Studying Public Policy in the Indian Context

Since my undergraduate days, I've been interested in current affairs. Moving to USA, this interest grew into a passion for public policy especially after seeing how the policies and the processes associated were different in these two countries. In the past few years, I've tried to build my knowledge about the Indian  context of public policy, and a resource I greatly depended upon was Pragati (a magazine) http://pragati.nationalinterest.in/

I admire the people behind Takshashila, the institution and the group of bloggers behind Indian National Interest. During the days of lokpal struggle, I noticed their view point was different from mine. I reflected that mine was more emotional while their argument was mostly based on what works within policy context. I knew it was time for me to develop a strong foundation if I ever want to be part of the process as a bureaucrat, politician, think tank member or just as an informed citizen. When Takshashila offered a graduate certificate in public policy, I knew this was the best opportunity. I wrote the essays, and submitted the application during the last month of my MBA at CBS.

While partying in Puerto Rico, I got the good news that I'm in. Now, I'm a member of a class of 50+ students from various walks learning public policy over the summer. 

For the very first assignment on the course on Intro to Public Policy Analysis, we were asked the following questions. My answers are embedded (thrilled to get an A and start on the right foot!). The expectation is not to base it on value judgments but rather focus on the policy context.



It is not uncommon for thugs belonging to political parties to engage in violence. Such violence could range from enforcing “bandhs” to carrying out organized riots. If a thug is affiliated to a ruling party engage in acts of violence, is the state responsible?

Conclusion:
No, the state is not responsible.                                                                                  
Assumptions:

·        By “responsible” we mean the state deserves punishment.

·        The event is hypothetical or in other words, yet to happen.

Arguments:                                                                                                                                          
Based on the textbook definitions we know that State is a political union under one government. The ruling party and the government are two separate entities; even if it’s not a coalition. As such, if a thug engages in a violent act, s/he is responsible for the action and should face the consequences based on the rule of law. Also, the ruling party should take disciplinary actions against the individual in the hope of reducing the occurrences of such incidents.  In case the event has already happened and one believes the government has somehow tried/managed to undermine the rule of law then I’d believe the government deserves punishment, may be a PIL to the Supreme Court could trigger the proceedings in such a situation.

The Indian Army stages a Flag March in an area suffering from political violence. The purpose of the Flag March is to deter violence by showing its presence (and implicitly, its superior capability to use force). Peace is restored, in effect, by terrifying the population. Is this ‘state terrorism’?

Conclusion:
Yes, it is state terrorism.
Assumptions:

·        The Army’s intent to use force is established 100%

·        The people involved are all citizens of India

Arguments:   
Terrorism is defined as the use of violence and intimidation in the pursuit of political aims. The state by showing intent to use force, is clearly trying to intimidate its citizens. The reason for this action may be to establish the rule of law again in the territory, however that has no bearing on whether it is terrorism or not. If one starts enveloping context around terrorism, then this definition will be a relative one which I don’t agree with. Terrorism is terrorism, regardless of who employs it and for what reason.                                                                                                                                                                 

India Business Conference Media Coverage

TV Asia

TV Asia telecasted highlights of the conference last week in two parts. Here are the relevant video clips from YouTube.

Part I http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uquRh7oH64E&feature=relmfu

Part II http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hojvpPZn_sQ&feature=relmfu

Rediff

http://www.rediff.com/news/report/nris-must-come-together-to-fight-corruption-kiran-bedi/20120416.htm

Economic Times

http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-04-16/news/31349901_1_nirupama-rao-global-hub-investment-links

India: Maintaining Momentum

 When we join Columbia Business School, we get involved in many things on campus. It's a chaos and you just try to live in the moment. After a semester or two a time comes when you might think more deeply about how you wish to make a real difference during your time in school.

We learn many aspects of leadership at school and even pass judgments on various cases that we study in courses like Organizational Change and Top Management Process. But only platforms such as India Business Conference actually provide us with a real world experience on leadership. My experience chairing the conference along with Shobhit Datta was phenomenal. I enjoyed working with the team and develop my own organizational skills. Together, I can proudly say that we have raised the bar for future IBC conferences even higher!

The theme for this year’s conference was India: Maintaining Momentum. The conference brought together various perspectives on the question on everyone’s mind. Is the story of India’s rise losing steam? After a few strong years of growth, India is struggling to maintain its high growth trajectory. Lack of political will, structural constraints, and declining investor confidence are challenging the previous inevitability of high growth rates in India.

The impressive line-up of speakers including the Indian Ambassador to USA Mrs. Nirupama Rao, Padma Vibhushan Prof. Jagdish Bhagwati, Mr. George Alexander Muthoot (MD, Muthoot Finance), Padma Bhushan Prof. Arvind Panagariya, Mr. Anoop Singh (Director, IMF), Mr. Rajesh Jain (Founder, Netcore Solutions), Mr. Manoj Singh (Global COO, Deloitte), Mr. Ron Somers (President, USIBC), Dr. Alex Preker (World Bank) and many others tackled the topic from various angles.

This year the conference pushed the envelope further by inviting Dr. Kiran Bedi to engage the audience in a thought provoking and captivating discussion on corruption in India and how the youth of Indian diaspora based in the US can play a vital role in developing the country.

The conference provides the students real world training in leadership by allowing them to strategize and execute a conference of such scale and stature. This year’s conference was sponsored by Incredible India (Ministry of Tourism, India), Infosys, Muthoot Group, State Bank of India and Chazen Institute.
The conference leadership - Prasanth Ramanand (Conference Chair), Shobhit Datta (Conference Chair), Sachee Trivedi (AVP) worked for over six months to put together the conference and a larger team over a dozen MBA students worked tirelessly in the last few days to execute everything into perfection.

Quote from an audience member, Anupama Ahluwalia – “Just wanted to say thanks to you and your team for putting up such a wonderful conference...excellent panelists. I am so glad I went for the conference yesterday.

Quote from one of the partners, Bhinish Shah (Asha for Education NYC/NJ) -  IBC was an incredible experience, and one of the best business conferences I've attended. The quality of the panelists was probably second to none.  The focus on sustaining momentum and opportunities in India not only covered the private sector, but also spoke about the rising middle class, and the problems still facing the Indian diaspora. The NYC/NJ chapter of Asha for Education was fortunate to have a presence at the conference, and we look forward to being there again! We'd like to thank the conference chairs- Prasanth  and  Shobhit for putting on a spectacular event.

http://columbiaindiaconference.com

India Business Conference 2012

India: Maintaining Momentum

April 14, Low Library, Columbia University

Is the story of India’s rise losing steam? After a few years of strong growth, India is struggling to maintain its high growth trajectory. Lack of political will, structural constraints, and declining investor confidence are challenging the previous inevitability of high growth rates. Join our esteemed speakers as these issues and more are debated at the conference. 

To purchase your tickets, please visit : http://www.columbiaindiaconference.com

Keynote Address:

Prof. Jagdish Bhagwati: Intellectual Father of Indian Economic Reforms

Dr. Kiran Bedi: First female Indian Police Service officer, Core Committee member of "India Against Corruption" movement

Mrs. Nirupama Rao: Hon. Ambassador of India to the United States of America

Leadership roles I played this year

I've spent two semesters at CBS already! The next wave of newbies will arrive, come fall. Looking back, the year had enough ups and downs to make it interesting and worthwhile. It's funny to note that the 2nd years who graduated had a "disorientation party" in May. The class of 2013 will have the "orientation week" in August. Where does that put us, the class of 2012? I for one am eagerly looking forward to the 2nd year. With one year at CBS, now I know what to do and what not to and there's so much left to do. I wonder how it feels if you do a 1year MBA. How much quickly can you get settled, when do you try out new things and when do you have the liberty to do course correction? Oh well, I'm a proponent of the two year program then, I guess!

I know I've to blog about many topics that occurred through the year. For this post, I'm going to focus on some of the "leadership" activities I contributed to at CBS in the past two semesters. As I wrote long ago, there are many avenues at CBS where one can develop these skills. My resume lists the following.

• AVP Careers, South Asia Business Association (2011)
• Member, Hermes Society (2011 & 2012)
• Volunteer, India Business Conference (2011)
• Co-chair, India Business Conference (2012)
• Peer Advisor, Class of 2013 (2012)

If you are a serious applicant or already been admitted you'd have learned that there is an AVP role available for every single first year who wants one :-). That's not to disregard the importance of these roles but to say that there are enough opportunities to showcase and build these skills. As an international first year student and on top of that a career changer, recruiting was on the top of my mind from the day I set foot in the campus. Therefore, I gravitated naturally towards a role that would work on getting together the various 2nd year students who have been there and done that and set up discussion panels and mentoring sessions for the 1st years.

One thing, I would recommend is to develop relationships with 2nd year students during my first semester itself. First semester life is very busy and there are more than enough things to do everyday when you are recruiting for finance/consulting. And also you prioritize getting to know your cluster better, figuring out accounting and any other difficult subjects that you may more or less forget these 2nd years are also in the same campus. The various clubs do a good job in getting the 2nd years and 1st years to mix especially during the first semester, but not every 2nd year is an active member in these clubs.

Hermes society is a club that assists the adcom. There is an application/interview process to get membership. It was a great experience being part of Hermes. I met with many prospective/admitted students, replied to many emails especially from applicants in India and also got to call/email and congratulate a new bunch of admits from India/South Asia.

As a first year, one gets involved in many things on campus. It's a chaos and you just try to live in the moment. After two semesters of that, a time comes when you might think more deeply about how you wish to make a real difference, like leaving a mark/legacy for the future. To me, the India Business Conference fills that void.  I had great fun and enjoyed the experience of volunteering for this year's conference with a bunch of 2nd year and 1st year students who were part of SABA club. The commitment to the conference, the positive attitude especially during challenging times that I observed in two of the 2nd year co-chairs - Surya Mohan and Saurabh Malpani really inspired me. And the way the team of 2nd and 1st years jelled together, the camaraderie was outstanding. Needless to say, the conference was a great success! So when the time came to apply for the co-chair position, this is what I wrote.

We learn many aspects of leadership at CBS and even pass judgments on various cases that we study in courses like Organizational Change and Leadership Development. But only platforms such as IBC actually provide us with a real world experience on leadership. My experience volunteering for IBC 2011 was phenomenal. As a volunteer, I enjoyed working with the IBC team and also developed my own organizational skills. I believe a co-chair has much more responsibility and many more opportunities to develop such skills. Given the chance, I will work diligently with my co-chair, the SABA and the IBC volunteers in ensuring we raise the bar even higher!

And I am thrilled that I was selected to co-chair along with Shobhit Datta who was also a strong contributor in the 2011 conference.

Considering this has been a long post, I shall write about Peer Advising as a separate one. Peer advising is one of the most sought after leadership roles on campus and I think it will be worthwhile to write about it separately.

Nominated for Clear Admit Best of Blogging Awards

Update: Thank you for your support! Feels great to be among the top five!!

I remember when I voted for this contest earlier, now to get nominated makes me feel proud.
If you enjoyed reading my blog, please consider voting here.

https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/embeddedform?formkey=dGlKaHMzSTBkcmg2LTBMZEgwY3Q0a1E6MA&embedded=true&ifq

I will be wrapping up Spring semester in 2 weeks, hoping to make up for the lack of activity then!

David Pogue on Consumer Technology

A great thing about academics at CBS is its interesting courses offered by practitioners/adjunct professors.

This semester I'm taking a course by David Pogue, the famous technology columnist from NYTimes. The course focuses on consumer technology and why products become a hit or a flop. If the first lecture is any sign of what's in store, this is going to be a riot! Our first assignment was to write our own take on a consumer technology product that flopped. Here is what I wrote.

                             Google Wave -A Tsunami that never came

When I first heard about the Wave I was hooked on. Who wouldn’t when Google introduces it by saying something like, “how would email look like if we invented it today?” Wave was supposed to take over the world like a tsunami; no one at Google anticipated that it would be on life support within a year of releasing to the entire population. Reflecting back, one can identify many reasons why this failure materialized.             

What is a Wave?  
     Amazon.com makes their product managers write a press release even before first line of code is written. The idea is that if you can’t explain in simple terms what the product is and what you’re trying to solve, then something is wrong. When we look at Wave, this is the description we see - A wave is equal parts conversation and document. A wave is shared. A wave is live. It doesn’t take too much effort to figure out this is not the best written product description for a general population.  A product is not a laundry list of features. When a software product is introduced and especially when it’s something as forward looking as Wave, more thought should have given in coming up with a simpler one or two liner describing the product focusing on what it’s trying to solve or what it is offering new.                                
                                                                                                                                                   
Who uses Wave?
Wave was first previewed for developers early May 2009 and 100,000 invitations were sent out five months later. The product was opened to general public about one year later. For a product that was supposedly targeting communication and collaboration, this was a doomed release strategy. The hype in the technology community around Wave was huge around the time it was introduced. Everyone wanted to desperately get access. In hindsight, this moment should have been capitalized by Google. Instead only 100,000 invitations were sent out and that focused mainly on the developers. A better strategy would have been to identify specific communities of users/networks so that if I were given access, chances are at least some of the people whom I need to communicate/collaborate with a lot also have access. This didn’t happen till about a year later when everyone could sign up. In that one year period, the limited number of people who got access didn’t have a real use case to use the product. If only, those who got access could also import all their top Gmail contacts into Wave automatically, this was going to be a non-starter.  And that’s exactly what happened and by the time general population received access, this mistake continued. None of their current contacts in Gmail were added automatically; instead everyone had to sign up individually

How to use Wave?  
 “We built this and then put it out there to see what users would do with it”, remarked Google. This was a risky strategy and unfortunately didn’t work out for them. Regular users required at least one compelling use case and the community whom astonished at the product for its technical finesse, were not a critical mass for the product to succeed. These regular users of Gmail and other Google products were taken aback by the complexity of the product. The Wave managed to wash them away into the middle of an ocean and they had no compass either. It’s interesting to compare and contrast the case of Apple Ipad in this scenario. There was no compelling use case for this product on introduction either but the masses embraced it and created the use cases. The difference in outcome can be directly attributed to the simplicity of the Ipad in its user interface which was essentially lacking in Wave. In this aspect, ironically the wave indeed became an unmanageable tsunami within a few minutes of collaboration with multiple users and required its own time machine (Wave replay feature) to understand how it all happened in the first place.   

Overall, though Wave is a technology marvel and definitely worth a lot of potential, in its current form failed miserably as a product. I’d argue that the complexity in its design which essentially contributed to the convoluted marketing message and the wrong release strategy were the main causes for its failure. Google has done the right thing by making many of Wave’s great innovations open source and I expect this Wave will continue to evolve and someday a new Wave will be born and ready for the masses!