Delhi-Varanasi-Mumbai-Hyderabad-Ahmedabad-Jaipur-Bangalore-Delhi!!!! This is not anyone’ orkut profile mentioning their location. This is the terror map of India depicting all the targets of terrorist for last one year (Phew…..add Malegaon and Gujrat in the list as they were targeted while I write this piece). What is happening around us? I have no answer. Do you have?
Newspapers and News channels are all blaming home minister of India, Intelligence Bureau and local police. Neither this blame game have stopped nor the attacks. How far will it go? How many more lives will it take? Who are responsible?
As I sit and think of ways to curb this menace. A lot of idea flow through my little mind and I put some here to share with you:
It’s not the time to blame anyone but plan for the future so that these attacks are not repeated.
1) Let’s start with a security week all over India. All schools, Offices and public places will be filled with messages, lectures and road shows explaining individual’s responsibilities, safety measures and related laws.
Our tough and challenging life has made us immune to our surrounding. We even don’t know our neighbours. Let’s shed our inhibition and take social responsibilities…get involved. We need to be aware about our surrounding and inform police helpline as and when we get suspicious about anything.
2) A toll free and easy to remember number of police’s terrorism cell in each of the major cities and state capitals, working 24*7.
3) A central terrorism cell (on the lines of CBI and IB) coordinating with all the terrorism cells of the major cities and state capitals with free access to information and latest weapons even of defence for specific purposes with prior permission.
4) Stringent terrorism law with special courts hearing those cases….speedy trails and execution of court’s decision.
5) Rewards for all those involved in informing police about terrorists and their plans. Rewards should be monetary as well as promotion in their rank in their professional life.
Even if we implement all these suggestions, the implication will only be short term. These attacks were not carried out by any external agencies. All these so called terrorists are Indians who are not happy…who don’t believe in Indian secularism. A long term plan needs to be planned for these brothers of ours who have moved away from mainstream and started believing in death and destruction. Onus is on us now to make every Indian believe India is of all of us. All religion, caste and creed are equal and have equal rights. We need a national leader who could unite all of India and lead us on the right direction.
For me I only want to do my job as an Indian and leave behind a better and safer India for generations to come. Aameen!!!
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Monday, September 22, 2008
Indian IT: Bull’s leg shaking after the run
“This is all to do with big and rich people. We never get affected by major financial policy decisions and fluctuations in share markets” said my grandfather and would repeat it time and again whenever I would curiously ask about any financial news while we watched news together.
That was the time of government jobs and what mattered the most in news was political news. That was early nineties and the benefits of opened Indian market were yet to be seen.
India has changed a lot over last couple of decades and so has the topographies of each individual’s family. Single earning joint families have transformed into each working nuclear families (at least the middle class is moving in this direction). Working not in any government department but private firms and growth of these private firms are closely (or better call it directly) related to major financial policy decisions and fluctuations in share markets, a clear contrast to what had been my grandpa’s time.
Last week’s development in financial circle shook US and aftermath was felt in India and each IT professional’s heart. Rising Dollar had already put Indian IT firms on back foot and developments of last week made the situation worse. The fall of esteemed Leman Brothers, acquisition of Merrill Lynch and problems in AIG coupled with credit crisis in US is expected to hit Indian IT firms hard. Banking and Financial services constitute on an average 40% of their business and US market dependence is also close to staggering 45% (which has reduce over a period of time due to corrective actions taken by these firms after slowdown in 2002-03).
So what is the future now? I take the positive out of this situation. It had been a bull’s run for last couple of years, uncontrolled hiring and uneven growth. Its time to sit for a while and consolidate upon whatever we have gained over a period of time. It’s an opportunity to plan for the future and fix any loop holes that could have crept in our systems and processes. Re-iterate each individual’s responsibility, slow down the hiring, create opportunities in Asian markets which has largely been left untouched by IT surge( though the margins are going to be low ). Indian firms and government departments (central and state) remain untouchable to best practices followed all over the world and IT. Indian IT firms by working with most reputed of organisations all over the world have expertise to transform Indian industries by providing consultancy as well as IT services.
If these firms could stand 2002-03 debacles, there is no point to think that they would not swim this tide also. I am a little sceptical but also optimistic and confident.
“It affects us” I said looking up to the heaven, hoping my grandpa would hear it.
That was the time of government jobs and what mattered the most in news was political news. That was early nineties and the benefits of opened Indian market were yet to be seen.
India has changed a lot over last couple of decades and so has the topographies of each individual’s family. Single earning joint families have transformed into each working nuclear families (at least the middle class is moving in this direction). Working not in any government department but private firms and growth of these private firms are closely (or better call it directly) related to major financial policy decisions and fluctuations in share markets, a clear contrast to what had been my grandpa’s time.
Last week’s development in financial circle shook US and aftermath was felt in India and each IT professional’s heart. Rising Dollar had already put Indian IT firms on back foot and developments of last week made the situation worse. The fall of esteemed Leman Brothers, acquisition of Merrill Lynch and problems in AIG coupled with credit crisis in US is expected to hit Indian IT firms hard. Banking and Financial services constitute on an average 40% of their business and US market dependence is also close to staggering 45% (which has reduce over a period of time due to corrective actions taken by these firms after slowdown in 2002-03).
So what is the future now? I take the positive out of this situation. It had been a bull’s run for last couple of years, uncontrolled hiring and uneven growth. Its time to sit for a while and consolidate upon whatever we have gained over a period of time. It’s an opportunity to plan for the future and fix any loop holes that could have crept in our systems and processes. Re-iterate each individual’s responsibility, slow down the hiring, create opportunities in Asian markets which has largely been left untouched by IT surge( though the margins are going to be low ). Indian firms and government departments (central and state) remain untouchable to best practices followed all over the world and IT. Indian IT firms by working with most reputed of organisations all over the world have expertise to transform Indian industries by providing consultancy as well as IT services.
If these firms could stand 2002-03 debacles, there is no point to think that they would not swim this tide also. I am a little sceptical but also optimistic and confident.
“It affects us” I said looking up to the heaven, hoping my grandpa would hear it.
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