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Indian Telecom : Do not Kill the Golden Goose

As the Supreme Court of India took up the contentious issue of Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) and computation of arrears payable by the Telecom Operators on last Thursday, the flip-flop of our bureaucratic governance was exposed for the umpteenth time. The bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra raised questions on the demand raised on the PSUs and said that its verdict in the case was misinterpreted. Issuing demand notes for arrears of license fees to non-Telecom PSUs in Oil and Gas and Power sectors was unwarranted according to the Court. The contentions before the Court related to the Private operators who had been asked related to pay huge dues on account of pending licence fee and interest for delays. The Court also asked the Private players to submit a detailed schedule for the deferred dues. The Telecom scenario in India as it has panned out since liberalization needs a serious and critical look at this juncture. At this time, when the nation is reeling from the fa...
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VISION OVERLOAD

VISION OVERLOAD * R avi Kumar PIllai “If only we had a leadership with vision” is a refrain heard in many democracies. In the hardball political playout, it is often pragmatism and populism that win the day over long-term perspectives. Political parties and leaders tend to prefer short-haul and quick-fix solutions rather than transformational journeys. Once in a while a leader with rare clarity of thought, eloquence of articulation and ability to inspire the masses emerges on the scene. “Here comes the messiah who would deliver us to the prosperous future, our true destiny”, his followers would vouch. Many free-thinking souls may levitate towards the new-found charisma. An aura gets created around the new hope. A leader is coronated in style. This may sound straight out of some literary classic, but something close to such fictional ecstasy was visible among the youth, at least in the heartland of India, when Narendra Modi arrived on the staid political arena. Six y...
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The Next Wave - From Mixed Economy to a Blended One

The Next Wave - From Mixed Economy to a Blended One *Ravi Kumar Pillai When Winston Churchill assumed office as the Prime Minister of Great Britain, the country was staring at impending disaster. Serious questions were being raised as to how ‘great’ Britain’s  precarious position would allow it to be and for how long. His resoluteness and perseverance made him a legend for subsequent generations. Most nations today are mired in hopeless economic logjam and deep fissures are visible in their polity. Now more than ever, the world misses  bold and aggressive leaders in the mould like Churchill, Margaret Thatcher or Ronald Reagan. Those  who would cast away their  legacy of political grand-standing and embrace challenges with unwavering commitment to turnaround. What about India? Are we up to the task of competing effectively with China, let alone hoping to be the next growth engine that the world is desperately searching for? Is our leadership inspiring us to com...
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The Pursuit of Power

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The Pursuit of Power An inquiry into the psychology of political leadership   * Ravi Kumar Pillai Narcissus, the legendary hunter prince in Greek mythology, is said to have fallen   in love with his own image. His love for self grew so intense that it blinded him from the realities surrounding him. Today, more than half of the world population   are ruled by   political leaders with perverse self-image. Not just in politics, but in various fields across contemporary culture,   narcissists thrive. Psychologists say power and the adulation that goes with it are so intoxicating   that lesser mortals who enjoy the same for prolonged period tend to develop empathy-deficit and an intense love for eulogy. For every high-perched leader with gargantuan ego,   there are countless ordinary citizens who   meekly surrender their free will and rational choices. Streams of migrant labour walking back to villages in the wake of lockdown uncertainties highli...
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An Agenda for Building a Resilient India post-Covid

  “April is the cruellest month”, wrote TS Eliot, the celebrated poet. As if to prove the prophetic words, Covid pandemic wound itself up through the first quarter of 2020 and assumed tsunami-like fury by April smashing any hope of recovery for the already depressed global   economy and consumer confidence. The economic and emotional devastation by corona virus is still ruling the roost. In India, with sizeable sections of the population economically vulnerable, the gathering recessionary clouds portend prolonged trouble. The eagerly awaited economic reports for Q4, FY 20 were released by Modi   Government on Friday. India’s economy grew at just 3.1 per cent in the quarter. The headline number for the full FY20 came at an 11-year low of 4.2 per cent. Further, as the lockdown effect started snowballing, India’s eight core infrastructure sectors - Coal, Crude Oil, Natural Gas, Petroleum Refinery products, Fertilizer, Cement, Steel, and Electricity - which have a co...
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Is India ready for Federalism?

Is India ready for Federalism? *Ravi Kumar Pillai India as an independent nation is about to complete seventy-five years of freedom from colonial rule. Thirty years is generally considered as a generational span, which is the average time taken for children born to become adults and have in turn children born to them. In that sense we have the third generation of citizens born in free India currently at the   threshold of their teens. It is indeed time to ask ourselves some uncomfortable questions. What sort of future is reckoning these kids?   How have we as a nation and as the generations preceding them fared in enabling their ascendancy in terms competence, engagement and quality of life? The answers to these questions unfortunately are nothing to write home about. The low score in terms of Human Development Index (HDI) would speak for itself. India’s HDI rank as per World Economic Forum Report of 2019 is 129 out of 189 nations covered. Our rank has just gone up by on...
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