New Year’s Resolutions

Vasu Reddy From Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com

Another year ended and a new one started without any real change in what is happening around the world.  Except a few holidays during the Christmas and New Year things remain status quo, and remain so through the beginning of the New Year.  They seldom seem to change although there is a lot of hype about making resolutions.

Very rarely things change during the course of the last week of the year and the beginning of the new one.  It is just imagining that we will abide by the decision to do or not do something overnight on the 31^st of December every year, as if we were not able to do so in the first 364 days, it is unlikely the last calendar day of the year will somehow influence decision making to alter things we normally do.  It is not being cynical about New Year resolutions, but the fact of the matter is they better serve if thought through over the entire year and not as a prelude to a new calendar year.

In the past year we continue to see India struggle with the acceptance of Ombudsman at the national level, and Anna pushing for sweeping anti corruption legislation.  What started out to be one of the national challenges somehow fizzled out in the last days of the year with the parliament unable to draft and passes a bill that would please the elected officials.  The hype and drama that was prevalent for most of the year dissipated once the elected representatives had to table and vote on the bill in the parliament.

The true chance of anti graft legislation fizzled out with the parliament unable to agree to a draft that is acceptable to the legislators, and never even got into the discussion on what general public would like to see in the ombudsman.  There is plenty of confusion on what the bill is and how it should impact the elected officials and bureaucrats together, and who should be and who should not be included in the bill.

The high drama leading to drafting and tabling the lokpal bill fizzled out quickly once it got into the legislative agenda, and Anna got sick and was unable to further the cause with umpteen complications in the political and public opinion.  Everyone blamed each other for not supporting the bill and also blamed each other for either having or not having the appropriate language in the version of the bill that the parliament was supposed to vote and ratify.  After all the hoopla and drama nothing got done except everyone blaming the other for not getting it properly written and passing the bill.  It is as if the entire legislature did not want to have any kind of ombudsman in place and implemented to monitor the abuse of power and graft.  It is as if everyone seemed to be happy with the way things are and really did not have the heart to support across the board legislation to attack graft.

After the debate and a lot of discussion nothing was accomplished except unanimous consent to make issues of everything to not support the ombudsman and not delivering the necessary legislation to attack the graft in the system.  So, we start another calendar year and still have the same systems that foster looting of national wealth by a few, and continued finger pointing on who to blame for making the bill preposterous and unmanageable.

So another end of the year and beginning of a new one but it is the same old systems and same old story.  We will continue to live with the system of graft and the hottest news on a daily basis on the who’s who of Indian politics going to jail because of some scandal or the other.  We will continue to see massive amounts of the national wealth being siphoned off to off shore locations and will never be able to trace the money to bring back into the economy that needs the wealth.  We will continue to show deficit budgets while having the enormous wealth that will deliver positive budgets, but will never be able to deploy the appropriate funding as it will continue to be siphoned into to some bank account or the other.

So, what do you want to try and resolve this calendar year that we have already not attempted to in the past.  Whatever resolutions we make will make no sense until and unless the entire system will foster such changes that will allow for decency and common sense.  Until such time we are able to accept appropriate changes to the way of life we live and the surroundings that allow for positive and progressive thinking, there is absolutely no need for resolutions.  The day we adapt positive and progressive thinking, there will be no need for any resolutions, as the positive changes will resolve any issues we might have.

Imperfect Democracies

Vasu Reddy From Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com

Throughout the documented history of mankind democratically governed countries have prospered and found ways to reinvent themselves when in danger of extremist governance.  Communist rulers, dictators and oppressive regimes come to abrupt or violent end when people in these regimes begin to feel the need for freedom of actions and speech.  However difficult it is to endure a democratic government, it is still only as good as the current term and people can vote the elected government out if the governance doesn’t meet the demands of the general public.

History repeatedly points to the success of democracies where people decide on the elected government and its leaders for a definite period of time and when the elected officials don’t deliver to their promises they typically get voted out with a new team of government.  Each government in its term typically sticks to its election promises and with proper planning, support from the economy and industry and good weather and good harvests, typically can deliver to their election agenda and promises.  It is cyclical to have natural and manmade disasters that greatly impact the delivery of election promises by any government.  Great governance comes with proper planning along with cooperation from the general market conditions and also nature’s cooperation, along with stable international markets and conditions.

We know that much of the global indicators point to overall stability with the international communities with trade and governance, both internal to each of the countries, but also to the overall global communities.  Many of the global recessions that we can trace account for rogue regimes inflicting undue burden on the rest of the international communities.  Although individual countries might function with proper planning and governance, the impact they have because of the other countries’ economies and governance is felt irrespective of the individual good governance.

India is going through a phase where it has a fairly uncomplicated prime minister who has the reputation of a clean politician, but his entire stable of functionaries and the major departments continue to foster great scams that are unprecedented.  At the same time we have a gandhian who is pushing for ombudsman to contain and eliminate the graft in the country.  The prime minister has taken steps for deploying the ombudsman which is a first step towards meeting the demands of general public not just Anna Hazare or his team.  The entire Indian population is in support of the ombudsman and wants the politicians to adhere to a non graft system, and will encourage the elected officials and also bureaucrats to agree to conditions that will lead the society away from graft and punish the individuals that ask for favors while delivering to their prescribed jobs.

Anna is not the first person to voice against graft and will not be the last person to do so.  He is instrumental in encouraging the entire country to rally for a graft free society.  There is nothing more commendable than the awareness he has brought to the ombudsman in India, and his proposals are well tabled with the general public and the elected politicians.

Now it is time for the public to first start accepting the various forms of ombudsman so there is a beginning to the end of graft as we now know in India.  The very acceptance by the government and the opposition parties that graft exists and it needs to be dealt with immediately is a great step to begin the process of eliminating the entrenched attitudes of the politicians that they deserve to take money and favors for what they are supposed to be delivering to the people who elected them.

While delivering an all encompassing ombudsman in one session is practically dictatorial in a democracy, it is appropriate to first accept that there is a general issue of graft which is growing larger and larger each day, and the government at all levels is willing to adhere to anti graft regulations is the start of tackling the issues from where it arises.

Be it top down or bottom up, making graft a crime is absolutely necessary for the well being of the country and its meager resources.  Whatever we have left as national resources should be best used for the people of the country and not for the benefit of a select few, and legislation and appropriate regulation against graft is essential for good governance and democracy of India.  To drive the process at a speed with which the elected officials and surrounding bureaucracy is unyielding may not result in cooperation of the system that needs to move away from demanding and accepting graft as a normal conduct.  We must allow for debate and determination among the elected officials and then their support structures for ombudsman to be successfully implemented in a democracy where everyone has their handout for the least amount of work they deliver to the general public.

While we need a comprehensive ombudsman, it needs to be delivered through a democratic process and should involve the people’s opinions at large and make the elected and appointed officials accountable for their actions, while being available for common man to be able to reach out to the law to take its course when there is a handout to do work that is a right of every citizen.  If it takes multiple revisions so be it as long as the process of anti graft movement is in full force.  That is what democracies are supposed to work with, and have been successful in choosing elected leaders those who promise to deliver and the office bearers will only get reelected if they deliver to their promises.  

Where Are The Blockbusters?

Vasu Reddy From Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com

The days when the movies ran for 100 days, 200 days and some as many as 365 days or more in the same theater to packed houses have been long gone. Just about every language films had a long run at the box office and drew crowd’s day in and day out, and people enjoyed the time at the theater despite and glitz or pomp associated with today’s marketing of the movies. There was no television, internet nor aggressive marketing of a movie, except huge cutouts, radio advertisements, wall posters and news paper advertisements.

People flocked to the theaters and had great fun watching the movies four or five shows a day and if the movie was good it continued the house full boards for a long time. Some of the Indian classics ran for a year or more to packed houses, and people saw the same movie again and again and never got tired of the repeat performances. The actors worked on multiple movies at a time, some as many as six or more a year and delivered entertainment movie after movie and year after year to please the senses of the public. When they delivered a dud, people simply avoided the movie, and when the movie was well made it did not need aggressive publicity to keep running to packed houses. The days where people were showering flowers and whistles all through the movie are long gone.

If a movie runs into the second week with same number of theaters or shows it is a definite hit in today’s market. You no longer the see the movie run in a lot of theaters as long as four weeks, let alone 100 days or more. Gone are the days where movies ran 100 days or more in 100 centers. Nothing is generating and keeping the interest of the public at large on any movie as they come and go so quickly, it is difficult to remember what is playing next week.

Given the huge promotional activities actors and movie makers undertake these days, it will be near impossible for them to promote any more than one movie at a time and perhaps a year. They have to plan it, script it, make it promote it and release it and then only work on the next project, unlike the olden days where actors worked on multiple projects at a time, and effortlessly engaged in multiple characters simultaneously, and with great ease and dedication.

These days so much hype and hoopla surround a movie prior to its release and the fate of most of them is disastrous. There is no guarantee that a particular actor in any language is truly capable of delivering a crowd pleasing and money making movie at the same time. Gone are the days where bankable stars had the ability to act in multiple movies at the same time, choose quality scripts, work with hard tasking directors and deliver multiple hits each year. All we have these days is a lot of pomp and circumstance leading to the frosty reception at the theater, and people not responding to any kind of low quality product irrespective of the money invested in the movie.

Granted that we have instant access to critics reviewing and programming our thought process on what to expect from any given movie, it is likely that the general public have been getting smarter and savvier in spending their money on quality of the movie rather than hype. With the influence of the internet and piracy adding to owes of the films, only high quality films will draw continued crowds. People are still looking for entertainment that not only pleases their senses but will draw them repeatedly to the theaters, and when such film arrives it draws the crowds.

Relishing The Diversity

Many diverse people and their tastes, traditions and their way of life make India a great country which embraces just about every aspect of life and its greatness. Every place has a Panjabi dhba, irani chai (although it is not from Iran), Dosa and idli, Biryani and samosa, pav bhaji, vada pav and a million other delicacies we fondly remember and chase down at every opportunity. It is not my intention to forget mentioning any of the delicacies as we have so many of them, which I may not list in my short essay. All of us Indians and non-Indians devour the fantastic delicacies irrespective of their origin or nature, and enjoy them day in and day out. Some of the foodies at midnight as some of the places cater to the taste buds at midnight feasts. Whatever region of the country we come from the food seems to transcend the regional boundaries, and just taste draws full praises while washing the delicacies down with a lassi or goli soda. Never in your mind has it crossed that the origin of the food going down has any bearing on the regional nature of the delicacy, rather the meeting of taste and culinary satisfaction. The Indian Buffet we so much enjoy is a culmination of the entire Indian nation’s delicacies that satisfy the palate of all Indians, but for some reason the regional differences seem to play a big part in creating major political and philosophical differences in policy making. There is one nation for all Indians, which is India and the internal geographical boundaries are no more than our own post independence histrionics that were created for political purposes along the regional language patterns. Granted that India has many different languages and dialects which essentially draw state lines in most instances, but is not necessarily the criteria for separate states. Neither the Indian population is so divided by religion that they form states based on religion. By and large the Indian states are divided on the language and lingo based divisions rather than religion. There might be economic issues that might form time to time become a bone of contention, and sometimes water is also contentious among the states. Indians by and large like each other and live in harmony despite the many language and traditional intricacies. The wonder of the population so diverse and so large living together and in unison is greatness of its democracy and tolerance. No other population as large and as diverse lives together in such harmony and enjoys the brotherhood of each other. Indians love to be together and enjoy the many diverse activities of the great population with so many variations in language, culture, religion and definitely culinary pleasures. We are one nation with a great fabric stitched together with every vibrant ingredient that god has created and man can think of, and nothing can be better together.

Twelve Trillion or Twelve Zeros

The current US debt is at 12 trillion dollars and counting up. Each minute the ticker goes up and continues to climb each day. It is mind boggling to even count 12 zeros after a number, let alone 12. Every year we hear of congress and the president working on debt reduction, and lots of debate on what steps to be taken to reduce the deficit. In years and years of piling up the debt, the money set aside for interest on servicing the debt is larger than the budgets of many a countries in the world. Every couple of years there will be a big debate between congress and the president and talk of government shut down, and they always work out ways to compromise and make the deficit bigger and bigger. Not since the days of President Clinton, annual budgets have been revenue positive. Many years have gone by with the annual deficits getting larger and larger, and debt servicing getting to be a bigger and bigger part of the annual budgeting process. Years of multiple wars, natural and manmade disasters, poor planning, unemployment and other unplanned and unprepared activities have haunted the national budgets with excessive spending beyond what is expected from the economy to generate revenues to sustain the spending process. Individuals have been facing increased unemployment and reemployment has been challenging. High wages, benefits and perks are a thing of the past in the US economy nowadays and just holding on to a job has been more than magical. Daily stories of young people moving back with their families are very common, and putting perspective on the economic system is all but impossible. Thinking of the twelve trillion debt and servicing the debt is humanly incomprehensive, and will require a stomach with iron lining. By simply calculating the individual burden of the enormous debt will make one wonder the possibility of someday making interest on debt the largest item on the US budget process. If really planning to eliminate the debt burden is discussed by the congress, it may never have a beginning or ending to the discussion, as there will never be a real debate on how to solve the debt crisis, as no one has an answer to how to address the debt burden now and its ever increasing number. No one is willing to make concessions on their current benefits and will only use the budget deficit as an election ploy to point out that the president and the party in power has done nothing to cut it down or take long term steps to eliminate it. The biggest congressional battles are to increase the debt limits rather than cut them. There are always plans to cut spending but never get implemented as the individual congressmen and congresswoman will always pitch to preserve their own vested interests. The economy is independent of the congressional decision making in pushing prices higher and individuals working hard to make ends meet. There is crisis in European countries and many of them in need of bailouts from the EU or other major global players. Their situation is as bad if not worse than the US budget deficits. There is an enormous amount of impact on the global trade with countries suffering massive budget deficits, and not doing enough business with each other. To help the US economy the other trading partners should be strong and be able to pay their bills, and at this stage every country seems to be struggling to keep their own economies together. Even the Chinese have slowed down in growth to help with trade with USA, although they also run massive trade surpluses with the USA. There is no quick fix to the massive debt burden, but immediate steps are necessary to stop the increased burden on the US balance sheet. More innovation, cost cutting that may not be appealing to the public, tax structure that may help with increasing revenues and across the board spending decreases will help decrease the debt burden, and will start to help reduce the trillions owed and additional trillions in interest payments. It will be a long road to debt free budgets, which may not be possible if continued congressional dilly dallying on compromises that make no fiscal sense.

Political Yatras

Vasu Reddy from Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com

One of the oldest forms of political canvassing is conducting walking tours of the constituencies. Every day we hear politicians undertaking tours of their respective constituencies to promote their agenda, and mostly show up to the people's door step to make sure they are personally representing the agenda being promoted on respective tours. Even before India's Independence Gandhiji made walking very popular form of addressing the issues of people and making them a part of the formal protests he undertook. In those day except radio and new papers there was no 24/7/365 coverage of the events. They were strictly by word of mouth and telegram, and eventually on radio and news papers. They were very effective in involving people to participate and support the causes which were noble and represented the common good of the common man.

The country welcomed the walking tours with open arms and at every step waited to embrace the cause and support the movement. For decades the tours of Indian leaders gamely going from place to place and meeting people has been widely accepted as a fantastic forum for communicating directly with people and interacting with them on localized issues to understand the future agenda of the political parties. It has been a very effective platform for reaching out to various sections of the general population and hearing their concerns and what they would like as the agenda for the party in power.

Walking tours are an opportunity to meet people in person and people will see if you are a real person. There is nothing better than shaking hands and embracing people as personal touch is the best form of communication. Granted that with so many millions of people in each state it will be impossible to shake every hand, but even a few hands in each village or town will help build direct communication with that particular community. Each person you touch or speak to will be the medium to transfer the personal interaction to everyone he or she knows thereby putting a human angle to the interaction. It helps to identify the person and that the existence of the normalcy of an individual you have actually interacted with.

There is little expense involved with walking tours as the locals are willing to host you and your entourage. Food and shelter and refreshments are organized with much care and affection by the locals you visit and very likely they will promote your agenda as well once you visit with them. It is also a great way to meet small groups of people and understand their concerns and listen to their issues. Each home visited becomes a great medium to promote personal relationships and further implanting the personal touch to political canvassing.

Walking for long stretches daily keeps a person fit as it is a great form of daily exercise. Most politicians are disciplined and maintain healthy eating and exercise habits. The benefits of walking are often disregarded with the walking tours, and perhaps should be more promoted for their general health benefits. Walking a mile or two daily will help everyone, and perhaps the politicians adopting the walking tours should promote the benefits of regular walking to everyone.

Walking tours are also one of the best possible ways to communicate with small crowds. Large gatherings and rallies do attract massive crowds but keeps the speakers away from personally reaching out to the people. There is no room for personal interaction with a large crowd, and often the large gatherings are in place to hear you speak of your political promotions, rather than personal attention to local issues. Often politicians promise just about everything that locals wish for and people know that it is unlikely that every idea being put forward to the touring politician will not become reality. But we still ask, and they still promise to deliver and we continue with the cycle every season counts votes.

The political yatras will continue with national and regional politicians for time to come or as long as politics are around. Even with the proliferation of television and internet, it is still good to press hands and walk the local roads to communicate directly with the people. Granted that the media coverage will follow you through the walking tours, and they are kept busy with local idioms and festivities. The politicians remain fit with the exercise, and get to taste the local response for a few moments.

Method To The Madness

Vasu Reddy from Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com

As bad as the reputation of political leaders is today, there is some history to where the current crop of politicians in power have been up to and why many of them are in jail. When Nehru was the leader and followed by Lal Bahadur Shastri for a short stint as the Prime Ministers of India, there was no need for them to raise money for canvassing around the country, and be in front of the media 24/7. The leadership of the country relied on principals of democratic India and only had to express their desire to have India continue to be democratic and remove poverty.

Even when Indira Gandhi became prime minister after the death of Lal Bahadur Shastri, the big slogan was Garibi Hatao and removing poverty was the main slogan that people heard on the radio, prior to the days of the advent of television. There was never scandal related to the politicians and squandering national wealth in form of kickbacks. Only when the television and communications have been introduced into the country the money matters have become a staple of the societal owes in India.

To a large degree when BJP first came into power after the emergency rule declared by Mrs. Gandhi, the money matters were still bare budgeted campaigns and did not foster massive kickbacks. Politicians campaigned hard and visited all their constituents and power packed speeches which were long in rhetoric to huge audiences and promised to deliver to the poor almost in every speech. They were all predictable and spoke the language of the central politicians, and people were divided according to their party lines and voting and campaigns were all predictable.

Only when mobile communications and television were introduced across the country and with multiple licensees in the market big money being demanded and changing hands has become a common practice between the politicians and the business aspirants. Somewhere in the time the technology being introduced and common man having the ability to reach out to each other, the greed factor of politicians in demanding massive kickbacks has come into being a common practice. Instead of using the communications to promote the agendas of the political parties the politicians have been blatantly demanding and receiving massive amounts of money to line their pockets.

Tracing the money is fairly simple, and there is no need to expound on the intricacies of how the money is given, taken and sent to international destinations or into massive public investments. Every industry has been subjected to massive demands for money, and this directly impacts the national wealth system. It drives the price of licenses to levels that are impossible to sustain until the people of subjected to the massive greed factor of the politician in charge of making the decision. Real estate, communications, technology and whatsoever is involved with the markets and infrastructure automatically have to add the value of the kickbacks paid in building the networks and infrastructure and automatically adding to the cost of the end user. Every action taken to give out the country’s resources should have been done with obtaining the maximum value for the citizens of the country, but the reverse is being done while lining the pockets of the politicians. The old political slogan of Garibi Hatao would have been absolutely true if the resources were sold at market prices and the money used to meet the needs of the common man. India would not only be the largest democracy on earth, but also the wealthiest democracy on earth. Jai Hind.

Story Telling At Its Best

CBS 60 Minutes commentator Andy Rooney died at the age of 92 on November 5, 2011. He has been on radio and television all of his life and just weeks ago did his commentary on 60 minutes. Many years I watched 60 minutes every Sunday evening and special focus to Andy Rooney’s segment at the end of the hour. He only spoke for a minute or two and picked on everyday subjects to comment or critique on, and always was to the point and even with humor. The humor was dry and to the point but ha always made it look like it is simple and true and to the point.

When I first start watching 60 minutes, I was interested in the human interest of the stories and mainly the interviews with the famous figures in the world. Newsmakers, presidents, prime ministers, business heads, dictators, and men and women who influenced the world in some way or the other, sometimes good and sometimes not so good. Many segments covered Africa and Middle East and Asia, and fascinating detail on the subjects and lands in every segment made you wait until next week for more. During winter season 60 minutes followed Sunday afternoon football, and was just after the coffee time to continue watching television Sunday afternoons after football. I still watch 60 minutes on Sundays when I can and still believe the storytelling is as compelling as it was when I first started watching the show years ago.

While the broadcast was compelling view all the time, Andy Rooney’s end piece of each segment was the most charming story of the broadcast. I mean no disrespect to the rest of the crew who capture great stories and tell them quite well but ending with Andy Rooney’s commentary was the icing on the cake for each of the 60 minutes. He told the story quite well and quite simply, and reached out to the sensibilities of all the viewers.

When Andy Rooney announced his retirement a few weeks ago, I was not surprised as he would have known when to stop broadcasting his weekly commentary. There was no replacement for the segment and now that the gentleman has passed away, there will be no other Andy Rooney to shed perspective on common man’s issues every Sunday. No one else will be able to shed such an insightful light on issues as Andy Rooney did every week. Rest in peace Mr. Rooney, and god bless you.

Amitabh Bachchan

Amitabh Bachchan without a doubt is an actor and individual is a true superstar. He is always well mannered, unabated by the personality and fame and every word well chosen in speech and in writing. He has taken to the web lately and frequently shares his daily life with his millions of fans across the world. His taking the time to update his millions of fans on a regular basis is very commendable and brings him closer to his followers and fans. Every update is as elegant and well versed as all things he does. Just recently the Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray wrote in his column that Amitabh should be awarded the Bharath Ratna, which is the highest civilian award by the Indian government. No small recommendation from the chief of Shiv Sena, which can be echoed by millions of others across India on the well deserved commendation to the gentleman and superstar.

For decades his movies provided great action, great dialogues and great performances by all actors who worked along with Mr. Bachchan. Such was his screen persona, all his movies were great entertainers with style and substance along with great screen play and dialogues and song and dance included. Its likely that I may not mention every great movie of his, but Anand, Zangeer, Deewar, Sholay, Trisul, Mukkadar ka Sikandar, Sisila, Majboor, Chupke Chupke, Amar Akbar Anthony, Kabhi Kabhi, Lawaris, Don, Coolie, Dostana, Sharabi, Hum, Kudha Gawa, Cheeni Kum, Mohabatten and many more that have and will continue to enthrall the audiences across the decades of work he has done, and continue to do on the silver screen. His foray into television with Kaun Banega Crorepati is also legendary and continues to draw millions to see him in whatever medium he is willing to take on.

His ability to act out any character is well documented and requires no further dialogue that has not been already delivered. His tone and sometimes song has been enthralling audiences for decades and he seem to reinvent him self every single time he needed to present a different phase of his career and never running out of newness and fresh performances. From a tall and lanky young man to a dignified gentleman to a great looking 69, Amitji has continues to keep us glued to the big and small screen, all the while being a great dad and husband.

When I read about Mr. Thackeray voicing his opinion about Amitji should receive the Bharth Ratna, I felt what better weekly opinion piece that writing about my favorite Indian actor of all time. I still remember my younger brother, many of my friends and myself wearing big bell bottom pants with short shirts and long hair and trying to look cool with the styles of Amitji in those days. Everyone was cool, and looked cool with nice and dapper clothes modeled after the big man. Those were the days of abandon and carelessness outside of school or college trying to imitate the superstar. He still is very stylish and dapper and he is still and icon for today's generation. With his own inimitable style he carries an aura of a great personality with ease and dignity. He deserves the highest civilian award from the Indian government and any other citation or award that can be awarded to any achiever of his stature.

I hope Amtji will continue to entertain us for a long time to come, and he never retires. His body of work both on screen and off will always be in the highest form of entertainment for generations to come as it has been for last several decades. Here is wishing him well and a long and successful life and career moving forward.

Unexpected Benefits from 3 G Delay

Vasu Reddy from Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com

The continued delay in auctioning 3 G spectrum has not slowed the mobile subscriber growth in India. The month to month growth rates are amazingly stable and remain robust. By observing the debates on policy, planning, finance, legal and general issues of 3 G licenses, and in an environment that finds ways to delay any policy decisions, it is quite likely there will be a further delay in the auctions. We have newer reason today than we had a few weeks ago, or for last several months and years.

Subscriber growth rates being constant simply shows that the existing operators with the already allocated spectrum have enough capacity to maintain the robust growth, and the delay in 3 G is not causing any reduction in loading new mobile subscribers. It’s quite a valid observation as to the value of the existing networks having the ability to continue with the growth in user base.

By assuming that at least 2 new entrants will come into the foray with 3 G licenses, the already operating dozen or so networks in each region will only get more competition for the same subscribers. The delays pretty much limit the growth of operators in the short run, and might also allow for some consolidation in the market place. There is no doubt that we don’t need a dozen operators in each market. Consolidation will further improve coverage, network quality along with better usage of spectrum. All of them benefits to the customer, DOT and also the markets.

MTNL and BSNL have had 3 G airwaves for about a year now, and have not made any headway in loading up 3 G subscribers. Accept making noises of 3 G services both these operators have not benefitted by having the spectrum. Its time to look at why MTNL and BSNL are not attracting 3 G customers, if there is such a huge demand for the services? While the policy and other issues are being sorted out by the powers in Delhi, the failure to lure 3 G customers by MTNL and BSNL can be understood to develop the appropriate business and engineering plans to develop the 3 G customer acceptance. There is a perhaps simple reason such as services, value addition, cost, handsets, coverage, speed and the entire regular attributes that a particular customer expects to purchase the service, and may be at this time they do not exist in the Indian market, or the customer simply is not ready to upgrade to the next generation mobile services.

MTNL and BSNL can use the time left as 3 G monopolies to shore up their advantages to develop best practices and solutions to attract customers, and with the already established network and perhaps another year of monopoly in the 3 G arena, they can makeup for the losses in the 2 G and fixed line networks. The government should allow them to act quickly and decisively with 3 G planning and execution (unlike the decision making with 2 G sourcing which is at the speed of a snail) to capture the first in market advantages that certainly exist in the Indian mobile market.

MTNL and BSNL also will not have to pay the 3 G spectrum fees until such time the government. This certainly helps in keeping the cash with them and utilizing the resources for another year or so. This helps them with the balance sheet and also leverage for some more time.

The delays are unwarranted and purely because of poor planning, and too much tinkering by the policy makers. As of now, the proposed auctions have so many difficulties and issues, it may be best to just scrap the whole exercise and start fresh. The unexpected (perceived) benefits do not support the delay in 3 G auctions and launching these services. Albeit it illogical not to take immediate action on 3 G (while the rest of the developed markets might be looking at 4 G and beyond), there is some truth to the benefits of the delays to the existing networks, which have yet to recover costs of deployment.

Finding Common Ground

Vasu Reddy from Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com

Telugu people have more than just their language as common ground. We are for centuries have had our language, heritage, literature, culture, traditions, food, education, people and progress together, while we shared the misery, poverty, backwardness, poor politics and wasted opportunities together, while the past few years have shown progress of the cities and certain aspects of the population in isolation.

The last two months have derailed probably a couple of decades of progress in employment, education and progressive investment climate. No one benefits in an environment where the Universities are used for political activism, and shutdowns are called on by the most insignificant politicians. People have to live with the fear of being persecuted for just going to work or school and normal citizens will not risk it.

The state had tremendous respect in the central government just a few months ago with a chief minister who did things his own way, and delivered every potential populist promise to the people of the state. With the death of YSR there is no leader that can rein in the warring political factions even within the same political parties.

People of the state have lost billions in opportunities, and the current crop of students will lose a year of their life to this unmanageable crisis to the state. It might be fun to miss school for a few days and skip exams this semester, but it can never be made up in a life time. Lost time and opportunity for every student will never be returned. Parents and families toil very hard to pay for the kids to go to schools and colleges will be burdened to do this again and have to pay twice for the same. Outside of the loss of time and money, the students are exposed to the violence that comes with the political instability which will stay with them for a life time. No one wins, and we are given a common ground for all to lose, and just lose with this agitation.

Unfortunately it is too late to save the kids or educational institutions. We have them pawned by politicians who have chosen them as sacrificial lambs in a political agitation. There is no agenda for any regional aspirations and there will never be one as the development of entire country will simply destroy the traditional political equations. When people are self sufficient and law abiding, politics will find common ground to cater to the public to stay in power, but we must first get to that stage where the kids will be throwing away a year of their education and parents helpless in doing anything to stop it.

Spectrum Sharing

Vasu Reddy from Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com

Another year and another month are up on us, and the growth of Indian telecom users continues unabated. The delays with 3 G licensing continue, as they continue to get postponed. The political issues between telecommunications and armed forces continue and many meetings have been organized without any definitive outcome. The CDMA and GSM operators continue to have their differences and no end in sight for a unified telecom forum. MTNL and BSNL are enjoying the 3 G spectrum but have nothing to show for the usage, as no user base to show for the expensive and limited resource granted to them, and they continue to lose market share to private operators. On the global front countries are launching 4 G networks, while India grapples with 2 G technology issues and 3 G auctions, which have been forthcoming for at least 3 years.

The good news about the whole charade is that the users don’t seem to care about the politics of spectrum and technology. They continue to grow in numbers and benefit from the ability to communicate. Perhaps the shareholders of the networks may have had some settling down in the returns, while the price per minute is continuing to be pleasantly appealing to the users.

The quality of service remains good with the networks and normal issues of crowding in the major markets is not yet an inhibitor to users. With 100% plus penetration in some major markets the services are stable with minimal disruptions to users.

There are a dozen or so operators in each circle and even if we don’t add new operators, there will no limiting the services offerings. Perhaps it is time for some radical thinking to manage the available spectrum, while allowing industry consolidation and new investments.

India has the engineering abilities to be ingenious in maximizing the utility of the available spectrum, while catering to the needs of mobile subscribers. For instance two scenarios can be contemplated as the continued delay in 3 G will only make the networks obsolete before they are launched.

(There is absolutely no scientific or engineering proof of what is being suggested, but it is not incomprehensive to imagine the scenarios for India)

Firstly, BSNL and MTNL already have the 3 G spectrum nationwide, and quickly construct the network. They can lease per user based space to all network to have their own registered 3 G subscribers to have the utility of a nationwide network, and come-up with a revenue sharing scheme similar to paying roaming costs to each other. All the operators can immediately start selling the services and retain their own user base, while offering the high speed wireless services. With the poor customer relationship effects of BSNL and MTNL, this may be a hard sell but if the pressure of private networks is added to the management of government controlled networks, there is bound to be some improvement in the areas of customer service. In reality the government networks are built quiet well and have good quality of service. This will immediately start to provide much needed 3 G services to private network operators, while eliminating the entry cost of the spectrum, and also eliminates the uncertainty of winning a block of spectrum.

Secondly, if there is resistance to BSNL and MTNL names, then scrap all the existing 3 G licenses and create one pan India network co-owned by all players who are interested in being a part of the consortium. Essentially the government creates a block of spectrum that is frozen (for example 50 MHZ total to all 3 G services) and all interested companies can pay an initial fee and join the consortium. Each operator identifies their own subscribers and the services are common to all users. In India this can be a socialistic network run by a consortium of people and a majority of the shares can be held by the market and disallow a single person or family to control the network. Limiting the maximum ownership to 5% to any one party can bring some sensibility to decision making and the government itself can be a stakeholder by providing spectrum for its share of the 5% stake. All players can provide towers and have technology decision made by majority. It will not be difficult o organize in a country that is run by coalition governments, but will be a novel concept of public-private enterprise with a common network while different networks owning their own subscribers in 3 G space. Long behold if this works, there will be uniform pricing and little room for subscriber churn in 3 G as there will be no reason to move to another network because of quality of service or service offerings.

Revenues to DOT and to the operators are still generated by the current mechanism, and there will be no impact on alternative spectrum sharing scenarios. It can be a huge 30 MHZ shared network in either scenario, which will be able to meet the demands of both the users and operators, and will have enough capacity to deliver the promise of high speed wireless.

Trying something radical and out of the box will solve many issues for Indian telecom market. The Indian market has the size and strength to have manufacturers devise efficiencies to deliver better services to its users. As outrageous as it sounds there is some merit to a massive shared network with all operators as stakeholders and all users are beneficiaries.

Leadership Vacuum

Vasu Reddy from Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com

Amazingly the state that contributed the most number of MPs to UPA government in 2009 and bringing Congress to power in the center for the second consecutive term seems to get no respect to dealing with the crisis situation with separation activity and destruction of wealth.

The death of YSR last year seem to have brought terrible lack of leadership, experience and intelligence to handle the complex state of affairs Andhra Pradesh seem to have fallen into today. With in weeks of the death of the leader of the state, the affairs seem to out of control and illogical for a common man to appreciate of understand why the state has fallen into such terrible predicament.

The current chaos is not a upraising in general public which was disenchanted with the administration or general living conditions. The state was seemingly doing quite well until Dr. Reddy’s untimely death, and all of a sudden fall into the crisis of every possible situation with natural disasters, political ineptitude, financial difficulties, unresponsive central administration and generally leaderless situation. A bunch of failed politicians and opportunistic voicing of opinions and disastrous reading of the state crisis by the central administration further complicated the December 2009 for the people of Andhra Pradesh.

Not a single policy or political statement has come out to handle the current crisis which has destabilized the state, curtailed the educational process, inhibiting the development process, created political inaction. All we hear is crappy language from people who really had no political stature prior to Dr. Reddy’s death. All of a sudden people are suffering the idiosyncrasies of every elected politician, who all of a sudden seem to have found a voice to blabber utterly idiotic words aimed at each other and nothing to stop the destruction of property in the State. No politician had died and they have successfully faked fast unto death schemes.

The central government has no handle on the sentiments of the people, and continues to dilly dally about the pronouncements of the politicians. If the politicians don’t represent the interest of the people in the assembly and work to improve the possibility of really representing the needs of the electorate, they should dissolve the entire assembly and appropriate measures should be taken to first install representatives who will stop personal abuse and present people’s issues.

There have been many issues that have been many divisions of states, and sometimes combining of territories in India. There is no reason for Telugu people to suffer such inept political process. Our people should reject the violence and admonish the people who are instigating the destruction. People should stop listening to illogical statements and pronouncements from failed politicians. The public should live normal life and stop miscreants from destroying property, and continued inconveniencing of life by the political parties.

Telugu people living across the world have the abilities, resources and wisdom to resolve their issues peacefully. We must strive to choose proper representatives that will bring the current chaos to a halt and successful process of meeting all Telugu peoples needs; both short and long term. We should reject the politics of destruction of our systems and life.

YSR may have had his own style of functioning, but certainly kept all political parties and people to work with each other, while engaging the central government to listen to the state’s issues. We should seek leadership, or provide leadership to enhance the value systems of Telugu people, and not be held hostage to the failed politician’s survival tactics.

Look for true solutions to erase the poverty, improve basic infrastructure, commonsense, education, jobs and right set of political infrastructure. When we do the right things to improve our state, division or together, will be a successful process.

Self Destruction

Vasu Reddy from Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com

The value of our common language and statehood seem to go into hibernation when politicians hack into the fabric of Andhra Pradesh in the name of individual district or regional rights. Andhra Pradesh has fostered a well positioned growth over the last 15 years or so, and continues to develop into one of the foremost investment destinations in India.

The last 4 elected governments 2 with YSR, and 2 before that with CBN, did quite well for the City of Hyderabad first, and then with YSR for the state. The untimely death of YSR, has really brought out the worst in the political parties, and in just a couple of months, the state has been thrown into chaos.

There is no easy solution to dividing the state, and its people. For decades they are one fabric. Albeit identified as 3 major regions in the state, they are one people and one language, bonded together with culture, tradition, customs, marriage, settlements and work, along with the capital city.

There is no reason for destruction of property; both public and private, and killings. No politician has died in this politically driven idea of separation. Each of the three regions of the state has their own gripes, and justification for agitation to bring more state and central resources.

A student destroying public and private property is simply no way to gain self sustaining states. The drama of politicians pretending to fast on to death is simply a drama, and not reality. The same politician had many years to demonstrate the will to negotiate the demands of the region, but failed with each successive year, and has minimal electorate support before resorting to a fast unto death, which did not last for 2 days, while enticing the public to start self molestation and destruction. There is absolutely no reason to support the movement as a political movement, but if real can be a student led process to demonstrate and establish credibility for separation of regions of the state, with proper commercial and regulated division, without discounting all the realities of separation.

We are poor and middle-class with a sprinkling of rich people in the state and country, and with all politicians cunning and scheming to be in power, and in press and make hay. In the democratic India we should respect the sensitivity of our fellow citizens and not politicians. By destroying property of our own we simply pave way for poorer infrastructure, and not a better state, be it a divided or together Andhra Pradesh.

Children, women, students, workers and everyone lost valuable resources for the past few days while there is shutdown and destruction. With each day lost in school no student will benefit, and with each day lost at work the state and its people lose. Go back to school and work, and don’t destroy the infrastructure and other people’s property. If there is legitimate demand for separation, elect politicians that will peacefully and purposefully achieve the separation, and all with keeping the best interest of the people at heart, and not politics.

Oblivious To Scandal

Vasu Reddy from Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com

You don’t need much to make a mess out of a good thing. As the old saying goes one bad apple spoils the whole bushel. The glory of surpassing the 500 million connections was superseded by the allegations of the largest telecom scam that ever suspected in the telecom world. While the delays in 3 G spectrum negotiations continue between the military and DOT, a new date has been announced along with a new fee structure.

The telecom minister seems unperturbed with alleged scam that totals a loss of 20,000 to 60,000 to Indian coffers. When the CBI raided the telecom ministry and DOT, followed by a number of locations across the country, there was no surprise element to the public. For several years there was suspicion of wrongdoing, specially supported by the new licensees generating exorbitant valuations, and actually getting paid for it from foreign telecom companies. These multiples (in billions of dollars) were generated without a network or subscribers. This doesn’t happen often with any industry especially with telecom. The opportunity for multiple transactions in billions of profits to the license holders was simply afforded because of the way the licenses were awarded, and at the cost at which they were purchased. If you value the license today, the losses (already extraordinary) will be humongous. Even the foreign telecoms that paid a huge premium (just for the license, without the network or customers) have already gained in value and should be quite happy with the price they paid for purchasing stakes into the licenses awarded at dirt cheap prices. They won’t be at risk of losing the licenses as they are not a party to the alleged scandal as they paid a premium on a cheap license. If properly valued much of these companies might never have been in a position to participate, and if they did they would have paid full price for what they purchased.

Arbitrary decision my the minister to change the dates for accepting the applications, processing them at will with no regard to the work that went into applying for the license, and then getting thrown out without cause was further fuel to suspicion of scandal. It is highly unlikely that any other country would have even envisioned such decision making.

Hording of spectrum by the early leaders might have prompted them to remain quiet when the spectrum was given away at prices that were set at least 6 years ago. You don’t hear any word of objection from the telecom operators now, or when the licenses were given away at cheap prices. The operators, manufacturers, support infrastructure, business and industry leaders and everyone else who was involved with the telecom industry did not protest this, except the few who were arbitrarily rejected with a cut off date that was changed to meet the convenience of the minister, or his department and no reasons for such decision.

The government continues to support the telecom minister and will continue to do so due to political issues that will crop up if they take a stance against him. The very fact that he is still in his job is extraordinary. In such sensitive position dealing with global telecom issues, and with CBI raiding his offices should have prompted him to get out. But it seems he and the sitting government is oblivious to scandal and don’t seem to care about at least showing serious intent to get to the bottom of this.

The irony is that the minister was reappointed after new elections, under a cloud of suspicion. The center could have acted wisely to appoint someone else when the cabinet was being reshuffled and reappointed. There could have been saving grace if there was a probe after the minister was no longer in charge of telecom, and the sleuths could have had an easier time with access to information on the scandal.

Such extra ordinary money can not just disappear and the very fact that CBI raided and garnered enough information to continue the investigation lends credence to the allegations. Telecom minister being a member of the sitting government and claiming to have followed the law and guidelines set for awarding the license and the senior leaders supporting his innocence to any irregularities that have scandalized his department while continuing CBI probe lends one to believe things are not kosher with what was suspicious activity to begin with.

There is a problem with what happened and perhaps the public will never realize the magnitude of the losses to the center. Each of the spectrum related sale opportunity is a blessing to any government, and India squandered one of the greatest assets it had with this particular opportunity. While the general public suffers and government borrows money to support programs, such a large amount money disappearing is truly scandalous. Even if no one benefitted personally, this is a case and point that should never happen, and allowing it to happen is a disgrace. And now that CBI is investigating a minister and his department while they are the ruling government, and the minister and the government claiming innocence is a further disgrace to commonsense. Be it with intent or without, such national loss should be accounted for with appropriate action and should be made sure that it never happens.

November 7th 2009
Vasu Reddy
President
Optus Technologies, Inc.

Planning For Global Expansion

Vasu Reddy from Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com

Three times it happened with the same company, twice by Bharti and once by Reliance Communications. Trying to merge with MTN of South Africa in the last year by the biggest telecom companies in India came up with nothing. It is interesting to note Bharti did this twice, despite their fantastic organizational setup. If we do acknowledge that Reliance failing to close the MTN tie-up has something to do with the big brother syndrome, it is surprising that Bharti will do it twice with the same result.

There could be a slew of reasons for the failure in negotiations, including respective laws, regulations, unions, shareholder issues, accounting, markets, and whatever else imaginable. But trying to do it 3 times in a year is a bit too much. MTN offers a nice relationship to the Indian telecoms with its own emerging markets to add to India’s own aggressive expansion of its mobile markets. But it really is not the only available opportunity.

When the negotiations fail the blame goes to the local laws of the negotiating countries. It is appalling to believe that the management teams ignored these laws when they contemplate the mergers. If they ignored the complexity of laws prior to beginning negotiations, the management teams simply failed to appreciate the real issue of compliance.

India’s own policies have never been too inviting and still have a lot to be desired by the global markets. But, so is every other market. Each country has its own set of complications that come with the inviting nature of the market. Seldom have the international market’s desire to expand and the individual country’s laws matched, rather the business development teams make the path to expansion with understanding, persistence and effort. Simply desiring to patch vast networks without clear guidance from the possibility will be Alexandrian in effort and individual companies may not have the sustainability to successfully expand their networks.

Just focus on emerging markets is not a visionary option. Public companies want to deliver shareholder value, and not just numbers. Western markets and already saturated markets deliver much higher yield then emerging markets. The expansion models to simply focus on emerging markets also comes with complexity of local laws, market inhibitions and currency and other economic conditions that are not commonplace with the western markets. The rules of engagement are published and no hidden agendas crop-up at the last minute to derail the negotiations. When the rest of the global telecoms are participating in India, the Indian telecoms should make attempts at the same. Why not go after stakes in ATT or BT. Is it the difficulty of negotiating with these companies or it is the complexity of upgrading the vision to a global vision from an emerging markets vision?

Standing up to what is right for the shareholders is the fundamental management principle. It is sort of convoluted in Indian companies as Individuals have fairly large stakes to drive the rest of the shareholders to accept their individual philosophies, rather then what is good for the shareholders. It is not to question the leadership qualities and organizational abilities of these individual leaders. The big Indian telecoms are fostered within the Indian regulations and politics, and all of them have been successful within the boundaries of India. For these companies to become global, they must learn the path of their partners who have successfully acquired stakes in Indian Telecom companies, and manage them well. If the Indian Telecoms are to become global, they need to acquire the skills of their partners who successfully operate in India, and start to acquire stakes in their respective markets and manage them with success.

One of the most interesting aspects of the failure to merge MTN with the Indian Telecom companies is that there is no perspective on why it failed. Typically in such a failure even once would have a complete analysis published for the world to learn on what exactly went wrong, and for the next time aspirants to be cognizant of what not to do. When we fail three times, and still don’t have a detailed analysis of what went wrong, this is probably the forbidden zone. The analysts who cover Bharti, Reliance and MTN should publish detailed analysis of why these mergers never materialized. The shareholders and global telecom markets deserve a detailed analysis on these misconstrued mergers.

It will be wonderful to see the Indian telecoms do what ATT, BT, Singapore Telecom, Vodaphone, Verizon and other global players do. Go after all markets that offer shareholder value along with expansion. There is no reason to just focus on emerging markets, rather focus on growth and expansion. One great strength India has its own NRI population, global reliance on its BPO and maintenance services and India’s software and support services. Going after the big fish is as opportunistic as just chasing emerging markets. It will be nice to see the Indians acquire stakes in ATT or BT.

October 18th 2009
Vasu Reddy
President
Optus Technologies, Inc.

3 G Opportunity

Vasu Reddy from Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com

BSNL and MTNL have a great opportunity on hand with 3 G network rollout. Because of their government backing and ownership they have natural advantages that can be immediately translated into huge payoff for both the companies themselves and the government of India.

Although the license fees that can be expected by the government can be in several billions for 3 G auctions, there is an immediate opportunity for both the government to realize the market based opportunity with 3 G networks. A little bit of imagination and a little bit of planning can bring enormous returns along with larger customer base with very high value customers to these networks.

The government owned networks have huge cash reserves and the government itself as the checkbook for never worrying about the network deployment. The is enough capital available for these network to fully rollout the 3 G network and make the highest value services available immediately. When money is not a concern, there is no reason to delay the deployment, and we can list out the multiple benefits that will come with planned 3 G rollout for MTNL and BSNL.

For various reasons the government has delayed auctions 3 G auctions for a number of years, and the past weeks news story claims that the military that holds the spectrum has objections to release the spectrum, which will invariably delay the plan for actually moving forward with the auctions. BSNL and MTNL already with spectrum on hand can move rapidly to deploy the network and the services. They are at least a year or more ahead of the other players with 3 G strategies and specially the available capital makes it a natural monopoly for some time to come.

The market competiveness comes with is deploying network and make services available to the demanding customers. This is a special case of natural monopoly for BSNL and MTNL, as to the delay in the auction is not monopoly by policy but by circumstance. Even a 2 year advantage is a crucial advantage that can be fully exploited to fullest advantage to these two companies.

Government can extend multiple options to customers to entice them to begin using BSNL and MTNL. Imagine the subscribers that are government employees both state and local, politicians that can make a statement by using government owned networks, contractors and other suppliers to both government and the networks themselves, and everyone that can be enticed with great service and uncluttered network.

Some of the largest networks in USA are experiencing quality issues because of the network rollout has been much slower then customer acceptance of the service. Global giants such as ATT have been learning the hard way that having an accepting customer is not good enough when the network will not support the technology that is sold to the customer, and the advances in user needs can only be met with network deployment. Network expansion or upgrades is not an issue for the government owned networks, and they can demonstrate this today. They don’t have the quality issues that the private carriers in India already have (without 3 G) and stressing the quality aspect is not necessary to demonstrate as customers will know this instantly. With number portability the unhappy customers from other networks can migrate without much fuss, and cost. The high value customers are clustered in the metros and for them to switch services or adapt to 3 G is simply a matter of the service being available. If you add the incentives of quality, support, availability and immediate access, then BSNL and MTNL can turn these lethargic and bureaucratic businesses into global leaders.

There is no problem of customer readiness with the Indian Telecom market. It is the greatest opportunity despite a 40% penetration. The high end usage that comes with 3 G networks has a pent-up demand and when introduced to market will satisfy the customers in waiting.

BSNL and MTNL have always had good quality networks compared to the congested private networks. The congestion is a function of the growth and acceptance of the mobile services, and the private networks have not been able to cope with the great demand for expansion. Private networks have to meet the demands of the shareholders along with the network expansion needs and the government owned networks have no such compulsion. This is a time for BSNL and MTNL by changing their existing market perception of not too keen on providing customer service to great customer service organizations by treating a customer as customer, along with providing state of the art services.

The opportunity in telecom market expansion and market valuation is enormous. By taking advantage of the natural monopoly that has been afforded to BSNL and MTNL, along with a little bit of planning will bring huge rewards to government of India, while providing to the immediate needs of the customer. Its funny how is made out of simple tweet comments by a minister of state, but imagine if the same political machine puts it mind to taking advantage of the available market conditions to bring great benefits to the coffers of the government without major policy or political mechanics. The finance ministry can be smiling all the way to the bank for many years to come.

September 20th 2009
Vasu Reddy
President
Optus Technologies, Inc.

The Importance of Expansion

Vasu Reddy from Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com

The last couple of years have been quite speculative for the Indian Telecommunications companies going global. Special references can be made to South Africa’s MTN and Bharti and Reliance trying to merge and create a top 5 global telecom company. The current due diligence and negotiations between Bharti and MTN are their second round in 2 years and still continuing, while Reliance’s tryst with MTN last year ended partially because Reliance’s family matters made it a spectacle in the press, and might have derailed the proposed merger.

India and its regulators and the government should encourage and become conducive to expansion of Indian telecoms into the global networks. Helping with changes with favorable laws and financial processes will bring the expansion plans to reality quickly, and lead to continued growth in telephone density.

Global acquisitions will bring global market understanding into the already robust growth in India’s own internal growth. Every country adapts to its own needs and looks at becoming a market leader in its own space. When you combine two or more market leaders the osmosis of better practices will flow within the merged entities and help in further understanding the market dynamics, and providing benchmarks for learning from each other’s successes.

Management expertise is a definite benefit from any major global merger. It might create tensions in the board room and at the CEO level, but certainly could bring multiple country expertise to middle level management and operations. Cultural and traditional intolerances and biases disappear when teams are merged together and work together.

India already receives about 5 times incoming calls compared to outgoing calls from the country. A mega merger with any international telecom will create an opportunity for greater share of the international long distance revenues with both incoming and outgoing traffic. The operators can start to benefit from both ends of the origination and termination traffic, and also save on costs they might be potentially paying to hand-off calls to others. Another added benefit could be any preferential agreements both the merging partners might have in place can come in handy for the merged network.

India has one of the lowest average revenue per user, and it will continue to be so due to the economic structure of the country. Most nations have a much higher ARPU, and any merger will immediately inflate the overall networks ARPU. A combination of additional revenue opportunities with roaming within the merged network, international long distance, cost savings with the network management and maintenance, services, product purchases, new product introduction and a slew of day to day activities, will certainly enhance the value for shareholders. Economic expansion into off-shoot of telecommunications with call centers, bandwidth management, tower construction and management, accounting and engineering are all aspects of the business that will benefit from huge mergers.

Indian currency today is much easier to convert to other currencies and back compared to previous decades but still is not a freely convertible currency. When we have a vast network of phone companies together and operating in multiple countries, trade and other practices will allow for better currency moderation, and brining the Indian Rupee to a fully convertible status. By no means a single telecom merger with another may not transpire the currency into a convertible status, but certainly will help. It is not just the moment of traffic, combining the network but also combines multiple trade opportunities along with the merger of networks, which in itself helps to further Indian economy into global center stage.

India itself has allowed massive investments into its telecom space from global players and investors and has benefitted greatly with the influx of expertise. Telecom India is one of the three largest providers of employment, taxes and economic output. Time is now for our telecom biggies to acquire or merge with other majors in the world to manage global networks, and start to behave like global managers.

Its one world we live in and it can be integrated with large expansion and acquisitions models and serve greater good than just a profit motive of the shareholders of two or more companies. Cultural, racial and economic barriers can be overcome by properly implemented mega mergers. The global carriers such as Vodaphone and Hutchison have successfully managed global networks while creating great wealth for its shareholders. Aspiring that the Indian telecom companies will achieve such success along with human relationships is not asking too much, rather a simple next step.

August 15th 2009
Vasu Reddy
President
Optus Technologies, Inc.

Familiarity Breeds Actors

Vasu Reddy from Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com


In the almost eighty year history of cinema we have cultivated the habit of watching performances from familiar names, especially form male actors. The great names of Akkineni and Nandamuri and Krishna, Shobhan Babu were weekly providers of melodrama and happiness to millions of fans. When these veterans stopped (except Krishna) Chiranjeevi and others entered entertainment scene and have continued to supply us with entertainment. Now we have a host of actors who come into our screens due to their lineage. Cinema continues to be a major pastime for our people even in this age of internet and television, and multiple other newly acquired entertainment venues.

The control of production and distribution channels plays a major role in bringing a movie to the market. Some of the new actors have advantages of their family name which other newcomers don’t have which certainly removes the barriers to entry for a movie hero, irrespective of their talent. The big budget produces and studios have their own homes to look for next generation of actors, and typically fund projects to promote their own kin. With the financial risk that represents each movie it is probably looked as safe to bet on their previous glory and their own family is a better hedge then investing big money into new and unknown talent?

There is no denying the fact that new actors and unfamiliar faces are sometimes successful in the movie business. But the big names dominate the print and media when they deliver even moderate success. The hype surrounding entry of a son or grandson or a nephew of a recognized name creates hysteria within the media channels, which clamor for every detail of the entrants abilities and often compared to their father’s or uncles who have a life time of achievement. Often times the new comers talent is rarely questioned due to the predecessor’s successful career and the clout of their fan base. Sometimes even before the scion’s first movie release, they are given huge titles that represent their father’s work and promoted with huge fanfare for a startup aspirant.

The dominance with access to exhibiting facilities determines the screens needed for successful collections. The new multiplexes also pay a role in bringing crowds to watch movies. The established actors and their producers control majority of good theaters in the state and with their families churning out actors who automatically get great exhibition for their movies.

The automatic preference of media and publicity to the known names is understandable due to the continued presence of the father’s in the limelight and sons and nephews coming into acting. The media’s following of the generations of actors continue to the newer generation, and the newness and inexperience of the actors is bestowed on the fans with the generational greatness. It is simple to ask people to carry the burden of legacy in both films and politics. People embrace familiar names without prejudice and support the new generation.

The name recognition of the master’s is automatic, and draws great numbers to expect the same magic that was produced in 100’s of movies. The past generation of actors performed in multiple movies at a time, and still maintained absolute magic on the audiences. There are instances when actors had a new movie out every month and still each of these movies attracted audiences. The numerous fan associations of each actor rejoiced every movie and mannerisms of their idol each and every time. One hundred day screening of a movie was a normal celebration and it was expected with each movie the hero acted in. The more movies every year from the hero the more we wanted.

The adoration we have for the legends of cinema is passed on to the new entrants with old names. As we keep our family tree in sacred regard, so goes the fans response to their hero’s progeny, and expectations of continued brilliance on screen. With today’s continuous coverage it is not impossible to keep these new generations scion visible and constantly promoted.

The need for entertainment outweighs the quality of the product. We hope the new generation of actors will perform to standards set by the legends of our cinema, and will continue to wish for the golden days of our cinema. With new breed of directors, wonderful foreign locals, graphics and a host of technology advancements and musical advancements, and should provide reasonable support structure to deliver quality entertainment. After a few attempts the new actors will have to deliver on their own irrespective of the name they carry with them. With the choices of projects and growing numbers with familiar names, it will be the rule to perform or perish. While the historical performances of the seniors is often remembered and cherished, there is a long time to come before the new entrants can be placed in the same pedestal that their fathers occupy. For the sake of entertainment and happiness, it is wonderful to keep hearing the same names, while wishing for the same quality of entertainment.

Associations

Vasu Reddy from Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com


A group of people with common ideas or aspirations form associations. We have 100’s or 1000’s of associations of Indian origin in the USA, and all of them successfully funded by the associates. We have several decades of history with Indian associations in the USA and most of the older ones have been quite purposeful in their activities.

As it happens with most successful enterprises each of our historical associations have helped fund temples, medical and educational organizations and multitude of wonderful non-for-profit enterprises with generosity and genuine goodness.

The bigger associations also have annual or semi-annual gatherings on a very grand scale that showcases the wealth factor of the NRI community, and draw thousands of like minded families to be together for a few days. They spend vast amount of resources for collective show of camaraderie of their associations, and make these gathering very successful in size and showmanship. As the years go by they have become more then just gatherings of like minded people, and have drawn large scale business, religion, literature, entertainment, food, social and time pass activities, marriages, dating and meeting and political connotations to the gatherings.

I for one enjoy the entertainment and food at these events. They are at most times fantastic in their appeal and cost is included in the ticket pricing. They are great value to the event goers. These shows also bring a lot of comedy and humor and the audience genuinely seem to be involved and entertained. The audience doesn’t really worry too much about the stature of the person entertaining them, but enjoy what is presented to them. Even the local singers and dancers who perform in any of these shows along with local associations are appreciated for their performances. It is great fun to see someone sing or dance or do a skit in your own language while you watch with thousand odd folks you associate with.

These gatherings are also great occasions to be with relatives and friends for a couple of days and relish the entertainment and food, along with the company of near and dear ones. A lot of people are from same town, same college and same caste and same sects, along with many similar affiliations which bring them together and bind them together. This is a natural way of life for Indians and people of our state. It’s nice to be with your own folks, and it is historically natural behavior.

Many of the original associations have become enormous in size and have split into multiple associations further identifying either ideological perspective or intergroup associations based on people’s preferences of who they would like to be with. There is nothing extraordinary about this type of separation when people of various perspective identifying with only a part of the larger association and define their own associates. It a natural behavioral progression of people in our society to group with their own kind as it satisfies personal and ideological tendencies that are a part of our make.

When separation happens it is difficult to the associates as they are being segregated from their long term likings and relationships. Their new association is desirable due to the choices they have made, and the old associates become distant in communication and perspective. Natural disagreements while separating become issues of debate and start to create community tensions. Each one of us have at least a few family members and friends and when we gather with them it is 100% agreement on that the other group is the one at fault for whatever they have done to cause the commotion. Once the groups of people start to justify what they are doing is correct, it becomes difficult to see the point of view of the other group of people they just separated from.

With each of the newly created associations we are simply reiterating the principals of what we did with the original associations; their principals and traditions, the values of our people, food and entertainment and above all our oneness. We form new associations and restate our commitment to our people, culture, traditions and working for social causes. We redraft the articles of association; we develop new literature and new communications for a smaller group of people. As travel is cheap, availability of celebrities and politicians abundant and disposable income to pay for the extravagances, it is simple to put together an event for a few thousand people.

Only the negatives of the splits with each community are given prominence in discussions and coverage, and nothing notable gets publicized on accomplishments of the associates. The greater good of big and small associations gets very small print and the differences a great deal of mileage. The people who come as guests from India be it political or other leaders have no sense of the way of life outside of India and will make utterances that are for their Indian audiences, which cause emotional responses from the local folks who paid for witnessing these inappropriate utterances, and fuel the feelings of decent and normally well behaved citizens who are leaders in their community and businesses.

We like having people from India come and speak to us and entertain us in the USA, and they like to speak to us as they are doing to the public in India. It is ironic that no specific and organized effort from the state or central government in India offers benefits to the causes of NRI. We have no offices that can handle the death, unemployment, resettlement and facilities that are without difficulties beyond comprehension, and yet we feel that a single unplanned discussion with personal comments with a visiting politician or entertainer should be given our personal support. Any outburst to such comments is an emotional reaction to the moment when we are in a large group of people rather then our normal daily behavior. We live here and have lived here for a long time and with our own community of people and prospered away from politics and personal prejudices of the current crop of people who come to see us and speak to us. We will sometimes get emotional when we hear inappropriate words from a stranger who might be making self-preserving comments. This should not be a cause for alarm as when we walk out such gatherings we will go back to being civil and professional, and live normal NRI lives worrying about our life and living and families and friends.

The associations we have today will continue to multiple and will continue to foster as long as the associates are willing to fund the activities and entertainers. All for being together with our own people and for a few days every year be in a gathering that is paid for by our checkbooks and with each year become grander in scale, and when they get large enough split into new associations. God bless all of them as they belong to us.

Associations

Vasu Reddy from Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com


A group of people with common ideas or aspirations form associations. We have 100’s or 1000’s of associations of Indian origin in the USA, and all of them successfully funded by the associates. We have several decades of history with Indian associations in the USA and most of the older ones have been quite purposeful in their activities.

As it happens with most successful enterprises each of our historical associations have helped fund temples, medical and educational organizations and multitude of wonderful non-for-profit enterprises with generosity and genuine goodness.

The bigger associations also have annual or semi-annual gatherings on a very grand scale that showcases the wealth factor of the NRI community, and draw thousands of like minded families to be together for a few days. They spend vast amount of resources for collective show of camaraderie of their associations, and make these gathering very successful in size and showmanship. As the years go by they have become more then just gatherings of like minded people, and have drawn large scale business, religion, literature, entertainment, food, social and time pass activities, marriages, dating and meeting and political connotations to the gatherings.

I for one enjoy the entertainment and food at these events. They are at most times fantastic in their appeal and cost is included in the ticket pricing. They are great value to the event goers. These shows also bring a lot of comedy and humor and the audience genuinely seem to be involved and entertained. The audience doesn’t really worry too much about the stature of the person entertaining them, but enjoy what is presented to them. Even the local singers and dancers who perform in any of these shows along with local associations are appreciated for their performances. It is great fun to see someone sing or dance or do a skit in your own language while you watch with thousand odd folks you associate with.

These gatherings are also great occasions to be with relatives and friends for a couple of days and relish the entertainment and food, along with the company of near and dear ones. A lot of people are from same town, same college and same caste and same sects, along with many similar affiliations which bring them together and bind them together. This is a natural way of life for Indians and people of our state. It’s nice to be with your own folks, and it is historically natural behavior.

Many of the original associations have become enormous in size and have split into multiple associations further identifying either ideological perspective or intergroup associations based on people’s preferences of who they would like to be with. There is nothing extraordinary about this type of separation when people of various perspective identifying with only a part of the larger association and define their own associates. It a natural behavioral progression of people in our society to group with their own kind as it satisfies personal and ideological tendencies that are a part of our make.

When separation happens it is difficult to the associates as they are being segregated from their long term likings and relationships. Their new association is desirable due to the choices they have made, and the old associates become distant in communication and perspective. Natural disagreements while separating become issues of debate and start to create community tensions. Each one of us have at least a few family members and friends and when we gather with them it is 100% agreement on that the other group is the one at fault for whatever they have done to cause the commotion. Once the groups of people start to justify what they are doing is correct, it becomes difficult to see the point of view of the other group of people they just separated from.

With each of the newly created associations we are simply reiterating the principals of what we did with the original associations; their principals and traditions, the values of our people, food and entertainment and above all our oneness. We form new associations and restate our commitment to our people, culture, traditions and working for social causes. We redraft the articles of association; we develop new literature and new communications for a smaller group of people. As travel is cheap, availability of celebrities and politicians abundant and disposable income to pay for the extravagances, it is simple to put together an event for a few thousand people.

Only the negatives of the splits with each community are given prominence in discussions and coverage, and nothing notable gets publicized on accomplishments of the associates. The greater good of big and small associations gets very small print and the differences a great deal of mileage. The people who come as guests from India be it political or other leaders have no sense of the way of life outside of India and will make utterances that are for their Indian audiences, which cause emotional responses from the local folks who paid for witnessing these inappropriate utterances, and fuel the feelings of decent and normally well behaved citizens who are leaders in their community and businesses.

We like having people from India come and speak to us and entertain us in the USA, and they like to speak to us as they are doing to the public in India. It is ironic that no specific and organized effort from the state or central government in India offers benefits to the causes of NRI. We have no offices that can handle the death, unemployment, resettlement and facilities that are without difficulties beyond comprehension, and yet we feel that a single unplanned discussion with personal comments with a visiting politician or entertainer should be given our personal support. Any outburst to such comments is an emotional reaction to the moment when we are in a large group of people rather then our normal daily behavior. We live here and have lived here for a long time and with our own community of people and prospered away from politics and personal prejudices of the current crop of people who come to see us and speak to us. We will sometimes get emotional when we here inappropriate words from a stranger who might be making self-preserving comments. This should not be a cause for alarm as when we walk out such gatherings we will go back to being civil and professional, and live normal NRI lives worrying about our life and living and families and friends.

The associations we have today will continue to multiple and will continue to foster as long as the associates are willing to fund the activities and entertainers. All for being together with our own people and for a few days every year be in a gathering that is paid for by our checkbooks and with each year become grander in scale, and when they get large enough split into new associations. God bless all of them as they belong to us.

In Country Long Term Plans for Indian Telecom

Vasu Reddy from Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com

It will not be expensive. It will not require big budgets. It will not need any investment bankers. It will not need any government approvals. It will not need shareholder consent. It will be a simple strategy to look for greater revenue sources with long term profit for telecom companies.

India still offers great internal opportunity for long term growth with sustainable revenue and profit opportunities in telecom.

Telecommuting
Billions of hours and dollars are spent on the streets fighting traffic and consuming fuel. Let us not forget the pollution and all other costs of travelling. The stress is another factor in simply getting from place to place. There is no place in India big or small where traffic doesn’t far exceed the capacity of the roads, and it is only getting worse.

With most urban India well connected, companies can start looking at telecommuting as an option to ease the burden of traffic and cost. Internet and phone service is no longer expensive, and can be deployed for a multitude of support services, and work at home options for many jobs. Specially the telecom related services can be well handled away from the offices and can be effective. Indian enterprise should take a leaf from many of the western environments where working from home, and remote locations is common.

Wireless Villages
Close by tower can provide internet to villages nearby, and provide Internet access. Each village can be a self containing telecommunications center albeit small. Many people from the villagers already have mobile phones and already in the mobile user group and bringing internet to every village will further develop their ability to access the world through computers.

Village Web Sites
Probably the most fascinating thing about India is its villages. Nowadays there are many well educated people from the villages who no longer live there, leaving behind their families. There are also a huge number of NRI who belong to the rural India. Adapting to telecommuting, introducing wireless services into the villages will only enhance the community to become a part of the global landscape. A simple website can be very inexpensive to create and maintain. Perhaps this is also an initiative that the government can undertake in real rural development programs.

Voter registration, weather bulletins, agricultural programs and updates, political news, people and productivity issues, local happenings and other individualized information can be instant to the village websites. Involving the local talent from the village will help in keeping things up-to-date and informative.

Government can post the local project activity, development plans and any relevant issues to the locals. Local schools and colleges nearby can be made responsible for making every effort to keep data current and help maintain the websites. It may be a great idea to include such activity into the daily learning for school and college going kids, who will enthusiastically work on them and will learn the mechanics at the same time.

Online Education
Simply linking the wireless villages, websites and complete communications access will enhance the ability to learn from long distance. Both the rural children and adults will benefit from online education.

Outside of the vast amount of free information available on the internet, it is simple to design and provide online education. Every school with a small computer center can serve the purpose of both real time and offline education.
Children during the day time and adults during the evening can benefit from learning.

As the country continues to grow, it is also important to have intellectual growth to continue to make the nation reinvent itself and adapt to the changing times. Be it agricultural methods or software development India needs to keep learning and improving to prosper for ever, and no better ways to keep providing the edge to the people than education. Online education is inexpensive and available all the time for people who want to learn.

While we should support global expansion of our homegrown telecom companies, we should plan for continued growth with in the country. If the new government plans to wipeout all slums in India within 5 years, it can easily support to incorporate telecommunications reach to 100% of Indians in the same timeframe.

June 7th 2009
Vasu Reddy
President
Optus Technologies, Inc.