Communications Menu

Vasu Reddy from Chicago

vasureddy@aol.com

Some 300 million people in India own a phone and are communicating with each other wit in the country and probably with many millions more across the world. The number of subscribers in India is growing rapidly and shows no sign of slowing down. In five years from now we could have 700 million or more and perhaps the largest mobile community of the world from India. To estimate the market growth has been is to simply underestimating the potential of the Indian market, and the demand seems constant. Dozens of operators, thousands of innovative companies, tens of thousands of outlets, millions of advertisement minutes and constant press on the communications revolution will keep pushing a variety of options and opportunities for the Indian Communications Consumer.

More 2 G Networks

Outside of the expected 3 G networks, more 2 G networks are inline for deployment. There is plenty of rural India to be covered by the current operators, and as it is mandated by the license agreements to cover the rural markets, there is more people joining the networks.

M&A Factor

Idea, Spice, Hutch, Vodaphone and many other deals will help consolidate the industry even prior to the 3 G operators coming into force. With these deals are happening the market is not just consolidating the numbers but also creating value for both the users and investors. Better management, better network coverage, better offerings and eliminating the inefficiencies of the operations are all commonplace with the mergers and acquisitions activity. It is surprising that the government owned MTNL and BSNL have not gotten into the M&A activity with their huge cash surpluses. If there is no restriction on them to acquire other operators, they should do so now.

3 G Networks Are Coming

Just announced 3 G auctions should give some cheer to potential operators who are not already in the Indian telecommunications markets. With multiple operators contemplated for each sector it will be a new menu of phones and services for the existing mobile population, while delivering advanced services for people who have been waiting for such services.

The 3 G should also deliver a strong boost for the next year’s central government budget. If the estimated 30,000 to 40,000 Crores in license fees are realized, then Indian Finance Ministry can develop many positive economy signals for years to come. If the additional annual collection from revenue base is added the value of 700 million people using communications will drive the economic scenario for many years to come.

Cheap and High End Phones

The high end phones with more functionality allow users to access value added services, and create more opportunity for revenues for the services providers. Be it with the Chinese phones or the coming 3 G phones, both the high-end and lower RPU users will have the ability to use the slew of value added services that are being developed for the Indian market. The cost of the phone eventually will become a non-issue as the biggies of the mobile manufacturing will competitively price their phones if the cheap phones with high end options from China garner a sizable market share. The users can wait and watch the price drop for handsets rapidly.

Declining Rates

Per minute airtime rates have been coming down, and innovative schemes have continued to be deployed by the operators. Free rental or no rental, friends and family plans, free or limited charges for night and weekends, and promotions for use of minutes are all being deployed by the wireless operators. The regulators are also actively involved in keeping the price per minute down. Although per minute cost in India is small, when compared to the GDP verses cost per minute it is still high. With many 3 G and 2 G networks coming into the market, it is quite certain that the prices will come down further, or the value for the same money can be increasingly greater.

Incoming Calls For Free

This is one feature that can draw more and more usage to the market in both business and personal lifestyle of the Indian market. Personally Indians seem to adopt a more social lifestyle and communicating more. The mobility has provided the young and old Indians with communications freedom and it is showing in the increased numbers of users. Businesses which are growing are also use communications rather than people resources and realizing savings in return. Having all incoming calls free will continue to inspire greater number of people to become mobile users and be available to those who need to find them.

We Love To Speak

No question of Indians loving to make their point. We love to speak. This is a good enough reason to look for expanded growth with the markets. We are now mobile and we love to speak. There is no question of just 700 million phones in India. We may be 100% connected very soon if the telecommunications menu is affordable.

The recent pronouncement that there will be no license fee for rural operators might also pull in entrepreneurs to look at making a business case out of the uncovered and unwired markets in India. Subsidizing the wiring of rural India with the already stashed generated with ADC and other charges imposed on the existing operators might lend some credence to supporting rural telecommunications. The Internet and other services which require high speed bandwidth will further the educational and business opportunities for rural India. The consumers can start to pick and choose services, products and plans that will cater to every aspect of their life style. Service providers in India have always been innovative, and the expanded license base will only make them more aggressive and innovative in keeping their customers. A lot of exciting times for the Indian communications markets in the coming months with the market deploying more networks and technology, and customers ready to choose from an expanding menu of offerings to speak and speak some more.

Policy Innovations

Vasu Reddy from Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com

Effective politics have always used innovative schemes to attract voter blocks. Many such policies are short lived while effective in pleasing the appetite of the electorate. The subsidized rice scheme which provides a kilo of rice at two Rupees is a great one and has been used several times in the last 25 years. The great fan fare this attracts at election rallies is phenomenal, and perhaps brings votes to the party that subsidizes Rice at such low price. This is not a clever policy but a populist political scheme, which really doesn’t do justice to the budgets of any state.

Indians, especially Indians in the opposition parties decry of political opportunism whenever we hear of such schemes, but never really protest against it. The ruling party can pretty much establish policies that are popular and cost a lot of money to the treasury, most times money that is not budgeted. The Indian democracy is happy with fighting market forces. The latest issue with the uptick in oil prices is a great political rabble-rouser for opposition parties. No one is bothered that the price is following the demand and supply theory. Not a single indicator shows the consumption is lower because of the gas prices, but opposition parties make it an elections issue and blame the government for a market driven issue. Capitalism should never forget the demand and supply principals, but the opposition parties conveniently forget that the democracies with capital market will never be able to control the true forces of global economies.

Collecting maximum amount of money for making public any resources owned by the Indian people should be a normal practice, as it would be in any democracy and be of benefit all people of the country in general. India has been a free country for decades and should start practicing the true logic of being a democracy and a capitalistic society. Every democratic country on earth should do this, and India should start to lead the way to all others. India and its politicians should not be against globalization of Indian markets, rather embrace them. We should not forget the foray of Tata into many markets, along with many other Indian corporations foraying into to purchase of companies and assets outside of India. If a Vodaphone is willing to fork out a few billion for purchasing a piece mobile markets we should welcome it, rather then prohibit it. Be it in communications or in medicine or any other industry India should be aggressive in allowing and going after industrial globalization. Only when you sell is when you realize the true value of what market believes your true value is, and as the rest of the capitalistic world does, the Indians should also try and realize the potential of their true value. Most often then entrepreneurs who sell their businesses go back and invest in their next enterprise, and create more value for themselves and people around them.
The classic Indian business heroes are worshipped initially and when they start achieving valuations in markets that crowns them as leaders in their respective industries, they start becoming national figures with their businesses becoming big enough to employ tens of thousands of people, and their clout in Delhi big enough to favor their market position. Unlike any other capitalistic democracies, Indian success stories are fabled as India’s pre-British leaders, who forever are looked upon as legends. They certainly deserve the stature for path-breaking in their contributions to masses of Indians, who show reverence to leaders.

The past two decades have given added reverence with the late Mr. Dhirubhai Ambani creating an empire that is the most valuable enterprise in India today, and he had no roots like a Tata or a Birla. Looking up to Mr. Ambani even after his death is a natural inclination where a country full of dreams can dream of achieving what he did. It is a perfect example of a simple man achieving the capitalistic dream with hard work and attitude to achieve aspirations that are beyond a common man’s abilities. The well made movie “Guru” in 2007 although dramatizing his story, well reflects the journey of a determined man to achieve great successes. Many such stories outside of Reliance have become common place in India, and the evolution of Information Technology, Telecommunications, Medicine, Construction, Real Estate, Automotive and all ancillary and support services have made it possible. Much has changed since the advent of economic reforms started with Late Mr. Rajiv Gandhi’s tenure as Prime Minister, and especially when Mr. Narasimha Rao was the president with the current Prime Minister Mr. Man Mohan Singh was the Finance Minister and Mr. Chidambaram was the Commerce Minister. In fairness many of the senior bureaucrats today were young and upcoming bureaucrats at that time, and have continued to do good work on helping the country become an economic engine that has been growing rapidly through the past fifteen years or so.

Despite the growth and development, India suffers from protectionist mind frame especially from political opposition. Each of India’s big business successes come with global participation, technology, funding and expertise. When we are able to integrate the organizational and economic fundamentals of others into our culture and develop great value from the outsider’s influence, there is nothing wrong in trying to allow them to become a part of our enterprise. When an Indian company acquires a company outside of our own shores, what is wrong with us allowing them to integrate into our enterprise?

Global participation allows for maximizing the value for the enterprise and the individuals who own the enterprise. Shareholders benefit when they are allowed to sell their stakes to whosoever pays the maximum value. People invest to make money from their investment and would like to maximize their profits, and India and every other democratic nation should allow their people to obtain maximum value for their investment.
When enterprises seek measures to benefit only their interests the government should reject them, but when markets seek reforms to grow the government should support them. Taxation and tariffs should be minimal to allow enterprises to reinvest and grow more rapidly, and government should accept that it is demand and supply that makes markets what they are. There is not a single democratically elected government that has been successful in managing low inflation, high economic growth, with completely satisfied public opinion and manages to stay in power for as long as they would like to. There is no Utopia on earth and our country is far from being one.

Telecommunications is one area where there is ample room for government to become proactive. The upcoming 3 G auctions can yield great benefits for the treasury to cover much of the inflationary pressures on the government. Continued growth in subscriber base will deliver sustained and growing revenue for the government. Perhaps a partial public offering of BSNL will net a handsome reward for the government, while making the lethargic enterprise more competitive. Creative and proactive policy making is possible and is not against the interest of the public and markets, and it can deliver value, growth and employment. The government doesn’t even have to think of being creative if they simply use commonsense approach to policy making. Good policies sustain for long term and deliver sustained growth.

To have protectionist polices is good when protecting national treasures, or resources, and its people. Our innovation should be in value creation and not with restrictions to economic growth. Policies that favor wealth creation should be encouraged. Policies that foster true globalization should be encouraged. Definitely policies that sustain economic growth should be sustained.

The New India Company

Vasu Reddy from Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com

India’s national interest is in making Indian management and investment successful in the world and outside of its own well defined confines. There is no questioning on the Indian minds being some of the best in all fields of business and global affairs. The technology and information boom of the last decade has transformed services industries around the world with major contributions from Indian resources. Many IT services companies from India have not only become billion dollar profit makers but also become entrenched in every aspect of global technology development. Decades of excellence in medicine and science has always been the Indian forte, but last decade has seen Indian enterprise freely expanding and reaching markets that once were even difficult to visit.

The shareholders of these booming companies have continued to realize the benefits of betting on these now global companies early. Not underplaying today’s volatility of the Indian and global markets, it is nevertheless these IT pioneers have created dramatic and everlasting changes in the Indian economy and life styles, while also attaining the financial results over a decade that please any long term investor. These companies seem to make bold and long term moves to keep growing and entrenching into local markets around the globe. They have started not just to rely on Indian resources, but now actively integrating into global teams, thereby ensuring the acceptability in local conditions while maintaining the Indian component.

Also, the oldest brands in India are no longer being looked down. Tata acquiring Range Rover and Jaguar is a fine example of India’s enterprise is not just competent but is also best suited to tackle global issues and create value for its shareholder’s on a global basis. Any company that bring “Nano” to becoming a reality and also acquire the brands of Range Rover and Jaguar in the matter of months should have the stature of thinking globally. There have been many instances in Steel, Medicine, Manufacturing and Mining that have seen Indian enterprises successfully acquiring foreign entities. Not until recently these examples of once in a blue moon global participation has now become thing of reality for Indian enterprise. IT companies also have been quite aggressive in acquiring companies and resources globally, and auto manufacturers have been exemplary in bring not only brands to India in partnerships but have built long term relationships that have brought technology and abilities that have been making affordable cars while making driving an impossible task.

There is no looking back at this stage as Indian economy is able to withstand the downturns and inflation comparatively as well as other developed nations. The daily discussions on the value of the Rupee and price of gold in global standards are indicative of capital markets that prosper in democracies. Market forces are being driven independent of politics, although a touch of bureaucracy is still a model of functioning in India.

Bharti and Reliance going after a company such as MTN is a great example of the telecommunications companies of India coming of age. There are no absolute leaders in telecom, and whosoever has the money and the ability to convince the regulators of the world can become a part of the global telecom management. It will be wonderful for Indian entities becoming a part of the overall management of global markets in telecom. Te Indian success with bringing value to all customers with mobiles and communications can add to the still growing markets in developing nations and further drive the economies of these markets. There is no immediate end to value addition to the communications markets and many of them still are in their infancy with market penetration and services.

If there is a model of success in telecom that the Indian markets have derived in the last five years, and if it can be deployed in other nations, the value of such exercise can flow into other commercial and trade arrangements enhancing the ability of Indian enterprises to do business in countries where there is little or marginal trade today.

The participation in a global telecom market will also influence the Indian economy to start looking at external forces to drive further changes into its commercial, financial and banking practices that will eliminate any current impracticality of the emerging systems to be more competitive and proactive to deal with the global Indian company. While India continues to embrace systematic approaches to regulations, it still has enormous strides to make in policies and procedures for fully market driven business environment. The global Indian company can begin to eliminate negative market forces that may have curtailed the real possibilities of what the country’s true potential could be.

Emerging into a global company can be quick and managing globally should not be a great task, provided the Indian company believes and behaves as a global entity. The continued privilege of the large enterprises in India is not a part of the global culture, but each country has its own local giants. When you combine these diverse but likely benefactors the benefits can be immediate and enormous. About 20 years ago India was looked on as a third world (along with China and Brazil) country, and today it has made giant strides in growth in real and human capital.

If there is an opportunity to expand the Indian company it is now time. Many countries can use the learning of the Indian company from the past two decades, and build similar and local models for dramatic economic growth. Communications will help every individual and rapid growth in communications will lead to rapid economic growth.

The big Indian company should start aggressive and good deal making, while embracing the global markets. Size matters in being big, and seizing the opportunity to become global should be done now, and with great care and organization that will continue to foster the growth of the Indian company and the markets it embraces.

Will You Allow ME to be A BIG Telecom?

Vasu Reddy from Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com

In India things are not the same anymore. Everything in India seems to be big these days. Indian is synonymous with enormous pride and growth. Every industry segment in India is zooming in growth and valuations. So, if the Indian market allows me, I will be a big telecom.

Here is what will allow me to be a BIG Telecom:

We have the second largest telecommunications subscriber base in the world. We have enormous opportunities in mobile, land line, rural and other forms of communications services. We may be the most attractive investment destination in the world for telecommunications markets. We have been slowly erasing the sins of over taxing and removing the taxation barriers for the operators for faster growth with investment and attractive pricing. We have the ability to allow more competition and become a natural capital market where both users of the services and providers of services can get the best of each other. We can continue to grow both subscribers and services at the same rate until we can’t invent any new services to help people communicate with each other and also satisfy the fads of communications.

The rule makers should have been just TRAI and DOT. For some reason the already big telecom communications companies in India seem to also have become rule makers, especially when it comes to arguing against any new competition in the mobile operations. Just in the last decade these folks were start-ups with capital from many a foreign companies and they used every resource they could to start their own businesses. They certainly lobbied hard for concessions and spectrum. They did work hard to go start-up to mega company status in no time, and all their success which is well deserved is based on their ability to manage their businesses well and attract subscribers with affordable and value based offerings.

While the DOT and TRAI don’t seem to see eye to eye with each other on the allocation of spectrum and pricing the spectrum, the already established players arguing for no new competition is a farce. Indian market should never allow such highhandedness especially by companies that became big in less then a decade of operations.

One of the biggest arguments with 3 G licensing through open auctions and open bidding for anyone with ability to bid and comply with law is that they will have less advantage over the incumbents in investments. That is the biggest nonsense if there was an argument. Once again the incumbents must be reminded that they were new ten years ago, and the success of the Indian Mobile market show that there is no need for any sympathy to new players. There is plenty of venture and private capital available along with vendor and other company financing to fund what it takes to build networks at the same speed as the incumbents. Why would any competitor cry about another’s returns and where does any rules making body have experience in money and investment management?

Allow me to participate in the growth of India. Don’t let me be stifled by the so called invested parties as their market valuations reflect their worth, and don’t just allow them to continue to become so big that they can dictate terms to users and the rule makers. Let rule makers make the rules and not worry about the ability of new companies to build networks as quickly as the already working ones. They probably will build faster and have better services then the incumbents, and perhaps force incumbents into better coverage and services, along with better pricing.

Let the government of India benefit from open auctions. If allowed through transparent and fair bidding or e-auctions there will be a huge value on the spectrum, and will benefit the government. The new players will be better prepared and better planned to handle their rollout as prescribed by the rules of the license.

If the DOT, TRAI and incumbents allow me to participate there is no reason for me to fail in the telecommunications growth in India. They just must allow me and it is very likely along with me there will be several new giant telecommunications companies that will be created along with already existing ones. Let us have rule makers make rules and not start worrying about ROI. Let us grow while allowing everyone to take their own risks and benefits, and not stifle competition. Me here is the entire world who already have no piece of the action in Indian Telecom, and if India allows me I will also take the risks and become a BIG TELECOM.


May 5th 2008
Vasu Reddy

Can Indian Telecom Foster Cottage Industry?

Vasu Reddy from Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com

Indian enterprise and cottage industry go hand in hand through the ages and successfully thrive along with the growing industries with huge workforces. The communications revolution of the mid-nineties through the mind boggling subscriber growth through 2007 and early 2008 should offer opportunities for India’s cottage industry to get involved in the opportunity to develop jobs and create wealth for small business person in all areas of India. The Indian cottage industry is quite enterprising and some great examples include:

· While the Mumbai workers run off to their offices and markets, the food delivery system makes sure they are served home cooked and almost hot food at their desks and on time. It is the coordination and planning that still baffles many a strategists who may never plan it as well as it is done in Mumbai.

· Farmers with very small tracts of land still are a large source of food for the Indian population. Farming in India is a cottage industry. It is exemplary that a very small piece of land can be put to use with such dedication by generations of families that live off of the land, and do it year after year.

· Weavers all across India produce materials that drape every form and shape and are famous across the world for its fine quality and beautiful work. From very simple white cotton to the most exquisite silk, all come from all over India’s weavers and for generations have had maintained their quality and beauty.

Telecom coverage is spreading into the rural areas in many parts of India, and all major carriers have announced their next round of expansion and coverage plans for rural India. The opportunity to create small businesses across the country that mirrors the enterprising cottage industries will certainly benefit a large segment of new entrepreneurs in rural India. The success stories of Micro financing in India and Bangladesh are common and similar ideas can be implemented with support from the major Telecommunications companies. There are great examples of such stories in Tamilnadu with enterprises using Kiosk owners to span into other small industries.

Indian Telecom is planning to build 1000s of towers to expand coverage to places where there is none today. Although an old idea, here is something that can be done to accomplish multiple objectives for rural India.

Each village or congregations of people require fresh water and a small tank will ably help with the supply of fresh water. Why not build a public and private enterprise relationship to create a water tank for every community with a small pumping station. On the top of the water tank install the antenna and also co-host the base equipment with the pumping station. They share power, housing and safety needed for the equipment. The financing of the water station can be through cooperative bank, which can collect for the rent through the company using the tower, and multiple companies can house small antennas to share the infrastructure. If the pumping station and water tank are built with proper specifications to house multiple companies, it will better serve the needs of coverage and also help pay for the infrastructure.

Telecom companies have recently announced that they will be building towers together with competition to save money. Investing in rural development projects, while building towers is not a bad plan for general economic development.

Further each village with a thousand homes or more has a school and can be used as a village computer center. As the telecom towers can bring in band width to each school as they are typically close to water tanks, they can be used for educational purposes, and thereby connecting them to the rest of the world. There are many state and global programs that help rural schools with libraries and computers and even the telecom giants continue to sponsor the educational programs, which further enhance the opportunity matrix for the parents of these village children.

The educational centers can start to promote their local products through the Internet. Local businessmen or co-operatives can create their own opportunities by using the internet, and also state and local governments can promote local products through the available communications means.

The Indian Telecom companies evolved very quickly compared to the global telecom companies. Be it with planning, deployment, technology and use of resources these new economic giants have been quite well structured, well managed and well planned. These excellent management attributes clearly reflect in their market valuations. Planning rural networks and economic development hand in hand is not going to be an enormous task for these very smartly managed companies. If effectively included into the telecom planning the vast Indian rural population ca not only just communicate but can become a model for economic development by simply utilizing the centuries old cottage industry and farming. Several such small initiatives to develop cooperative programs and bringing them to the global markets is already happening, and by planning rural development, promotion of local industry and communications together will be a great model for future India. People can work from where they are and not move to towns and cities that are already polluted and over populated. People can be wit their own folks and not worry of being strangers in really strange places. Children and adults can work together throughout the year and be more self-sufficient. Overall the new opportunities for commerce, education and development will lead to an India that is developing across its span, and not just in pockets.

Many alternatives are available to pass on the Telecom growth to small industry to replace the loss of export oriented jobs and farming jobs. In fact the workers of a village or rural areas who solely depend on farming have less than half a year’s work and by making simple cottage industry options available, they can work fulltime. When people participate in enterprise they not only put time to good use, but also start to get educated in money and employment matters, and will begin to translate their learning to educate their children and further develop future generation of growth all around them.

Some 20 years ago very few people in USA worked from home. They all drove or took public transportation to work, and did this for many decades. With the developments in communications and internet, now work at home is just as normal as it is going to work. We can only imagine what can be done by connecting the rural India to the world; the opportunities are unfathomable.

Putting to use the enormous abilities of the communications, implementing simple and affordable plans for rural development, including small cottage industry into the main stream development of the nation, basic education, supporting the localized industry and sharing the benefits of global knowledge; should be easily to implement. Simply start implementing small plans with every new tower that is required by the Telecom expansion, and my India will be a wonderland.

Can Value Addition Be Reality In Indian Telecom Market?

Vasu Reddy from Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com
On March 2, 2008 Virgin announced its entry into the ballooning Indian mobile market via value added services targeting youth segment with a franchise agreement with Tata Teleservices. Virgin provides value added services in various mobile markets around the world. Virgin doesn’t actually hold any wireless licenses. It simply brands its services in partnership with mobile operators as value added. It is quite a common practice across the globe to buy bulk airtime, add new features and resell with custom branding.
On March 4, 2008 the DOT asked for clarifications from Tata Teleservices on this agreement and asked to stop any services under the arrangement with Virgin until the agreements are reviewed and in accordance with the license issued by the DOT.
The COAI also has been asking for clarity on this agreement and has written multiple letters to the DOT, and has clearly articulated that the Virgin-Tata value added services agreement was illegal under the current license agreement. By the time the review and approval or disapproval of this agreement for value added services is completed, there will be many arguments about the wording of the license agreement and multiple interpretations of the same. When Mr. Tata went public about the deal with Virgin on the value added services there was global coverage of Virgin’s entry into the Indian market, and just 2 days after the announcements it became contentious.
The two major contentions against the deal are:
1. Is Virgin branding the mobile services under Tata name and marketing them to customers as per prescribed guidelines in the license agreement.
2. Virgin in its own way has made presentations that did not mention Tata name in promotions, and thereby ignored or simply was arrogant in assuming there will be no objections to the promotional strategies in entering into the highly competitive and extraordinarily difficult Indian market
In the already contentious Indian market where GSM and CDMA operators are at odds, the demand for new spectrum is greater than what is conceivable, every major industrial house interested in a piece of the market and all above and beyond the demand form the growing subscriber base, it will be impossible to practice dynamics of an open market where market rules will be interpreted to serve the best interests of the consumer.
Both Tata and Virgin will make every effort to point out that this value added services through Tata Teleservices is a legal arrangement that is allowed by the license and the others will make sure that the agreement and the license are at odds, while the DOT will scrutinize this and eventually provide their take on it. There is no guessing what will transpire at the end, but it does show that the Indian market is contentious, which is a fact since the beginning of privatization and it continues to be and will be, and both Virgin and Tata were not as smart in presenting the value added services in such a way the agreement would comply to the letter of the law. The law is by rule ambiguous and will cause continuous ambiguity with interpretation.
In any case, this latest instance of providing services in the Indian mobile market is challenging. It will certainly help to framing the industry rules and regulations to fit every conceivable value addition and what is, or make value addition a preference of the operator.
If the Indian Telecom market has to look at value addition seriously, the technology challenges are minimal whereas the legal implications become onerous.

In reality many services are simple:

· A wireless operator can use a combination of technologies to expand services.
· An ISP can essentially provide conference facilities to all its broadband users.
· A village within a cellular tower can become a WIFI point.
· An individual mobile user in a village can start a small mobile enterprise to serve to the village folks in meeting their in-coming or out-going call needs.
· An Internet café can become a conference point for both Voice and Video.

These are some of the many instances in the mobile world which can be simply replicated to the growing needs of network and coverage. The existing strict guidelines may not allow for such massive changes in operations with our licenses today.

Simplification of existing guidelines and developing better revenue management will be prudent. In both spectrum auctions and revenue sharing, it is essential to make the market a level playing field for all aspirants, big and small while the ultimate benefit of progressive revisions to the telecom operating guidelines will be to both the GOI and the consumer.

The first place to start is the already propagated for auctions for scarce spectrum, and it has the highest value revenue for GOI and DOT, and also attracting serious bidders who have deep pockets for paying for both the spectrum and infrastructure. It is absolutely necessary to get serious about spectrum allocations as there are many global operators willing to invest long term and would like to participate in the Indian market. It is fallacy to believe that the new operators will be more susceptible to longer periods on ROI. When the number portability is adapted across the networks the user will simply go to where the value for his money is and will never be tied to an old or new operator. Presuming that the newer technologies and value additions will be common place, the more choice the better the consumer. Only the fittest of the operators who provide value and quality will get the subscribers. All the global markets have demonstrated this formula, and the old operators in India should be vigilant to this dynamic of the mobile market. Open the licensing process for honest bids and let the players spend freely on both the acquisition of spectrum and building the network.

Revenue sharing between the operators and GOI can be implemented through a simplified tax structure without much debate if it is across the board for all communications services. The current taxes and revenue sharing models were put in place for operations implemented in 1990s and did provide adequate return for the GOI while parting with a monopoly and valuable spectrum. In today’s environment they are outdated and contentious. Now that the market has been maturing (may be less than 50% of what it can eventually be) and continues to grow beyond anyone’s reasonable expectations, it can be a wise idea to have a blanket Universal Communications Tax on all purchases made a communications user. It can be one fee for all use of communications, and every time a purchase is made by an individual, groups, business or any type of person or entity, charge a fixed percentage of the sale that is collected at the point of sale and paid to the GOI. That should eliminate the imbalances of fees collected on each type of service and eliminate the bias that exists. Regular phone service, Value added services, new innovations, VOIP, broadband, mobile, satellite, WIFI, WIMAX and everything else will be taxed at the same rate and GOI gets exactly same percentage of the sale on all communications use.

Simple mathematics can be applicable for licensing, auction and uniform percentage of the sales as GOI revenue. When someone bids and acquires spectrum or a license, they will have no value by just holding it. The spectrum or license has to be operated at the highest sales that it can generate, essentially requiring infrastructure to promote sales, and with sales revenue for GOI.

By Simplifying licensing process and revenue management it will further allow for more innovative partnerships and investment into the communications industry. The positive changes will not hurt the incumbents as they already have a great deal of value with their spectrum and installed user base. The newer entrants will have a level playing field with uniform rules and clarity with operating guidelines. Both the old and new operators will benefit from a single type of revenue sharing or tax on the sales, and GOI with a lot more revenue because of the innovations with additional revenue sources.

India is unique in its own corporate structure. It has started to selectively shed the monopolies and licensed industries (“for sure not completely done”). India already has created new heavyweights in Telecom who don’t have roots or dynasties. It was possible because of the quick transformation on Telecom industry from a monopoly to a competitive market. Even today majority of the Telecom services belong to big names in the Industry, with some consolidation already completed. Foreign players such as Vodaphone have already priced the Indian market to global standards, and Hutchinson’s exit from India is not surprising. But the Indian grown Telecom Majors are a model of wealth creation in rapid time which probably was not seen in any market forecasts. The market values derived by the Telecom companies are from Indian consumer’s adaptation to utility of communications, and clearly reflects the possibilities of such vast growth in value creation. By simplifying the rules of engagement it will only encourage more of such value creation, along with innovation, technology and value addition.

If Tata and Virgin, both global brands and formidable global corporations are having difficulty with the regulations to operate value added services, it is inconceivable for a smaller player to operate in the same environment. It is however possible to simplify the guidelines and generate more revenues for GOI, while making sure the consumers get value, quality and choice. We just have to pick the best practices available in the global market to make value addition a reality in the Indian Telecom market.

Spectrum for Budget Balancing

Vasu Reddy from Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com

There is a fix to just about every business and budget in the world. The on-going C Block spectrum auctions in USA have crossed 20 Billion dollars as of the 2nd week of February, and still have until June 2008 to close. This auction could fetch 30 billion or more when done, giving a nice chunk of change for the FCC and the USA government to erase some of the budget deficit.

This not only creates an extraordinary value for the US government in using the scarce resource in an already saturated mobile market, but also caters to the open access protocol being pushed by Google. This means that VOIP, Internet, Mobile and other content based services will be available on these new networks, creating opportunity for new generation of services and products. It is a win for the government, and also a win for operators along with a win for consumers who continue to crave the enhanced services. There is a great deal that can be emulated from this to the Indian market where the adaptation of value added services seem to be a natural for consumers.

The western markets continue to reap the benefits of selling airwaves and making big bucks for their governments, the Indian market is still coping with the 2G licensing and how to extract enough spectrum for the already outstanding LOI to multiple players in each market. 3G and other spectrum availability in India and how to place this in the hands of the market are still under bureaucratic and military consideration.

If the USA budget can get a healthy dose of good medicine with the 30 to 40 billion dollar C Block Spectrum money we can only imagine what can be done to the Indian Budget which can benefit from the same? The wonderful valuations for the mobile networks remain same irrespective of the markets they operate in. Be it the western markets or Africa or India, there is huge valuation for wireless networks, and global investors continued to put money in them.

Assuming that the Indian market will double in 4 years to 500 million users, it is absolutely necessary to release adequate spectrum to the operators. While doing so, there is no reason for the Government of India and DOT to use the auction process for releasing the new spectrum. The open auctions bring in global players and big investments into India. Some of the many benefits of open auctions include:

1. Fair play – I am not an expert in the policy making of DOT or have no opinion on how this spectrum is allocated now. But adapting to an open auction with majority of ownership with Indians as it is now is fair game. The global players and investors will definitely participate in the auctions, and let anyone and everyone who has the cash to bid, do so. Set minimal guidelines and use of spectrum deadlines, and let them bid. Set minimum bid price for a block of spectrum, define the usage guidelines and let it be open and transparent. The auction will create great wealth for India.
2. Huge new infrastructure investments for the networks – There is no doubt about the billions needed to construct networks, and people needed to run them. This is an area that has proven to be a boon outside of IT jobs. There will be hundreds of thousands of new jobs with each nationwide network, along with services, banking, maintenance, support, showrooms, manufacturing and whatever we can think of within the Industry. There will be growth in every village or town with the added communications. It is also possible that the manufacturers who are just shipping into India will all start to make their network and consumer products in India, so more jobs will be created. There is no question about the parallels in economic development with communications development, and the already robust growth in Indian economy will further speedup.
3. New Jobs – More jobs with more development is already an established fact with Indian economy.
4. Budget balancing – What better way to balance the budget by using the airwaves. It is not selling land or minerals or people force, its airwaves and they work for the benefit of the Indians truly with vast global investments coming into the market. It may not completely balance the budgets but billions will help in coming close to balanced budgets, and there is no need for any negotiations or backroom deals for open spectrum auctions. Let us just do them, and get the highest value possible for the airwaves.
5. Continued share of revenues – There is a constant revenue source for the DOT coffers with revenue sharing, and with the subscriber growth, it will continue to grow. No need for any planned collections or tax policies, as the operators are obligated to do this, and it is great revenue for the government. The more networks, the more users and more service fees.
6. Services at competitive pricing – I have already reflected on the cost per minute to the current Indian subscribers in January 2008, and with more networks the pricing will definitely come down. Along with the price drop, the services portfolio and customer focus will also improve with competition. The more networks we deploy, there will be more choice for the individual customer, and it is always better to have a choice, let alone multiple choices.

This is the 2008 annual budget time in India. The rapid growth in telecommunications subscribers and the need for spectrum is well defined. No one should complain about auctioning the spectrum and using the proceeds to budget balancing. By meeting market needs, creating competition and focusing on the customer and also erasing the budget deficit the Government of India will only serve its national interest.

Having watched the spectrum auctions in the USA for the last couple of decades, it is never late to get as much money as possible for the GOI for the scarce and very valuable air waves, especially in a market that will double in 4 years. We can really wipe out the Indian Budget deficit if the valuation of the spectrum reflects the valuations of the existing and potential customer base.

Satisfying India's Communications Needs

Vasu Reddy from Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com

Hundreds of high profile applicants are lining up for spectrum in India, and there is much confusion about when there will be clarity on who will be next in providing mobile communications for the fastest growing market in the world. There is market driven valuations floated at hundreds of billions of dollars, but nothing focused on the affordability of the services for the consumers.

To draw parallels and calculate the USA and India market affordability for about 500 minutes a month per user, we estimate that approximately $40.00 per month is spent with services with basic SMS services and 500 mobile minutes in the USA. If per capita of USA is $30,000 annually, then the percentage of income spent on an annual basis is $480.00/$30,000.00 or a 1.6% of per capita income spent on the services. If we calculate One Rupee per minute for the same service or 500 Rupees per month, or 6000 Rupees, or $150.00 on an annual basis and if the per capita income is $2,000 for India, it is about 7.5% of per capita income that is costing the users. Even by reducing the cost of services in half it will still be a proportionally high per minute value paid by the Indian user.

If the USA market is almost saturated, Indian market is over 25% penetration and growing fast, and can double in a couple of years. If the communications are making the overall Indian available and competitive, imagine what it can do if the entire population can communicate, and afford the same.

Perhaps the regulators can look at the globe for examples in adaptation while encouraging the rapid growth.

Global GSM conference held in Cape Town last year was announcing the next big thing to keep an eye out for in telecommunications is 4G or fourth generation networks. India is still contemplating what to do with 2G and not yet set process in motion for 3G. There is no doubt historically telecommunications has been defined by the type of services delivered as well as by the technology that enables economic and social development. First, there were basic voice services. This was then followed by a trend to enhance voice with in-band data services. The next evolution was to separate these two networks. Then mobility was added to the mix. Finally, the fourth dimension to this equation was adding video over this new network allowing voice, video and data to be delivered any time, at any place.The two most notable growth trends in the telecommunications industry over the past decade have been mobility, as delivered by second generation networks like GSM, and fixed data services as delivered by the Internet. The freedom of mobility and the power of information are driving the telecommunications industry to a converged solution via mobile Internet services. There is news declaring WiMax as an IMT2000 standard brings a new dimension to the debate. This will effectively allow operators to be able to deploy mobile WiMax in 3G spectrum globally.

Although 4G has not yet been officially defined, it is expected that fourth generation networks will be able to deliver mobile broadband services such as mobile Internet. The mobile Internet service presents several new challenges to the telecoms world such as the ability of mobile networks to deliver broadband services, the ability of mobile terminals to support broadband services, and above all for these services to be cost effective.India has already issued multiple ISP licenses and has a reasonably good service in the urban centers.

A combination of technologies with VOIP, WiMax, GSM, CDMA and local networks will simply allow the operators to bring services to more rural places. It will also increase the value of each of the investment already made by the companies with these licenses. There is no need to keep discriminating the operators from providing services. The big money involved in mobile licenses will always be preset, but utilizing the already invested ISP and simpler services will bring more communications to the Indian market. One last thought on this is if the rural development program is of such high priority in the government’s plan, a simple plan to provide ISP and VOIP services to very village can be subsidized by the State and Local governments. With the budget sessions coming up and pork being handed out to various segments in the market, it is not a bad idea to promote simple services at the village level, while the big money players fight it our for 2G or 3G or may be even 4G networks of India. While the DOT rakes in billions, it also can allow the already available licensees to do some good, and the politicians can claim focus on rural communications.

Leave Chiranjeevi Alone

October 26, 2007

It is an unbelievable situation for Chiranjeevi.

His daughter keeps asking him to do things like meet her in-laws, and she has their blessings. Then why does he have to do anything? She can simply go to their home. Chiranjeevi and his family has said that they accept her wish. Outside of his money there is no more he can offer her. Now she has a husband and his blessed family. So she should get off his back and go where she pleases with who she pleases. Stop harassing the man through the media and so called attorneys. In less then a week, Mom, Dad and family are strangers for this girl, and they should let her go and do what she pleases. She is unable to appreciate that this attorney, this media and this guy she married are never after her but her father's name and fame. He earned his good name for 30 years and she is killing this.

This idiot who eloped with a 18 year old doesn't have a job nor support of his family. He claims to be upset at the police. Doing stupid stuff first and then getting a little support from someone and starting to showoff for a few days. He should be made to answer how he will take care of this girl. If he is not after her money, then why make noise. Just get a job and leave her family alone.

It is also stupid to see so many columns about so called run-away bride. If she was not Chiranjeevi's daughter nobody would care. So let them get a life and leave the man alone. They shamed him and continue to make stupid claims. Just shut up and get a life, and show him that they really are good citizens, and not just stupid kids who got in front of the mikes because of him and blame him for what they have done.

Rama

September 25, 2007
Vasu Reddy in Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com

If there was a name that is pronounced each day, daily, and if it gets counted the total number of times people say it - Rama is definitely going to reverberate around the Universe daily. The Hindu God Rama or Srirama is the single most revered God in the history of Hinduism. There are no parallels to his virtues, no comparisons to his leadership, no blemish in his personality and not a single story that has been told that belittles his good name.

In the last few weeks the reports on Lord Rama’s existence and if it can be proved if he built Ram Setu Bridge to Lanka has been questioned by the authorities who want to dredge the bridge. As stupid as it sounds to question the believability in Rama, it is also quite foolish to link the easy way to dredge the holy bridge to weather the Lord really went to engineering school and which one?

Hindus everywhere worship and adore Rama. If some idiot questions of his existence let us simply remember that Rama is forever and everywhere. There is no need to prove if he existed many thousands of years ago, as he lives in every person who believes in him. There is no need for dredging Ram Setu as it will cost very little to dredge the land around it and not touch the holy belief of Hindus.

May be God will make sure that the idiots who question the existence of Rama will somehow realize that there is no reason to destroy beliefs of those who do. The non-believers are human and will never live tens of thousands of years, as the Lord Rama has, and forever be remembered.

The government of India and the state, the current politicians who were elected is specs of dust compared to the name Rama. They will be gone soon, and Rama as he has been through the ages will be revered forever.

Just build the stupid canal thru the land mass and don’t touch Ram Setu. You can believe whatever you chose to but don’t be stupid to ask if Rama really went to an engineering college and which one? Remember that the good Lord Rama did not need engineering degrees and archeological departments; he did this with Monkeys and a Squirrel. Let me emphasize that all of them are smarter than you stupid idiots who question the most revered name in Human History.

Independent Republic

January 28, 2006
Vasu Reddy from Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com

Indian finance minister Mr. Chidambaram proudly points out that the Indian GDP is growing at 7%, and could possibly go to 8%. A sustainable growth of 7% to 8% GDP will definitely influence the Indian economic might globally. The Indian politicians in power are making statements that imply the current government policies are influencing the excellent but sustainable GDP growth. The current government is less than two years old, and it is practically impossible to influence a GDP turnaround in that short span of time. The real architects of the forward looking economic policies; Dr. Man Mohan Singh and Mr. Chidambaram who originally were in the early 1990s government of Mr. Rao, today run the country and its finances. The growth in GDP should be attributed to the long term and positive influence of the then progressive looking government, and the good fortune to have the same leadership back in power after fifteen years to enhance the opportunity to extend the economic benefits.

Independent India after getting rid of the British rule was governed under the leadership that felt that we were a country of poor people, who needed basics to live. To a large degree the first three leaders of the independent India were simply trying to deal with the aftereffects of India’s independence from the British, and tried a combination of democracy and Marxism to rule the independent India. Many a noble men and women who sacrificed their entire life to gain Indian independence from the British were freedom fighters, not politicians nor trained administrators to handle the enormous list of issues an independent India faced. The people themselves did not appreciate the value of democracy, as they perhaps did not have a feel for democratic thinking for hundreds of years under the divide and conquer rule of foreigners. The leaders of Independent India invested their entire thought process into achieving an independent republic, and perhaps never had the time to think of governing an independent country. When we finally became independent, we lost the father of the nation quickly to one of our own, and perhaps Mahatma was the best non-office seeking politician we ever had. His loss also set independent thinking amongst the freedom fighters turned politicians to frame their own agendas for the independent India. The magic of being independent India lasted for at leas the first couple of decades and perhaps Mr. Nehru and Mr. Shastri, and then the government of Mrs. Gandhi.

Mrs. Gandhi when she came into power after her illustrious father and a short span as prime minister by Mr. Shastri, was also perhaps the first leader of the Indian republic to face the reality of Independent India’s list of problems and she could not avoid them in her tenure as her predecessors did. She enjoyed the benefit of her father’s goodwill and her astute observations of the governing of India, and also understood the psychology of the Indian people before she came into power.

Mrs. Gandhi’s real challenges did not come until the 1970s. She was jubilant with war with Pakistan and supporting the separation of East Pakistan that became Bangla Desh. Although India helped Bangla Desh become independent, the long term political relationship with the neighbor has not been positive. Our relationship with Pakistan only went from bad to worse and no immediate plan to sort out the Kashmir issue. The controlled areas of Kashmir by Pakistan and China seem to be under their control for good, and the land grabbing by the neighbors seem to be OK with the international community, which clearly is undecided about the position that Kashmir belongs to India. The policies that allowed the occupation of Kashmir by the Chinese and the Pakistanis is simply lack of aggression and global astuteness of the Indian politicians. Granted that they were more concerned about how to take care of the newly independent India, but they for sure were not capable of laying claims to the land that belonged to India and keeping it as a part of India.

Ignoring the challenges of our neighbors the country’s ever growing population put a lot of demand for food and basic necessities. Hunger and poverty are the biggest diseases humans can get in contact with and India with its ever-expanding population suddenly found itself very independent and very hungry. Political parties and dissent in the congress forced the emergency rule. There were a lot of terrible decisions made by the government to keep the political power, but all said and done history tells us the Janata Party and other offshoots came into power, quickly lost it, as they did not have any better solutions, except a lot of rhetoric.

When Mrs. Gandhi came back to power she continued to be confronted with the massive problems of the huge population that was expanding faster than what was politically possible to solve. Mrs. Gandhi also made small strategic errors such as attacking Golden Temple, and believing that she was in control. Her killing was unfortunate, instead of voting her out. But again the country had already tried another government, but it was not a good option for the people. When Rajiv Gandhi became the prime minister after the death of his illustrious mother, he did bring fresh outlook into politics. I believe Rajiv Gandhi was truly forced into the leadership of a country that believed in dynasty rule. Remember that the 2006 Congress plenary in Hyderabad is demanding Rahul Gandhi to take over. Going back to Rajiv Gandhi, once he was thrown into the leadership of a vast country that needed everything, he did make great progress with policies. He hired great support cast and was open to changing the way the political structure behaved to the country’s needs. I believe he was the first leader of the post independent India to take necessary steps to meet the demands of the country. Rajiv Gandhi was surrounded with intelligent people who made some good decisions to make the country market driven. They started to take into account the reality of the resources available to the nation and what can be done to meet the needs. Although Rajiv Gandhi survived for several years, and then lost elections and then eventually assassinated by Tamil zealots, he was in my opinion the first leader of the independent India to make decisions and enforce policies that started to bring India into market economy, and move away from “Jaribi Hatavo” slogan and start doing something about removing poverty.

In any case the eventual political turmoil after the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, and the coalition government of Mr. Narasimha Rao, is what I believe that started the economic powering of India that is happening today. Toady we speak of Tata acquiring companies in USA, or people from other countries hired to word in India, BPO boom, IT dominance and a host of foreign investments in every imaginable area in India. I worked in the time when India was easing restrictions on foreign investments, currency conversion and communications. Today’s Congress leaders were a part of that government and they were reformists then who promoted progress. Those policies of the early 1990s helped to create the IT and communications boom, that helped every other industry, and in turn made India grow at a rapid pace. The GDP growth over the past 15 years has been more than double that of the rest of the world, and only the Chinese may be growing at the same pace. Our current leadership is capable of driving extraordinary growth of the country.

Great countries grow over decades of extraordinary management of their policies and politics. I believe India can do the same. The politicians continue to banter about the things that are wrong but no one from the opposition seem to recognize the achievements of the Indian industry and commerce. They are simply finding faults on a personal basis, or complain of wrongdoing of people who are dead. I think the country should separate the political grandstanding and become independent of the personalized politics. A leader should become popular for what great policies and achievements on his or resume, not because of what the last name is, or what caste he belongs to or who he is associated with. Let the country’s politicians believe that they must continue to earn the right to govern the country, and not believe that they are the rulers of a country. Our democratic land has always been keen on politics and preserving the right to vote, as we did even with Mrs. Gandhi and voted her out of power when we no longer could deal with the autocratic rule. India today is independent and growing and becoming its own within the global community. Indians are smart, intelligent and politically very astute. The people in power most times are behaving well and taking notice of the needs of the people. The opposition parties by and large are focusing on the past wrongs of the dead leaders, or simply opposing the current leaders on every project or initiative. All said and done sustaining the growth of the country needs continued fiscal management and clear thinking. Politically and economically, the leaders of the independent India must continue to be progressive. The country doesn’t have time to think of the past, but look forward to the future of prosperity. We as a nation have always been world travelers with the intelligence to keep doing the right things to help our family and country.

Our independent republic slowly has been taking charge of its own destiny and the politicians who are given the opportunity can be as independent as the people who put them in power. Make independent and forward looking decisions, and make India the best place in the world to live and work. The beauty of independence is that it has a mind of its own, and nothing can stop independent thinking from progress.

Congress And Andhra Pradesh

21 January 2006
Vasu Reddy from Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com

As I write this week, the Congress party is having its AICC Plenary session in Hyderabad. Every Congress leader that has any position of power in India is probably in Hyderabad. It is not astonishing that every newspaper, every Internet magazine and every TV station is covering this event in great detail. It should as Mr. Man Mohan Singh and Mrs. Sonia Gandhi are both heading this up, and are in same location for 3 days. I am always fond of Hyderabad and Andhra Pradesh. Also, I am fond of our food (actually all food, but partial to Indian food). I am also fond of the development these great big events will bring to the infrastructure. To enlighten myself I have been watching with great interest the happening just before this big Congress party gathering in Hyderabad. The usual stuff listed has been happening in preparation for the big gathering of Congressmen and Congresswomen in Hyderabad.

Ø Roads widened and cleaned.
Ø Buildings painted clean.
Ø Trash out of the way.
Ø Restaurants and Hotels completely full.
Ø Lot of cash spent on flowers and fruits and gifts.
Ø All tourist places full.
Ø Sonia Gandhi in town.
Ø Man Mohan Singh is also in town.
Ø City is full of posters and cutouts competing with movie posters.
Ø Tourism money and full demand for everything.
Ø Autos, busses, cars and jeeps full of congressmen and congresswomen.

Here are great details on what is happening in Hyderabad:

Busy Schedule

The three-day 82nd Congress plenary session, which commenced in Hyderabad on Saturday with the meting of the extended Congress Working Committee, will have a hectic schedule over the next two days. According to the schedule released Saturday evening, the All India Congress Committee session will commence at 9.30 am on Sunday with flag-hoisting by the Congress president Sonia Gandhi in the presence of Congress Working Committee members, Pradesh Congress Committee presidents, Congress Legislature Party leaders, AICC and CPP office-bearers and chairman, reception committee.

The AICC meeting will begin at 10 am with 'Vande Mataram', followed by a welcome speech by the chairman, reception committee. Once the condolence resolution and organizational constitutional resolutions are adopted, the AICC general secretaries will present their reports. After confirmation of the minutes of the previous AICC meeting held on August 21, 2004, the AICC will be converted into Subjects Committee.

The Subjects Committee meeting will begin with the opening remarks of the Congress president. The resolution on political affairs will be taken up for discussion around 11 am, followed by a resolution on economic affairs at 2 pm, resolution on agriculture, employment and poverty alleviation at 4 pm and resolution on international affairs at 6 pm. Members can take up any other matter with the permission of the chair at 7.30 pm. The meeting will end with the concluding remarks by the Congress president.

On the third and concluding day (Monday), the plenary session will commence with the arrival of Congress president at the venue at 9.30 am. After flag-hoisting, party functionaries -- CWC members, PCC presidents, CLP leaders, AICC and PCC office-bearers and chairman, reception committee, will escort the Congress president to the dais in a ceremonial procession.

After 'Vande Mataram' and welcome address by the chairman, reception committee, the plenary will adopt condolence resolution as well as the constitutional resolution. The Congress president will make her speech and later discussion on the political resolution will commence at 11.20 am, followed by discussion on the economic resolution at 1.20 pm.
Prime Minister Man Mohan Singh will address the plenary at 3 pm.
This will be followed by discussion on the resolution on agriculture, employment and poverty alleviation and the resolution on international affairs.
After the concluding remarks by the Congress president and vote of thanks, the plenary will conclude with the national anthem at 6.45 pm.

Great emphasis on FOOD

South Indian delicacies like the hot and Spicy Sambar, Idli, Vada, Dosa and Utappam will be among served to Congress President Sonia Gandhi and the delegates for breakfast. For the lunch and dinner the attendees would be served with three types of Chapatti, Rice, Sambar, Brinjal, Beans, Chicken, Fish, Green Salads and Fruit Salad and some Italian delicacies. Prime Minister Man Mohan Singh’s menu will mainly consist of Punjabi recipes. Three types of Punjabi Roti, Paratha and Nan were being prepared specially for him. I am sure he will enjoy them, and as well as everyone around him.According to estimates, The Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee would be spending about one Crore Rupees on food during the three-day event, which will be attended by more than 11,000 delegates. Over sixty varieties of mouth-watering dishes, including the Hyderabad Dhum Biriyani, popular ''Chepala Pulusu'' made of fresh fish specially brought from West Godavari District, and ''Ulava Charu'', a special gravy made with Horse gram by coastal Andhra cooks. There will be six food courts at the plenary session with food laid out with great care. Of the six food courts, one would be exclusively for the AICC delegates, one for the media and three for PCC delegates. A small food court would cater to the over 100 members of the extended Congress Working Committee, including PCC Presidents, Chief Ministers, former Chief Ministers and former Governors. The food courts would be manned by 15 legislators to extend due courtesies to the guests. Through out the three-day sessions, snack counters will be setup to serve fresh juices, coconut water, tea, coffee and snacks, including Bondas and Samosas to the delegates. I only wish I was there to enjoy just the food.

Rahul Gandhi is coming?

As his father did from an unknown field to come into politics and did quite well as a politician, before his own people killed him, congressmen await Rahul. I am not sure of his likes or dislikes, but he is already a member of parliament and a politician. His Mom is in control of Congress and he has some experience in being a politician, and he is after all a Gandhi.

The three-day All India Congress Plenary is expected to bring Amethi parliamentarian Rahul Gandhi to the center-stage of Congress politics, which he has sought to evade for many years now.It is evident that there is a clamor among party cadres and leaders to induct the 34-year-old son of Congress President Sonia Gandhi into the high-powered Congress Working Committee and entrust him with organizational responsibility so as to groom him for taking over the reins of the party at a later stage.
The mood in the party seems to be in favor of not delaying any further the launch of the high-profile first-time parliamentarian into active politics.Though Sonia revamped the 25-member CWC, the highest policy making body of the 120-year-old party, ahead of the AICC plenary, she has left five seats vacant. This is seen by political observers as a clear move to accommodate Rahul, and four 'Generation Next' leaders of his choice into the CWC.Rahul Gandhi is the only person other than Sonia, Prime Minister Man Mohan Singh, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy and Pradesh Congress Committee President K Kesava Rao whose pictures figure in the plenary hoardings and posters put up all over the 'Pearl City'. Sonia has reportedly received requests from several PCCs and Pradesh Youth Congress Committees, asking her to nominate Rahul to the CWC.There were also speculations that Priyanka Vadra, the daughter of the Congress president, was keeping away from the plenary only to allow her brother to bask in the limelight. In all likelihood, Sonia will nominate Rahul after the AICC plenary.Prime Minister Singh has reportedly expressed a desire to induct Rahul into his ministry in the impending expansion of his Council of Ministers but the young parliamentarian is apparently unwilling to accept a ministerial responsibility at this stage. Congress managers say he would like to first work for the party before taking up an assignment in the government. Leaders close to the Gandhi family are also in favor of Rahul first taking up an organizational responsibility, like his father Rajiv Gandhi.The plenary may have significance in many ways but what party workers and the AICC delegates are keenly looking forward to be whether Rahul will oblige them by accepting an organizational responsibility.

Corruption Of Mind

January 8, 2006
Vasu Reddy from Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com

Pay for performance was my dear friend Colin said, when we spoke of the financial results of our old company we both worked for in the mid 1990s. It has been long since we worked for someone else, but when a reader asked me to write about corruption this past week, I had to think of my own take on how to deal with corruption.

Much of my working life I have been a business development guy, traveling world over. I was in many countries when it was still communist or government controlled environment, and worked hard to make the two big companies I worked for many a profitable ventures. I learnt a lot from my experiences and made many friends across the world, and still keep them in cherished position. I am 100% sure that countries such as India where I worked hard on being on the teams working on privatization, have come a long way and millions of people working in the private enterprise. In a recent visit to Delhi, I was told my old employer had a multistory building that it owned. If I think of the little office space they had when I went to India first, it made me proud to think of the enterprise building that a group of us bravely undertook. A lot of my colleagues and myself faced no dilemma in finding new business opportunities for our employers, and we did what we could to find good business deals. We negotiated on behalf of the company and found many partners in then remote parts of the world, where no American company did business. I think we were rewarded well with great tour of the world, many a great friends with their diverse cultural and business backgrounds, and a taste of being one of the first global traveler’s with a budget. One thing in specific that none of our companies asked is how we got the business started in these new business environments, expect that our employers wanted high returns on their money and did not want to get senior managers involved in any controversies. We had a lot of leverage in starting the work in any country that afforded the opportunity, and the risk of our own neck with both our employment and performance. We had to get the deals done to satisfy the budgets, and we had to perform in the environment to get the business deals done. These objectives were in obvious conflict of each other, but were the only way to live happily to work and deliver to the employer.

I survived many years of serious business development in two companies, but ended up leaving both of them after achieving great financial results to both of them and their stakeholders. No regrets from me after all these years of leaving them, and no scoops to be told after all this time. I really am still fond of the times I did work for them. I will always be fond of the great times of business development in the early 1990s, especially in telecommunications.

Corruption is a serious issue in almost all countries. To be corrupt in mind is no different than blatant request for money for getting work done. Have you been to a temple in India? They have three ways of getting to see the god.

Stand in queue and wait until you get pushed to the front of the God and quickly say whatever is on your mind, and get pushed hard to be out of the temple.
Pay money to buy a ticket to see God faster than the general queue, but still get pushed around when you get into the queue, and get pushed out same way as people who don’t pay anything.
The third way is that you have influence where they stop the queue or someone escorts you to the front of the lord, and you have a few minutes in front of God, and you don’t get pushed around in the queue. But you sure make thousands of people in line wait and probably curse you.

I don’t know if we can call the influenced people corrupt. They are simply taking advantage of the available option to make others inconvenienced while they take advantage of the system that allows them privilege.

Same thing happens when you know a person who can help get you the privileges of information or access. By having a friend you get access. In business a friend is an associate or a consultant or a person who is available to make a business proposition. Simply by making corruption a global issue the access privileges of who you know will not go away. Darwin theory is simple, that the fittest will survive. In the early 1900s people brought in many a communist societies that were supposed to be equal in access and privileges to all of the citizens. At the end of the 1900s these so called perfect societies collapsed, leaving the capitalistic societies to continue to flourish. Democracies and capital societies somehow survive as they allow people to make informed choices. So, if I equate corruption to democratic principles and capitalistic societies, people who give to get favors are primarily the conduits to the process of developing the mindset for corruption. I am only a human being, and I will use the resources I have for making the most out of the situation I am faced with. When visiting a temple, developing a relationship, getting permission to do a business, gifts for my family and any potential situation where I am faced with making a choice, I am sure I will use the resources I have to get the privileges in my favor. My mind is democratic and competitive in a capitalistic society. Please don’t let me preach the theory of corruption, and we much be corrupt to get things done, and we must pay for everything. But, let me speak of the democratic mind set, and using resources to get things done. Perhaps the mind will begin to associate the degrees of corruption, make informed choices that what each instance requires and make necessary adjustments in judging the level of corruption it will tolerate. Simply think of this as a informed mind, making informed choices to make informed payments or adjustments to get things done, that are of importance to live life in a democracy.

I don’t support payoffs and favors for getting things done. I don’t support monopolies. I don’t like people asking me for money to do their jobs. I don’t like the discomfort of not being able to afford the ability to do business in any country. I don’t like talking about corruption. I don’t like to discuss how to do business in a new place. I can’t even speak to my old experiences of how I worked in so many places for my two employers, and survived so many deals. I just don’t like to speak of the anything that is not necessary.

Life is full of adjustments. People need money to make things work. Some need it more than the others. Elections cost money. Homes are expensive. Families need money. Food, clothing, comforts, cars and every single thing need to be supported. So, room for corruption exists, and the more we support the process the more expensive things get.

Mind you, it is you the individual that will have to make choices to do the right thing. Don’t push the blame of your acceptance to give as the societies acceptance to take. It is the corruption of mind that leads to the societies making corruption a part of the process. Wait in the queue, and don’t worry about how long it takes to see the Lord. The comfort factor should not make you bend the mind to accept the normality of corruption.

Privilege of an NRI

January 14, 2006
Vasu Reddy from Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com

In the past few weeks as in most of the last few weeks of December every year, the planes are busy with folks going to India and coming back. Be it Chicago, be it Frankfurt, be it Hyderabad or be it London, the planes are bustling with Indians going and coming. Lot of people are traveling and at the same time and a lot of their families are also going back and forth and adding to the big crowds at every airport that has a flight to India. No matter what airline and no matter what airport, lots of our folks are getting on planes. Travel is cheap, and the families are larger and the numbers are bigger. All of us, with NRI status and our families simply go back and forth and can afford this long journey much easier than the olden days. I mean olden days simply because, a phone call was a luxury in the days when we had smaller NRI population, but I believe a reported 1.4 million people of Indian origin now living in USA, and their extended families equally big if not bigger than the reported 1.4 million, along with huge numbers of people working in IT consulting jobs on temporary permits obtained by their companies, we have a sizeable number of our people who are occupying almost every seat on the planes going back and forth to India. Every one of us should believe that we have worked hard for their personal privilege of their success.

Non Resident Indian (NRI) is no longer a stranger to the world. They have the money and resources to yield the economic power, and command respect of the global community. Business and education, jobs and power, wealth and travel, along with name and fame are all part of parcel of what NRI has achieved, as with many an immigrant communities have done so in the United States and the West. It is a privilege to be recognized in the global community for the success of a nation’s people who work hard and contribute to their adopted lands. I am quite proud of belonging to the community of great achievers. By and large the members of the Indian community outside of India are hardworking and well mannered. The aspect of family and friends continue to be a big part of our community aspect, despite the distance we live away from our motherland.

The NRI also is quite visible in India with their contributions to the political process, business establishment, individual investments in homes and farms, building hospitals, schools and whatever their affordability to help with the perceived need of our country. For name and fame, no better way to contribute back to the society where we originally come from, and spending our holidays in India gives the motherland much needed tourism dollars and the local economies the benefit of the purchasing power of the dollar. Its great to see the NRI community spend money in India, and build things in India with their earnings from hard work abroad, and increasing the awareness of the multinational aspect of living. It’s a wonderful privilege to be able to move freely from India to wherever the NRI lives, and be able to participate in the growth of both places.

The additional privilege is that our motherland represents a place of great dignity that respects the NRI achievements and invites the NRI to be a part of its rapid growth. India needs help to grow at a much rapid pace than that of the west to bring basic amenities to its citizens, and keep creating jobs and opportunities to become a place where simple things are affordable. Water, power, transportation, communications, education and housing are continuing to be in great demand for the billion plus people in India. NRI community can help with the developmental aspects of the national needs without the need for any additional recognition to support the development. NRI already has the money and abilities, and their special skills (along with their money) need no further privileges in India, as the very privilege is to be a part of the community that is their homeland.

Awards and honors are not needed to help, especially when you can. They are reserved for outsiders, who seek recognition for their work. NRI is not a stranger, rather a part of the community fabric of India. What better privilege than a nation of advancement and rapid growth? The ability to contribute is a privilege. It’s becoming a native in America that has made the NRI the success story that is well documented, so it must be easy to do the same in India without any additional privilege.

When we travel to India, there is certain amount of anxiety (with water for me especially) with what will be the conditions that await us. Its alright to feel anxious about the time it will take to get from Chicago to Hyderabad, and weather we will get a cart that will fit those huge bags. It is all right to imagine if the first breakfast will have our favorite snacks, and plenty of them. It is OK to think if people are available and old friends still in town. It’s all right to make plans for spending time in places we grew up in, and thinking if they have changed. Just about all-personal anxieties are simply things we are used to and wanting them to be unchanged. But why expect privilege to be a part of growth of the nation if you can help with its development.

If every NRI returning to India and making an investment into it seeks privilege to its system, the country will be a place of discontent and cannot afford to develop a plural system. All things may not be right with the current system of working, but to create a system that differentiates its own people because of the wealth factor or contribution factor, it will become a bigger bureaucracy that it already is. If a system of NRI privilege is created, then it becomes a system of classes that has more money than the others, and only when privilege is given contributions are made. Isn’t that what we all campaign against everyday and why should we need any special system for helping when we can?

There is no need for special cells, there is no need for even calling an Indian person NRI, there is no need for making special allowances, there is no need for free permits, or any other privileges to NRI or anyone else who can afford to do things the same way as rest of the citizens. The community doesn’t need to bring in one more class of people who claim privilege to the workings of the nation, and add additional burden to an already needy environment. The patience to wait in line, the ability to survive in strange lands, the opportunity to contribute to ones own nation, the tenacity to be successful and the status of an NRI is already a global privilege. We don’t need any more privilege.

The best physicians, the best builders, the best engineers, the best bankers, the best communications experts, the best money managers and the best of many a fields don’t need additional privileges to be involved in India. They can simply be privileged people who can be selfless in simply be great citizens of the motherland. Citizens help without self-interest and become aggressive in contributions to their land. That will make India a place of privilege. The attractive privilege is making India a global force it can be. Every NRI should take the privilege of being an Indian, and the honor of its success. Privilege is what we are, but not what we get in return for what we do. The country doesn’t need to afford us any free passes or award us any plaques for being good citizens.

A Happy India

4 November 2005
Vasu Reddy from Chicago

I am sure all Indians are happy now. I have to imagine we Indians are either farmers or cricket fans. I am sure there are people who will debate on my categorizing all Indians into farmers and cricket fans, but if someone has an issue, please forgive my generalization of the farmers and fans, as I want this week’s column to be a happy one.

India has been getting good rains, and perhaps more than necessary of rain this season. Monsoon has been on time and many a tropical storms and cyclones have been lashing India, and rivers overflowing and many areas flooded. I feel sad that many farmers lost crops and low laying areas effected with floods and lost homes, huts and livestock. But the farmers in many areas are blessed with timely rains, and good crops.

India in the last two weeks has a new captain in Rahul Dravid, and a bunch of new young players, who have been the latest Sri Lanka team as they would play with armatures, and so far have won the series 4-0 of the seven games. Although I have not seen a live match played a long time, the recent series win over Sri Lanka seems to lift my spirits to levels of happiness I used to experience when I was in India seeing India win.

I am proud of being Indian for simple stuff. We Indians seem to be happy with simple things, and as in a win in cricket and a good crop for the season. Comprehensive happiness is not possible for farmers and cricketers as each season brings its own fortunes. Continued happiness (prosperity) is only possible with prolonging the cycle of success. As with any other business, the business of farming and the business of cricket need to be nurtured with care. The current problems of earthquakes, scandals, bad politicians, bad luck, bad markets, bad karma and bad everything is a part of our life, and it is not just meant for Indians. The great part about us is that very little of happiness makes the entire population happy.

Mom always says to think of God in bad times and good times, and everything seems fine if you keep thinking of him. I agree. But beyond being fine, I want to be happy and I want to associate happy things to make sure I remain happy. I am sure the current Indian team will foster into a great team and then begin to age and start showing their age. I am sure that the current rains will some year become scarce as the rain gods will have to go somewhere else, or may get tired, and may not rain well for a season or two.

Hey you know what we should do?

The current team, its captain, its coach and the selectors should do dramatic things to encourage the current players, future players and the establishment to make moves that prolong the success cycle. Team should do team things, and ignore everything that doesn’t suit its success needs. The longer the success the more the happiness for Indians. Why not develop a long winning team that makes a nation happy for a long term. No need to panic, as even meaningless matches that our team wins, we will still be happy. It doesn’t matter what game you will, as long as you win we will be a happy nation. Give up selfishness; forget politics, make sacrifices and play with your heart (not forgetting smart) will help the winning aspects on a continued basis.

Farmers can always rejoice each good monsoon, and grow great things for themselves and the country. Great monsoons and continued seasonal rains will also need water management. Dams and canals, irrigation projects, water management and removing politics from farmer’s issues will prolong the great monsoon season’s benefits to years of drought and poor monsoon.

I always think simple things make life simpler. We Indians are simple folks and simple things make us happy. I wish for a continued success with all wakes of farming and great success for our cricket team. They both make us a happy bunch of Indians.