The Rush for Retail

If you are one of those who follow business news closely, you would have realized by now that the most happening thing in India at the moment is Retail. Almost everyone, quite literally, has evinced interest in the booming Indian retailing industry and feel that organised retail is the way forward for future.

To mention a few: Reliance group has extensive plans to enter the Retail industry in a big way. The Tatas are also underway. Existing players like Pantaloon (with their Big Bazaar brand) etc are firming up for the stiff competition by having their own expansion plans. But the one that takes the cake is the alliance of Sunil Mittal's Wal-Mart. This move is said to be a masterstroke from Sunil Mittal.

But, why is everyone so interested in Indian retail? The answer seems pretty simple. Indian retail market is worth a mammoth 350 billion dollars. But only a paltry 20% of this is organised retail. The rest of the market is still with the small and medium roadside vendors. Herein lies the opportunity for growth. If anyone can capture even 5% of this market share, he will be having a 14-15 billion dollar Mcap. It is this money that is luring the whos-who of world retail to India.

However exciting these big numbers may seem, organised retail has its own set of problems. Firstly, crores of Indian families have small roadside shops and that is their bread and butter. Now with the big players planning to have so much coverage, these small players will be virtually wiped out from the scene. For the time being, this may be the case for only the vendors in big metros. But with the kind of money that is set to flow in, organised retail will soon enter small towns as well. What will happen to these vendors? People who had lived respectably till now by doing fairly good business, may be forced to do menial jobs for a living. Can the government do something to help these small shopkeepers? We need to wait and watch; However, at the moment, the future seems bleak.

There exists another not so obvious, but an equally dangerous problem. The retail segment is the last part in the customer supply chain. By this, I mean, it is the retail sector which is in direct contact with the customer. Therefore, anybody who is a major player in the retail industry will have the potential to control the country's economy. Now, the critical question arises-- Should we allow a foreign player to control our country's Last Mile, as it is referred to? This is a sensitive issue which needs to be addressed with due diligence.

Hence, organised retail, seemingly attractive at the first glance has more than its share of problems. We would be better off in solving them before the retail boom kicks in.

Why do I teach?

If you have read my previous posts, you would have known by now that I teach in a school. Not of any relevance, but I do.

Recently, one of my relatives (An itchy guy, who constantly tries to undermine the opposite party) asked me-- "How are you qualified to teach? When professional teachers are struggling to produce results, what can an amateur like you do"?

I kept quite for a moment. His argument was valid. Then, I said, "I intend to teach values to my students along with the subject. They have enough sources to pick up the academic knowledge. However, in today's self centered world, there are not many places to turn to for values. That's what I intend to teach my students".

The guy did not seem all that pleased. He growled, and said something in Kannada which roughly translates to-- "So, you claim to be a sea of virtues, huh"?

I had my reply ready this time, "No, I am not all that good at it. That's why I intend to teach them. I become a teacher simply by the virtue of the number of mistakes I commit. What better way to teach than having a live example of an ignorant person? One easily learns when one can understand clearly, the consequences of not learning".

My relative was puzzled. He took a long time to comprehend the meaning. Later he nodded his head vaguely. I could not decipher the meaning, nor was I inclined to. Someone else waved at me. Thanking God for providing me an escape, I moved on.

Development: The double edged sword.

Yep, I am back. Had taken a pretty long break... My hands were itching :). I am out of touch. Please forgive me if I am a bit rusty.

Yesterday, I was watching a popular news channel. It was unfolding the Singur controversy. For people who have missed it, Singur is a rural town in West Bengal where the Tatas want to set up their famed '1 Lac' car plant. The controversy is over the land. Farmers are not ready to forgo their land, but the state government is adamant to acquire it and hand it over to the Tatas. Violent protests have ensued and the town is facing a law and order problem.

As I explained to my mother, who was also watching the news along with me, I realised that this problem was not just specific to Singur, but it related to the whole country. Every developmental project has problems pertaining to land. The problems may be wide ranging-- From complaints of acquiring excess land to paltry compensation to compensation not reaching the deserving, etc etc.

But I realised these problems were only the tip of the iceberg. They can be solved through various means. But I feel the bigger problem is of a different kind. It is the scarcity of land itself. What will happen when every possible piece of land is industrialised? What next? What will happen to agriculture sector which employs more than 75% of our population? Where will the farmers go? Most important of all- What will we eat? All kinds of food we consume comes directly or indirectly from the farms. What will happen when farmer ceases to exist? I wonder whether that will be the beginning of the end.

The above mentioned scenario may seem a little far fetched for our generation. But it is bound to happen in some time if the same trend continues. The pace at which industries are growing is phenomenal. This acceleration of growth is partly due to farmers' dismay over their economic condition. The government's poor support system and low income forces them to sell their land and look for alternate employment. This leads to ills like mass migration and selective population explosion.

The solution? Well, I am not very sure. The way out may be to slow down on other sectors and develop and support agriculture based industries. That way, we can reduce the disenchantment of farmers and keep them motivated. After all, the principal need is to survive.

My mother, though, had a simple solution. She said that all the illegal lands of politicians, if seized, would be enough to build more industries than ever required. How I wish that was possible.

In essence, development, without any doubt, is a double edged sword. If used recklessly, it can destroy mankind in just one swipe.

Blogging after a long long hiatus

This is my first post in almost 2 months! For a guy who had willed to write something atleast every fortnight, its a poor show.

However, most of my readers would have known the reasons by now. There are too many things which are keeping me busy these days. Due to this, although I have so many topics on mind, I am not able to blog it.

This post is about no particular topic and is just intended to say "Hello, I am still around" :D. Jokes apart, I just wanted to break the jinx.

I promise to return with full force as soon as time permits me...

Happy 59th Birthday, My Great India

India turns 59 today. Happy Independence Day India.

Today, once again we get a chance to look back in reverence and salute the millions of great people who fought for our independence. Thousands of youth gave up lucrative future for the cause of a free India. Countless women broke the shackles and came out on streets to protest. Thousands of people sacrificed their life. Finally, the British oppressors found it impossible to stay on and India got its independence at midnight on this day 59 years back.

Since then, India has been an amazing growth story. We have grown in leaps and bounds. Today India is a recognised global superpower. We are a huge talent pool. We have some of the greatest business houses. Economic growth has been rapid. We are considered the future of the 21st century. All these and more have made India proud and I feel lucky to be part of such a great country.

If the story had ended here, I would have been one of the happiest Indians on earth. Sadly, it does not. There is another face of the coin which has been neglected for long. Even after 50 years, more than 40% of India lives below poverty line. More than 30% of children do not have primary education. More farmers have committed suicide in India than in any other country. The country is doing badly in nourishment for women and children. The infant mortality rates in India are almost equal to African countries.

Finally, the biggest problem in front of India is corruption. Corruption is rampant at all levels in the government. Crores and crores of public tax money is being siphoned off and thus stalling the development projects forever. Any attempt by citizens to curb corruption is being thwarted by the beaurocracy (Lok Ayuktha and RTI are only examples).

I feel that the greatest tribute we can offer to all the freedom fighters would be to solve these problems. What we have today was not the freedom that they wished for. Yes, they wanted a free India. Not just free from Britishers, but also free from all the problems stated above. I genuinely hope that we make progress in these regards and Mother India will have lots more to cheer about on her next birthday.

Jai Hind.

Ceasefire, At Last...

At last, Israel has agreed to an UN imposed ceasefire. This marks the end to Israel’s 5 week onslaught on Lebanon.

Sadly, the ceasefire has come a little too late. In the 30+ days of continuous pounding, Israel has successfully managed in killing hundreds of innocent people and making thousands homeless. Hundreds of innocent women and children were killed. The basic infrastructure in Lebanon which took more than 3 decades to be built, bit dust in no time.

When we look back and try to find the reasons behind this war, we will be surprised that there are no concrete ones. Israel intended to disarm and destroy Hezbollah-- A terror outfit fighting against Israel from the Lebanese border. Agreed that Hezbollah must be disbanded and there is no excuse for Lebanon for supporting it.

But what Israel failed to realize is that killing of innocent citizens and bombing bridges will not destroy a terror outfit. And the effects of this are that the people of Lebanon are once again pushed into condition they were in the 70's when the country was in civil war. 30 years of country construction has bitten dust in days. People are again pushed to the brink of poverty.

US also is equally responsible for the disaster. Without active US support, Israel could not have taken such a big step. When most of the international community was up in arms condemning the act, US was busy supplying advanced rockets and severe bombs!

Let’s look at what the war has managed to achieve. Precious little gain for Israel as Hezbollah continues to be a major force in the region. In fact, its strength and image in the region is bound to increase given its successful defense against Israeli forces. The US and Israel have once again incurred the wrath of the Muslim community. This will add to the already long list of problems for the US.

Finally, the greatest losers are the Lebanese. For no mistake of theirs' they face doom. Thousands are without home, food and basic needs. With uncertainty prevailing in the country, getting investment will be a Herculean task. Also, with US showing little interest in rebuilding, the Lebanese sure face a bleak future. Therefore, even as the ceasefire has prevented further killing, the people who are alive don’t have much to look forward to.

The Lebanese war has once again proved that war and violence has no gains even for the oppressor. I wonder if the people in power will ever learn from history.

My Brand New Profession!!

Well, you read it right!! I am starting my new career from tomorrow. No no, I am not ceasing to be a software engineer. That is my bread and butter. Cannot imagine myself not doing that! Just that I will be doing something more.

I will be turning into a teacher from tomorrow. It was a long cherised dream for me. I love teaching. Many reasons behind it. But the chief one has to be my Physics lecturer in PU. He has been one of the biggest inspirations in my life. So, there you go... I will be teaching 10th standard maths in a school. Its a small school called The Laurel school near Basvangudi. The principal is my friend's teacher. When she told that she didnt have a quality maths teacher and offered us the chance to teach, we jumped on the opportunity.

I have always believed that giving back to society starts with teaching. Thats the best service one can do, given the quality of teachers in our schools. For me, there are gains too... No, not monetary... I am not getting money for it. But, I intend to improve my communication skill by teaching those kids. That should be a great take away for me.

Though I am feeling elated to be a part of such an endeavour, I am also feeling nervous. For a person who always made fun of teachers (Ya, I was dreaded and hated by most of my teachers and not without reason. I have always been one of the top pranksters at every stage of my student life!!) , its a strange feeling to be on the other side of the table.

However, I hope the experience would be a good and a mutually beneficial one. Your benedictions are very much needed!!