The impact of scams reaches far and wide into our society, affecting the economy of the nation as a whole. India has been home to several scams, resulting to losses amounting to lakhs crores coal scam and of rupees to the economy. Some of the scams include the spectrum scam, UTI Scam, Fodder scam, and many others. Implication of these scams create a great impact in terms of political stability, economic sentiments and repute of the country. When an unpredictable event like scam occurs, only few people tend to make money but many suffer.
The Government on a promise to end corruption initiated many bold steps to eradicate black money from the economy. One such biggest move was the demonetization, a transformative programme which is aimed at stronger and more movable digital economy. Many people were tremendously affected by the demonetization scheme which eliminated the large denomination. The fact is that most of the poor people were elated by this move. With demonetization scheme, the strong will of the poor and their honesty have been widely recognized. However, the Government need to have a closer look on the areas where the notes of high and mighty are exchanged. Since Banks are dealing with large chunk of money, they assume the authority, that they possess more money power.
Another big change to witness is – in Uttar Pradesh, a Yogi is being elected as the chief Minister. Now his only task will be to combat corruption, clean the record room with dusty files, and to clean the streets and offices. In the quest to have a clean and better society, probably there is no better person than a Yogi. Because only the simplest leaders have the potential to work with total commitment. However, he will definitely achieve and thrive in it. So let’s look forward to things that could happen in this direction for a better tomorrow. Since the Prime Minister is precising more on key factors of business, many people are free from the burden of offering bribe to the Bureaucrats for getting their work done.
The push towards digitalization of payments is another bold step which results in more people coming under the legitimate financial system. Moving towards a digital economy is not an easy task. There will be many hitches in the way. For instance, many people are not familiar with some major digital learning concepts and platforms, however they can be trained. Younger generations who are quite digital familiar can help out the older ones and the rural sector.
Digital transactions will help bring transparency into the system. The long term future of the Start-up and e-commerce sector in India looks robust with more and more people coming on digital platform. Thus, the move from a cash economy to a digital one will have long-term benefits for the economy, ushering in transparency and a faster adoption of digital payments. Moreover, one of the major challenges that remain in priority is the attitude of people at large. Certain set of attitudes need to be completely changed for the overall well-being. Digital India can be achieved only with the continuous support of the people. And definitely things will happen sooner than later.
Thanks for reading,
Month: March 2017
Modern Lifestyle; Thy name is Stress!
In today’s world, one cannot perform traditional work at a modern pace. Traditional work has traditional rhythm for which you need to be calm. You may be busy, but you must remain calm which sometimes might not be possible in present environment. It is often assumed that having more money eases the path through life, but sometimes it also brings added complications. Proper Plan is always required to make more money in order to lead a modern lifestyle. You may wish to acquire clothes or things that are more expensive simply to show off, trying to create a big impression. Conversely, the style depends on, what you do with these things. Thus, Fashion is what you buy, while style is what you do with it.
The modern lifestyle with its many fascinations, distractions and temptations can offer us several things, but the meekest of all goals – your inner peace – seems the one illusive thing beyond your reach. In fact, Modern lifestyle can destroy your peace. If not destruction it can disturb your peace. So do not ever let your lavish lifestyle steal your peace.
The economic anarchy of capitalist society and its impact on Indian mind and ethos are one of the key factors that lead to stress. When you sturdily desire to have something which is difficult to acquire, then obviously you’re under stress. Modern lifestyle requires position which in turn requires money, your extra effort or corruption or anything that is unworthy. Apart from the pressure of modern life, your stress level will also differ based on your personality, attitude, habits and risk factors. Expecting things to be easy that are normally not so – can further lead to stress which in turn requires you to change your habits and attitude which is difficult, but not impossible.
Since the consequences of traumatic and chronic stress are serious, it is vital to find out ways to mitigate stress. These kinds of stress cannot be completely removed but can definitely be kept under control. The first step in managing stress is identifying the cause. Then it is necessary to contemplate on your values. Your values tend to give you a direction, to deviate your mind from unnecessary material acquisitions and positions.
Meditation is undoubtedly one of the best stress management techniques known, since ancient times. Sit in a relaxed cross-legged fashion, try to control your mind and affirm that your life is in significance. And that implication will not allow you to feel jealous and envious of people and their positions. Avoid developing grudge on people who are leading an affluent life with a luxury car, bigger house, etc. It doesn’t mean that you should kill all your desires. Rather, have a clear goal, strive hard to achieve it, concentrate and then contemplate it.
The only person you should try to compete with – is the person you were yesterday. Give up comparing yourself with others. Don’t change to be better than those around you. Instead, change yourself into a better person. Review everyday whether you are reaching towards your goal or not. Achieving specific goals requires focus, approach and continues efforts. Perseverance is another vital aspect of life for which you require strong willpower and courage. Take risks as this may lead to change in your attitude and make you stronger, courageous thereby mitigating your stress to a large extent.
Thanks for reading.
Stress; Answer 20 Questions
I list below some questions which you need to ask yourself. Considering their importance in your success story, contemplate seriously and answer as honestly as you can. Please give marks from 1 to 4 in each question. In the end you have to add up your score. The scale of evaluation is given at the end.
Analysis:
After completing the assessment, you need to add up your score and compare your performance with the analysis given below. We all know the significance of human life is continuous improvement in all areas. Pursuit of excellence should be your habit.
You will find adequate suggestions and techniques for improvement in your weak areas during the program, its activities and the course material. Make the best use of the opportunities.
These questions are about the negative qualities. So if you rarely do it give your-self one mark. But if you do it very often it would be 4. Therefore lesser the points the better.
Scores:
47 & below Great! Just remember pursuit of excellence is unending.
48 to 63 identify the areas to be improved and work on these.
64 to 80. Please work seriously to remove the deficiencies.
Impact of H-1B visa reforms on Indian IT companies
India’s software services sector is bracing for the consequences of US President Donald Trump’s crackdown on immigration, which include the restrictions on so-called H-1B visas. Having won the presidency on the promise of protecting US jobs and against moving work offshore, Trump through his reforms restricted the flow of immigrants and temporary labourers into the US workforce.
H-1B visa is an employment-based, non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to temporarily employ foreign workers in specialty occupation. Indian IT firms and H-1B visa aspirants will be badly affected due to changes proposed by the Trump administration. However, this reform doesn’t affect the Indians, settled in America who therefore being an American citizen enjoy all the benefits.
The American authorities have raised the minimum salary from 60,000 USD to 130,000 USD per annum with additional restrictions on the employer. And therefore, doubling of the minimum wage applies to “visa dependent employers” who send the workers for a short period say 1 or 2 years from India. Thus, Indian companies have to send those people who are really worth the minimum wages.
An opportunity to “work onsite” and “earn in dollars” has been a big lure for Indian Techies. But the Americans want only those specialized US workers to occupy those high-skilled technology works and the remaining jobs to be filled by local Americans. However, there is nothing to worry about because the local American cannot become excellent techies overnight.
The US government have received about 250,000 applications for H-1B visas – with a majority of them being from Indian companies. Of nearly 85000 H-1B visas granted in 2015, 55900 visas were issued to engineers, designers, coders and others from India. This shows that the majority of tech worker in America are indeed no doubt Indians.
The new bill introduced by trump in the US House of Representative, made it difficult for the firms to grant H-1B visa as it is quite expensive. Furthermore, nearly half of the techies are actually working in India on the American projects. And therefore the problem is not the visa or the immigration laws. The exact problem lies on the shortage of appropriate manipulative skills which can take the country, workforce and economy from traditional one to a digital world.
Key Points on how the new bill on H1-B visas can impact Indians:
- India’s IT industry will face short-term challenges
The reform will affect the profits of Indian IT companies in US. Because the new H-1B Reform Bill has doubled the minimum wage requirement of H1-B visa holders from $60,000 to $130,000. This change could turn into a major catastrophe for Indian companies and workers, as it would make it financially unviable for Indian workers to be hired in the US. This automatically negates one of the biggest reason for hiring Indian workers – the availability of cheap labour.
- Indian tech workers may face uncertain future
Due to the new reforms, Indian IT companies will not be able to send local engineers to work in US, for a very high salary. With the new mandated levels, Indian workers must be paid more than the American workers, making them a costly proposition. Moreover, it will be difficult to get them back home and make them work for the same salary. Even when they tend to work– they will feel more dissatisfied.
- Results in higher operational costs for the Indian outsourcing industry
Changes in the H1-B visa arrangement will add immense cost pressures on IT firms. IT companies in India that enjoy significant cost advantages by sending Indian engineers to the US for a lower salary, are likely to be affected. H-1B programme was initiated on premise to complement America’s high-skilled workforce, but not replace it. Unfortunately, many companies are trying to exploit the programmes by cutting American workers for cheaper labour.
- Will affect Small Companies to a large extend
The restrictions on H1-B visas, is most likely to affect small firms more than large outsourcing firm. Since the process is expensive, small companies do not even dare to apply for these kinds of Visa. Though the start-ups and emerging companies dare to innovate and progress, because of the high expense of acquiring the H1-B visa, the smaller companies tend to step back.
Unlike other countries like America, France, etc., there is no provision for start-up visa and thus, the companies daring to do something new can enjoy these benefits. India’s one of the biggest outsourcing industry, Information Technology contributes around 9.5% to the country’s GDP and employs nearly 3.7 million professionals. And due to unfavourable developments in key markets, the industry faces difficulties on home-ground because of higher Operational Costs.
The US government allows upto 85,000 new H-1B visas each year but the demand is usually higher than the supply. NASSCOM, the industry body for software and services companies is planning to send a delegation to the United States to negotiate and discuss on these issues. Meanwhile, India discussed several issues, including the proposed restrictions on H1-B visa with the US lawmakers. The negotiators have to find an effective solution that does not hurt our economy, technical department and Indian IT companies.
Many social media companies like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google, etc. have emerged to be successful in a very short span of time. Companies are automating jobs and seeking innovative technology to remain competitive. This kind of innovation has to be inculcated even in Indian Companies. Consequently, India has to inject the culture of innovation.
Thanks for reading.
What Ails Education in our Business Schools?
Higher education system of ancient India had marked its impression all over the world. But over a period of time, higher education lost its global competitiveness. Due to foreign rulers–Mughals & then the British, the strength and finesse of our education was fatally wounded. The fact that our country got freedom about 70 years ago, yet our education system has hardly seen any change is dismal. No doubt, there are more schools, more colleges, more institutions for higher education, but the quality of education which is the critical has not improved. In particular, business management education in India is far from satisfactory. In spite the openings of many IIMs, the state of management education is depressing.
The expansion of economic activity requires more business managers. Many business schools came into existence. But are they producing graduates who can take up higher management roles? Sadly not. There are more than 20 IIMs as of now. Barring a few – IIM Ahmadabad, IIM Bangalore, & IIM Calcutta, the standard of education is below average. Besides, hordes of business schools have mushroomed throughout the country, but their pass outs are not even employable. The Modi Government may have realised the situation, but the action taken is too little, too late.
The Government is proposing to remedy some of the problems which require an executive order. Currently, there are more than 20 IIMs, yet it is unfortunate that only 7-8% of the MBA graduates are employable, according to a study conducted by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India. Employability is critical. The quality of teaching in most of the institutions is not even satisfactory. There are exceptions like highly rated IIM Ahmadabad, IIM Bangalore and IIM Calcutta, These are top 3 institutes and have excellent faculty. Students from these 3 IIMs are offered fat packages at campus placements. But no other institute can boast of the same.
Higher education system in India is in such a dismal state, that even the quality of students from the IIMs is deteriorating. Public Speaking training sessions have been conducted by us for the students of various IIMs including Ahmadabad, Bangalore, Calcutta, Udaipur, Raipur and Lucknow over a period of time. It was observed that only students from Ahmadabad, Bangalore and Kolkata were capable of expressing themselves clearly, and confidently. Others searched for words, used lot of filler words and were too verbose to communicate effectively. Here, we are considering only IIMs. One can imagine the poor plight of students from thousands of other business schools which have mushroomed in the country over the years. There were 5500 business schools approved by A.I.C.T.E. Out of these 220 were shut down in 2014 & 2015. At least 120 more met the same fate in 2016.
If this situation prevails, we will land ourselves in a scenario of having a huge number of people with degrees but not enough manpower with adeptness to meet the emerging requirement, thereby leading to low employability. Latest bill on education is intended to remove some of the anomalies.
IIMs to offer MBA degree instead of diploma
Students passing out of the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) are presented with diplomas instead of degree certificates. This puts graduates from IIMs behind many universities and colleges, which provide Masters in Business Administration (MBA) degrees. Some countries do not understand the concept of PGDM. Only in India, diploma is recognized not in foreign countries. Therefore, if students are trying to find out any position outside India it is difficult.
Foreign Students need to be attracted
Inspite of producing excellent students and some even being selected by multinational companies at very hefty packages, IIMs do not attract foreign students. Firstly because IIMs are awarding diploma instead of degree, secondly and more importantly there is practically no marketing effort. Since IIMs are getting enough students from within the country, the board of Governors of these institutes do not realise the importance of securing students from other countries. This is a fallacy. There is no dearth of students for the top universities in UK & USA, yet they have a consistent programme to attract foreign students. These institutes realise the benfits of cross cultural interaction in education. Hope some positive steps are taken in this direction.
Faculty need to be excellent trainers
The second major problem faced by IIM students is the faculty. Most of the faculty in IIMs are highly qualified but they are not great teachers. They need to be enthusiastic public speakers which most of them are not. If a faculty is not able to express his/her opinion with conviction the students are not going to become very confident individuals. Confidence to express oneself is crucial for a business leader. Therefore, it is important to select skilled, high quality faculty who possess the necessary qualifications but who are also adept in motivational speaking.
These institutes need to be fully autonomous.
Out of 20 IIMs in India, 13 IIMs are functioning without full-time directors. Some posts are lying vacant for more than 2 years. If they are autonomous, this situation will not arise. In the absence of directors, the institutions will not be able to take decisions which should never be postponed. This may include appointment of faculty, which is the root cause of all problems.
Lack of Transparency
Transparency in management institutions will attract better quality professors who truly act as facilitators. IIMs must maintain the transparency in the selection of Faculty, Directors and Board of Governors of the institutions. While selecting the key personnel, both technical as well as the personal aspects should be taken into consideration.
Institutions must encourage education which motivates students to become independent learners. Also, Students must be encouraged to discuss with other students on research projects and assignments that are both socially and culturally relevant to them. By interacting with other students, they develop the ability to express their thoughts and ideas effectively and confidently. In this way, students become self-confident, self-directed, and proactive. That will stimulate them to crack any kind of interviews effectively.
Hope with the 2017 budget where the focus is moved to improving the quality of education and the forthcoming education bill, we may see significant improvement.
Thanks for reading.
Dictionary meaning of POISE enlightens us!
What is Poise?
- According to the Cambridge Dictionary, poise is defined as calm, confidence in a person’s way of behaving or a quality of grace moving in an attractive fashion; balance in the way a person moulds or moves their body. Examples: he would be embarrassed for a moment but would quickly regain poise. Her confidence and poise show that she is a top model. Further example:
- A lady with a lot of poise says – I am enough, I am full of sparkle and compassion, I genuinely want to make world a place I love. I practice kindness; I am not afraid of truth, I am loyal, adventurous, supportive and surprising. I am a woman, I am enough, I make mistakes but I own them and I learn from them, sometimes I make a lot of mistakes.
Only if you have poise, you can be confident, you can be graceful & elegant; you can be anywhere and make your presence felt. It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it as explained by the famous philosopher, Aristotle.
Oscar Wilde once said “Now-a day’s people know the price of everything and the value of nothing”.
A poised man knows the value. He may also know the price but considers value more important than price. It can also be attributed that grace and elegance will never go out of fashion as poise and elegance are always loved and appreciated. It can also be said that key to winning is poise to be maintained under stress, among other qualities. Such is the importance of poise. Poise can also be felt inside one’s feelings, character and thoughts. It’s just being oneself, being at ease and never fighting oneself, never underestimating one’s abilities. It is pretty impressive to see students standing in front of their peers. It takes poise, talent and courage because poise remains with us. Audrey Hepburn, a British actress of yester years said “poise is the knowledge that you are never alone, for beautiful eyes, look for good in others, for beautiful lips look for words of kindness and poise. Opt for the knowledge that you are never in dire difficulty”.
It also means to beat defeat with dignity, to receive criticism with homour and humility. These are also the marks of maturity and elegance. All in all, it is poise. It can also be stated that one should never hesitate, never try to hide oneself and be afraid of facing consequences or have shame, standing up on the values one believes in. Never to regret the past; it’s a waste of time as there is a reason for everything. Every terrible thing that one must have gone through in their lives also leave some messages. Every mistake that has happened would have a deep meaning associated with it. The only way one can earn respect is if one respects themselves and to do what he/she considers is the right thing; not to apologies for being oneself. Accepting your mistakes committed requires a lot of poise.
In a stress full situation, one can be concerned or little worried as well but maintaining poise you can overcome all negative feelings. Poise can also be mean as one’s ability to balance the extremes of life. Sometimes we find life difficult like a turbulent sea. But poise helps to maintain equanimity and dignity.
It is said that “never go through life, but grow though life”. In other words always be original, be yourself. Don’t try to duplicate someone in the process however successful the person may be, never try to copy or imitate others.
Further, life is like riding a bicycle. To keep one’s balance he/she must keep moving and never be stuck. Never think of past; never worry about future, but learn to live in the present. Our present alone and shape our future.
How to achieve poise?
Focus in your work gives you poise; patience gives you poise. But achieving success without work can only be found in the dictionary. Likewise maintainning poise without efforts is not conceivable at all .The necessity to do one’s work or perform duty has been emphasized in our great book of knowledge – The Bhagwat Gita. It says man maintains his balance, poise and sense of security only if he is moving forward. If he is stuck, he is dismayed and not able to perform his duty. He loses poise as well.
Sir Winston Churchill who had set an example and was an institute in his own right wittily said. “A pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity but an optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty but keeping balance in both the situations”.
We must remember that poise and power are inseparably associated. It can be stated that the calm and balanced mind is strong and great mind but the hurried and agitated mind is a weakling. So never be in a hurry and never try to do anything ‘yesterday’. Be patient as the things do take their own time.
Never be upset with the circumstances if it is not in your favour and despite genuine hard work. One is not able to perform, as per expectation always. But patience is the key. And so is poise the ultimate key to elegance and success.
Thanks for reading.
