since liberalization, India has made huge strides economically.Movement of people from one part of the country to another for job hasbecome a norm of the day. To an extent this has bridged the gap between people. Sadly regionalism has resurfaced across the country. Peoplecoming from other states are being ridiculed, abused and attacked.

The country was divided on regional basis for administrative reasons andnot meant to create separate entities. It is time that the Government/Election Commission get tough with such regional parties/leaders and ban them for life from contesting in the elections and speaking in the public.

People coming from other states should learn to respect the sentiments of the state in which they are living in. They should make all earnestefforts to learn the local language, culture, appreciate its food, etc andget assimilated with the local population. Otherwise they can find jobs in their own states

One of the Fundamental Rights provided bythe Constitution is that “An individual can go to any part of the countryand earn his living”. That is why we don’t require Visas to travel from one state to another. So when a software engineer from up North comes and takes up a job down South, he is exercising his Constitution Right and ifyou want to question his right, better give up living in this country. It is not possible to give a software engineer’s job to a SSLC drop-out or ill-qualified person, just because he is a local.

Nobody has given their lands to the IT Parks/ Airports for charity. Such acquisitions are made at market rates. If anybody feels aggrieved , they can approach the courts and not come to the streets and disrupt development. However, it is ridiculous for a land owner to feel cheated because his one acre of land which was paid a market value of Rs.1 lakh in 1995 is now worth Rs. 2 crores. IT companies/Airports are professionally run companies and not charity institutions to give one job per family from whom the land was acquired.

Everybody cannot be and need not be a software engineer. Money flow is created in the economy when there are high paying jobs. It is upto you howto take advantage of that money flow. Were there so many taxis, PG accommodations and shopping malls in our cities a decade back? Have these people who are providing the services not benefited from the increased money flow in the economy? If the locals have not been smart enough to exploit this opportunity, it is their folly not that of a person from another state who has encashed the opportunity.Certain occupations are best left to the law of “survival of the fittest”.Nobody gets into a taxi/auto because the driver belongs to such and such aregion. There is no law prohibiting a local from driving a taxi. If you are diligent and hardworking, you will survive in the market or else youwill suffer. Similar is the case with a grocer, maid servant, etc.

When I take up a job in any State, I do pay all the taxes imposed by thatState on my income and expenditure. Further, I do create money flow inthat state whenever I spend. The concerned State Government does get amajor share of the income tax, I pay to the Central Government. Thus thestatement that “outsiders” fleece the state of its resources and do notcontribute anything to its development is an inflated bag of lies andmeant to divide incite people for political/financial gains.

No state has come up on its own or without contributions by people from other states. Let us understand that some states are less blessed than others either through nature or by man made factors. That does not mean they dont have a right to better their living. Such denials on regional basis would only create a wedge in the society which may have unimaginable woes for us in the future. Let the greed for power not turn India into a battlefield.

Balu AM

What is charismatic leadership? You just cannot stand up in a crowd, say
that I am charismatic and become its leader. So, how does anybody become
a charismatic leader? Looks, skin color, oratory skills, family lineage,
style, etc are some of the words which come to mind

Looks and skin color work but only to a limited extent. Family lineage
would make you a charismatic leader amongst a worthless set of people.
Oratory skills are essential for a charismatic leader. For it to
instantaneously connect with the people their convictions should be
emphasized, fears allayed, hopes fostered and most importantly play to the
gallery. For all these to culminate in a powerful talk, the leader should
be well informed of his audience profile. Just waxing eloquently on the
growth in capital markets, infrastructure, etc amongst a group of drought
hit peasants, you are liable to be stoned.

Style is a combination of voice, body language and dress. You cannot
address an army going to war in a saint like voice. Your voice should be
aggressive and words should be screaming for the enemy blood. Body
language reveals what the carefully planned words hide. It is impossible
for a teacher to inspire his students, if he himself yawns during the
class. There cannot be a better example on importance of dress than
Gandhiji who could easily connect with the masses because of his dress
sense. Why else do you think uniform is given utmost importance in
organizations which want people to achieve a single goal? A contemporary
example of the ultimate style package is Laloo Prasad Yadav. He has all
the style in the world that is required to mesmerize his target audience.

For a leader’s charisma to sustain over a long period of time, he should
be well organized, know the pulse of his audience and most importantly
deliver on his promises.

Balu AM