THE DIARY OF Z

As a ‘volcanic ash victim’, I became all too aware of the frustration of the many thousands of travellers left at the mercy of the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajoekull over the last 10 days. My flight departure was scheduled for April 17th, but I finally arrived in Bangalore on the 25th. But should I have?

Airspace in and around Europe was closed for a total of six days with only a handful of test flights going on. And all the while, airlines became more concerned about the loss of revenue as time flew by. So after calls for the government to start contributing to bail out expense claims and pour more money into the ‘repatriation’ effort for Brits stranded abroad, airspace was miraculously deemed safe to fly in. 

Looking at the history of volcanic ash clouds, surely, a basic view of the facts suggests that this could be a grave mistake. The infamous flight that flew into the ash of Mount Galunggung after it erupted in Indonesia on 24th June 1982 and was lucky to restart its engines proves that ash hovers in the air and poses considerable risk up to three weeks after eruption. On 13th July 1982, another flight in the same area suffered a similar fate, yet luck was on its side as well. 

Yes, the globe is suffering from its worst economic setback since the Wall Street crash. But will pushing aside scientific evidence and historical fact in order to save crucial pounds, pence and euros be worth it if a 747 turns into a gliding bomb that lands in the middle of Europe tomorrow?

Hopefully, we shall never know. But the governments of Europe will have some severe questions to answer if luck is not on their side.

Contributed by Jenny-Wren Charlton

‘How to start a career and be your own boss’. Looks like the title of a self-help book? Sure, it is. But then, it’s not so easy for female mid career professionals who have to weigh in a lot many things before the needle swings any which way. It’s hard for those with spouses, loans, and kids to pull off a start-up. But it’s not impossible either. You just have to love your idea enough to figure out how to do it on the side.

But the road to entrepreneurship is pothole-ridden. Take mid career pros. They don’t like the responsibility that comes with it. Usha, the 33-year-old project manager at a software firm puts it succinctly: “It’s as simple as my laptop crashing the other day in the office. Within three hours, I was functional again. That’s the beauty of working in large organisations. The processes are in place, the people are helpful. It’s a secure job whichever way you look at it.”

The lure of global organisations makes it more difficult for mid career pros to say ‘goodbye’ to seven-figure salaries and the perks that come with it, global travel included. “If I do get married to some guy who wants to relocate to Australia, I can join him there without thinking about quitting and finding a new job because my company has a branch out there.”

Anuradha Muralidharan seconds Usha’s opinion. “Yes, a job does come with certain responsibilities, time schedules and deliverables but unlike entrepreneurship, one is not carrying the weight of the entire organisation on one’s shoulders,” she says. “In my job as Manager – MarCom, I might do a late night telecon or stay back in the evening, but be rest assured that when I go to bed, I sleep peacefully. That is the biggest asset of working versus owning your own set up. You tend to worry less and enjoy life more.”

Another important perk is tackling monotony. When you get saturated in one field, you can explore another, without the risks associated with entrepreneurship. “One has options. If one is bored and feels spent, one can move to another department,” says Usha. “You can move roles, go to different cities and countries and work in diverse fields. Because you are working in a larger organisation, there is no harassment at work. Everything is transparent, including your career growth.”

And then, there’s the security factor. “My salary comes on time, there’s a set number of holidays I can take, including maternity leave of 2-3 months,” says a proud Usha, who intends to work for others all her life. “It makes you feel proud to be part of a global organisation because getting a visa is easier and you are respected the world over because you represent a certain company. And then there’s travel insurance where everything is taken care of before you leave your country.”

Working for someone has other benefits, indulging in hobbies being one among them. Ask Anuradha. She gets time in the evenings to read a book, pursue a hobby like writing and have dinner with her family. “When we eat, I am not looking furtively at my cell phone to see if there is a fire somewhere,” she explains. “I eat peacefully and listen to my son talk about his day. This is the biggest perk of working in a company. Not to mention, the monthly pay check which I know for sure will come in. Also, I get to travel and learn more about technologies, markets and cultures, which makes my job all the more exciting.”

It’s the processes that make a big organisation so much more lucrative. And this also helps people to be happy at work. “If you are especially working for an old company, there’s a lot of stuff that has already been done before,” elaborates Usha. “So this helps you build on the existing infrastructure rather than completely re-invent the wheel and go nuts doing it.”

At the end of the day, working for large organisations is also about convenience. “I can choose to work from home, although right now, I don’t want to because I don’t want to carry work home, but maybe sometime later, when I get married and have a kid, I might,” says a thoughtful Usha. “Mobility is an option. Since my office is situated in two parts of the city, I can choose to work from a place close to my house.”

While experts will tell you to jump in, take risks, challenge yourself, trust your instincts, and learn from both experience and the experienced, Usha is clear she will not go on her own. “It’s unnecessary stress that I wouldn’t want for myself,” she says matter-of-factly. “I want to be part of an ocean as it’s so much more easier.”

Domain experts will tell you that twenties are the best for a start-up as you have a whole life ahead for success and failures. The problem therefore is more age-specific. In your 40s, you have many things to deal with. In your 20s, you can focus on one thing and still be an entrepreneur if you focus. This finds resonance in Usha’s early working days. “I took a lot of risk during my advertising days,” she reminisces. “But somewhere inside, I wanted security and stability. Advertising is based on performance. Almost every day, you have to come up with new, original ideas. And in this field, if your account moves, it means the end of your project and you move out of your job. I have also done a bit of freelancing for websites. But I realised these were smaller firms and my growth was stunted. With the dotcom bust, I had nothing to do. Now when I am working for a global organisation, I don’t have to worry about all these things.”

Sometimes, the reason for choosing to be an employee could be found in the family background. Take advertising professional Bela Vora. “All the entrepreneurs I knew – the business folk – my mother and her brothers, worked in run down dingy offices and struggled with clerks, paper work and bribing officials for various licenses, while my father who was a manager with Glaxo Laboratories worked in a spacious, air conditioned office surrounded by well dressed and polite people,” she recalls. “Therefore, I was naturally fascinated by the big corporate life, rather than with entrepreneurship in those early years.”

Given time, you learn the good and bad side to entrepreneurship. “By working in small and large companies for 22 years, I learnt not only about how the advertising business is run and what makes a good product, but also the most important softer skills of people management and the ability to face failure,” says Vora, who was an employee for more than half her working life before setting up her medium-sized advertising agency, Black Coffee. “If I have met with any success today, it has been because of my career background. It molded me, put me in touch with the right people and gave me the impetus to strike out on my own.”

Then again, entrepreneurship can be the best option for those mid career pros who are happily married with young children, as a promotion in an organisation means a change of city or even country. “This is increasingly a prerequisite for a post on the board,” says Vora. “The outstation transfers are measured in years. This can put a real dampener on your personal growth and family life and needless to add, plunge you into the classic dilemma of home versus career, or, in my view, happiness versus money. Many entrepreneurs, especially women, are made by this dilemma. It is a good time to strike out because a newly born business person feels more fulfilled to have a home to come back to rather than a service apartment in a foreign country.”

Working in smaller organisations works wonders for a future entrepreneur. Take 35-year-old technical writer Nirmala G. “I spent seven years being indispensable by working in a smaller organisation. It helped me prove my self worth and learn a lot more because you are being watched and picked on all the time. You multi task and know what it takes to run a firm because you’ve done it all. I know that the value add I can give compared to someone who hasn’t been on their own will be far superior. It is important to know what’s your worth, because then you can survive it this way or that.”

Now she works in an MNC and prefers the relative financial security. “I can become an entrepreneur, if I am able to pay off my home and car loans and have a certain regular income to meet my monthly expenses,” she says.

This could well be a possibility, given time. But right now, Nirmala is happy tapping away on the keyboard until she accumulates enough capital and wisdom to strike out on her own.

This was waiting to happen. With so many consumer review sites crowding the Internet, how do you stand out from the crowd? Offer more money. And that is exactly what this new Silicon Valley startup is offering: $2 for the first 3000 reviews to drive more traffic to their review site.

While it’s still in its beta state with a Google Page Rank of 1/10, if you enroll now, you have an early mover advantage. This is particularly good for those who are already reviewing on other websites to come here and make more money out of it. Right now, sites like Ciao in the UK offer a paltry sum. And again, this is determined by the number of people who read and comment on your post.

But over here, you are getting a fixed sum for just posting your review. Ofcourse, once this site becomes popular, the rules of the game might change and either become like Ciao, or even Moutshut that offers nothing but virtual gifts. While I like the monetising idea, I am not sure if I would derive much benefit from it right now. With most reviews not getting rated by fellow reviewers (because it’s still new to the game), one might not get immediate satisfaction of having posted a good review. After all, the greatest incentive to a reviewer is the feeling that he is being read and is playing a big part in influencing someone’s purchasing decisions. That is yet to happen on this site.
As they say, there are two sides to everything. If you are in it only for the money, go for it. If you want to be in it for greater readership, wait.

My friend Arka has just written to industrialist Ratan Tata. No, not for some personal favour or lauding him for his Jaguar deal. But for urging him not to go ahead with his plans of constructing a port in Dhamra, Orissa. This is because he has reason to believe from environmentlists like Green Peace that the port will be dangerously close to one of the world’s largest sea turtle nesting grounds - the Olive Ridley Sea Turtles. Therefore, he is one among millions emailing him to move the port to another location and prevent the turtles from going extinct.

However, there is one problem. Arka cannot do it alone. He needs the help of you and me. And you don’t even have to be an Indian to do so. Anyone who cares about the environment is free to do his mite in alerting Mr Tata to the possible dangers of his business act.

And it’s easy to do. Just write directly to Tata by clicking here.

The other day, I had to visit Eco Space, the business complex on Outer Ring Road towards Whitefield. And what do I find myself into? A visitor’s parking lot that charges you by the hour. Whether it’s one hour or two hours, you have to pay Rs 20 for every 2 hours of parking. I spent 2.5 hours and had to shell out Rs 40, because that’s how they calculate. That’s Rs 3.75/minute of my usage.  If every other company follows suit, it might eventually become more economical to hire an auto rather than go by your four-wheeler. Not only will it decongest the roads, the pollution levels will also be down. Not to mention, the driving stress!

Finance minister P Chidambaram’s budget has been pro-farmers and pro-middle class. But what do businessfolks think about it? Well, they say it’s a mixed bag. And how?
Read on…

Alok Ohrie, Managing Director, AMD India

Ø  I would like to congratulate the FM for coming out with a budget that strengthens our overall economy and especially its two foundation pillars - agriculture and education. Higher education has received its rightful importance in this year’s budget.  The decision to set up three more IITs, national knowledge centers, two more Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research and scholarships for science education are extremely relevant measures to grow the talent pool.  These initiatives will play a critical role in preparing and encouraging graduates who will take the high technology sectors to the next level of excellence.  

Ø  AMD has set up two more R&D centers in Bangalore and Hyderabad. The setting up of these development centers has helped the Indian PC and Hardware market. AMD has partnered with several state Governments for Rural development programs. We see this as a step ahead to take India to the next line of growth.

Ø  The exemption of specified raw materials for use in the IT and electronic hardware industry from customs duty is a positive sign. Technology advancements will fuel converged devices for the well informed on-the-move consumer.  The reduction in the duty on converged products is a timely step to keep the country on par with global technology developments.

R G Chandramogan, MD, Hatsun Agro

Ø  Personal Income tax concession is a welcome announcement which is a benefit to our employees.

Ø  A waiver of Rs 60,000 Cr towards an agricultural loan was done in this budget.  If only the Government had invested Rs 6000 Crores towards educating the farmers on optimal utilization of available resources and train them with simple tools to effectively reduce the cost  it would have helped them profitably and also saved the banks from the waiver.

Ø   Soil testing lab subsidy is a welcome programme and will also help the farmer in understanding the importance of soil management.

Ø  Nutrition based subsidy is the most logical step in the right direction.

Ø  Removal of import duty on bactofuge will lead to better quality milk processing in the years to come.

Monisha Advani, Managing Director, EmmayHR

Ø  This budget demonstrates economic prudence and caution. By focusing on relief and development to the agriculture sector, a clear message is being sent – the year of the Kissan (farmer) is back. Also, if a cross section of the budget were to be analyzed, the clear beneficiary is the common man, who will find it easier to come by medical relief and support, in a small or hybrid car that he will own and pay off loans that he received on the back of the subsidized education he received, thanks to the budget presented by this government.

Ø  Interesting to see pharmaceutical and healthcare receive impetus in the form of excise duty relief and incentive to research.

Ø  Overall, am personally pleased to see a budget assuming accountability towards the manufacturing sector. We have spent a decade bolstering the service sector and rightly so. It has yielded rich dividends in contributing to the GDP and increasing employment opportunities. However, the manufacturing sector is the foundation of our economy, as much as agriculture, and it deserves renewed incentive to grow to competitive levels. While I expect the suggested subsidies to increase employment, I would have expected the education budget to be aimed towards cultivating talent for this sector to be more vocalized, than is the case. Creation of jobs needs to be balanced with development of talent.

Ø  On income tax – no path-breaking change. On indirect and corporate tax – relieved that there hasn’t been incremental ambitions. On fringe-benefits – I maintain that the finance minister needs to reflect on what tools he equips employers to retain workforces, which will aid medium and long term value and wealth creation for the economy. FBT is a contrary action that deters employers for disbursing traditionally lock-in benefits for fear of impact.

Rajeshwar Balasundaram, COO Global Adjustments

Ø   This budget is clearly investor friendly and should improve the quality of the business environment in India, with the duty cuts and investments in infrastructure that have been announced. Consequently, we can only see an increase in global interest in India that will lead to more foreign direct investment and its collateral benefits to the economy.

Srinivas Rao, CFO, Perot Systems

Ø  There is a lot of attention being given to education in this budget. FM wants to develop India as a Knowledge Society. Rs.100 crores to be given to IT Ministry for knowledge centers, new IITs, Navodaya Vidyalaya’s, large allocation to the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan, Bharat Nirman schemes are all way to go. Education budget going up from 28k crores to 34k crores is all way to go that will invest in the long term sustained potential of the country in addressing resource availability and some of the current challenges of the country.

Ø  Agriculture also clearly seems like the big focus area in the years to come. A huge outlay for credit to the agricultural segment. Big write offs in the region of about Rs 60000 crores in terms of farmers debt to help distressed farmers. Though it is being viewed as a populist measure by the stock markets and the industry, this should inject a renewed energy into the agricultural segment who seemed to have been behind in the growth.

Ø  Corporate taxes remaining unchanged would not be a relief to the export industry especially the IT and ITES segment that’s been hit by the rupee appreciation and tax holiday going away in year 2009. There was a lot of expectation around this front. This will continue to challenge the IT and ITES industry which has been a major export earner and the driver for the country’s growth.

K Ganesh, Founder & CEO, TutorVista.com

Ø  We welcome the thrust on education in this year’s budget.

Ø  We will have more talent in the area of science and technology with the addition of technical institutions such as the IITs and IISc. 

Ø  IT infrastructure in rural districts will get a boost with the grant provided for broadband centers. It would have been good to see specific allocation to ensure these Rs 34,600 crores are actually spent correctly without leakage of funds. So, earmarking a small percentage for auditing and monitoring would be prudent.

Ø  The thrust in building high quality schools i.e. 6000 by FY 09 is laudable. Infrastructure in schools is very poor and this will address the concern. Also, mid-day meal allocation being increased will directly contribute to lowering drop out rates and is welcome.

Kris Gopalakrishnan, CEO and MD, Infosys Technologies Ltd

Ø  Overall economic growth has averaged 8.8% in the last four years. GDP growth rate for the year is estimated at 8.7% with services leading the growth at 10.7% and manufacturing growing by 9.4%. Tax revenues have been extremely buoyant, increasing to 12.5% of GDP, fiscal deficit is down to 2.5% next year with revenue deficit at 1% of GDP. The economy is on a roll. This has allowed the Finance Minister to make significant investments in agriculture, education and social sectors. However, we see inadequate allocation for higher education once again.

Ø  In terms of direct taxes the Finance Minister has given significant relief. This will help corporate India reduce wage inflation. Excise duty has been reduced across the board and coupled with the reduction in direct taxes, consumption and production should increase significantly, boosting growth.

Ø  The budget has not been positive for the IT industry. Smaller companies should have been given tax relief in this budget to counter the impact of a sharply appreciated rupee. The increase in excise duty for packaged software will lead to increased piracy.

A few years ago, a park in Koramangala was adopted by India’s richest man, Azim Premji. Go there today, and you will realise the poor state of it. Children’s amusements like see-saw, slider and so on are in ruin. The pond is home to mosquitoes. The lawns aren’t in their best finery. The security guard isn’t around. It wears an uncared-for look. Is this how Wipro wants to showcase its might to the world? Are promises meant to be broken? Has the dollar depreciation made Premji so poor that he can’t take care of the park in front of his office? Will somebody bell this techie cat?

PS: After reading this post and checking with the powers-that-be, one loyal Wipro employee informs me that ‘the lease has expired’ and therefore the company has no stake in the park anymore. Sad state. Can’t they lobby and somehow renew it?

Vijay Mallya and the jet he owns have a lot in common. Boeing as a brand is pretty much what aviation is about. Mallya as a brand is what India Inc. is all about. It takes Boeing 10 months to build a large and trustworthy piece of machinery. That’s about how long it took Mallya to create the fundamentals of an equally strong and trustworthy political party.

The story of Dr Vijay Mallya cannot be told as a single, seamless, linear tale; the nature of the man prevents any such straitjacketing.

His story jumps countries, time zones, cars and careers. From Mallya, liquor baron to Dr Mallya, national working president, Janata Party. From soirees in South Africa to rallies in Raichur, the man is a complex network of thoughts and ideas all rolled into one massive brand.

To unravel these labyrinthine ideas, we thought it best to meet people associated with each individual strand of ideation before talking to the man himself.

Prakash Belawadi, filmmaker and a Mallya watcher of sorts thinks he has great recall value. “He’s certainly one of the largest brands that Bangalore can carry,” says Belawadi. “His heart is in the right place as far as the city and the state are concerned. He bought the Kunigal stud farm, a heritage site that was in trouble. He saved the Mangalore chemicals and fertilisers factory from financial ruin. He set up a research foundation dedicated to his father. I only feel, we should own him a little more than we do now and get him to do more for the city in a structured manner.”

Mallya has been working away at achieving this structured approach to the city’s development. Biocon chief and long time friend Kiran Mazumdar says his commitment to Bangalore dates back to the 80s. “In the late eighties, as head of UB, he built the best road in the city (Vittal Mallya Road), he founded the most modern hospital of its time (Mallya Hospital) and he co-founded The Mallya Aditi School as a centre of educational excellence. He has the vision and the capacity to replicate this on a much larger scale in Bangalore today. Vijay Mallya represents the new face of India Inc. He is driven by a political passion to create a 21st century India that is powered with a strong economic engine built on education and employment.”

This passion and energy is evident in all that he has done, from creating the seventh largest manufacturer of spirits in the world to tirelessly touring Karnataka’s hinterland as a politician.

He even carefully applies this energy to combat his greatest fear: failure. “That’s why he very rarely fails,” says his friend of 20 years, Jim Rydell, vice president, USA Labs, California. “His mind is very agile; he’s far sighted and has a great sense of marketing and branding. And his energy is never ending.”

While the energies come in handy, Mallya has had to give up the one thing he wishes he had more of. “His greatest sacrifice is time,” says his political secretary Tushita Patel. “And politics is a very steep learning curve.”

And Mallya has already made his first major jab at development in Bangalore. He is almost through with building a city within a city that will take a bow this year. UB City, spread over 1.2 million sq. ft, will be the largest single development in Karnataka and one of the largest in the country.

Projects such as these and his constant public appearances have put the political whispers in the air. There is talk, and not just in the corridors of Vidhana Soudha, that he could well be the future chief minister. What would his agenda for Bangalore be if he does occupy that exalted position? “I would shake up the bureaucrats and tell them to perform or quit,” says Mallya, ensconced in the quiet luxury of his Mercedes, amidst mini television screens, wireless communication systems and a fridge stocked with Kingfisher beer. “And then I will ensure Bangalore has a captive power supply either generated or acquired.”

His mission statement doesn’t end there. “I would press for immediate implementation of the decongestion programmes like flyovers, underground tunnels, public walkways both over and under the ground, set up crime watch neighbourhoods to give the police force a boost, widen roads wherever possible and introduce Singapore-style traffic management.”

He also wants to see to it that the once-whimsical Metro railway and the crucial Bangalore-Mysore Expressway are completed. Though these appear to be on the agenda of every chief minister that occupied the rooms of Krishna and Cauvery, Mallya’s Vision Bangalore is bolstered by that one element missing in most political agendas: action. “I have great respect for the government, but what can it do if it’s populated with non-performers? You need a team with a vision,” he says, as we pull to a stop after a 55-minute drive from Vittal Mallya Road to the Bangalore airport. When he speaks about his team, he’s almost the pater familias. “I could not devote all this time to politics if it weren’t for them. My team is almost handpicked. All this - the developmental work, the party, my business, my family - is what makes me happy.” But before he leaves, he has time for one last question. “What is my greatest happiness? That I have my own Boeing.”

(This piece appeared in City Reporter, the weekly tabloid of Explocity Private Ltd and can also be viewed on their website, explocity.com)

Nano. Appears to be Tata’s gift to the world. Right on time. He’s packing his bags and heading to a life of relative anonymity. Will Nano follow him?
Don’t think so. And this is why:
1. Most Nanos could become autos across the country. That would mean, safer, relatively pollution-free private transport.
2. The number of two-wheelers will come down on the roads as people opt for Nano, reducing pollution loads and rash driving.
3. It could make all the small car owners like Maruti to offer a lot more at the existing price of Rs 1.93 lakh.
4. It could result in many more companies like Bajaj and GM to rival the Nano. Since Nano scores on pricing, the competitors will want to offer more features for the price of a Nano. The consumer will be king.
5. Tier 2 and tier 3 cities will benefit the most and become more upwardly mobile.
6. Tata will come out with luxury models of Nano that will compete with the Santros and Swifts of the world, and yet keep the prices economical. Win-win again for the consumer!