India @ 60

A very happy independence day to me and every Indian !!

India has tunrned 60 and its getting younger and better with every year passing by. Though I am not that old and havent seen the old era by myself, but I can say lotta things have changed over all these years..the pace of reform and change is debatable though..we could have done better..

Being a holiday each of us get some time to ponder about lotta issues pertaining to onself, society and nation as well... all news channels are flooded with documentaries and interviews and panel discussions..which is a nice meaningful change, movie channels and newspapers everybody is paying their part of tribute and some food for thought for each one of us.

Walking down the memory lane....

I saviour those memories of school days - going in white uniform attending march past, participating in other extra curricular acitvities and the best part - sweets and choclates at the end of ceremony. All during my school days I have participated in group song(patriotic one). We used to prepare almost a week in advance for the same mostly by staying a little late in school or during lunch time. As the group mostly consisted of students from different class or section, it was not possible to utilise any particualar free period, but it was real fun. We have delivered some real good group song performance during those days, I remember. I have always believed and realised that me and my bunch of friends where-ever I go have been pretty reasonably patriotic. Mostly it has been passive patriotism in which we discuss a alot about issues, India, history, Gandhi ji, bhagat singh, current political scenario, things which are not right, how we could have done better etc etc. We sing national anthem with great zeal and if everything goes right on this day, an atmosphere is created in which every zestful song which is slightly patriotic makes us a little bit sentimental, may be for a few seconds only.

I believe that this virtue is present in almost every Indian. We are sentimental by nature and that distinguishes us from every other society anywhere else in the world. One can get the glimpse of our sentiments in almost every thing we do be it festivals or family functions, arts or sports.Over a period of time I believe that formats & category of our sentiments have undergone a ocean of change. We have become selfish - now is that good or bad - a debatable point !

A Tribute to Freedom fighters

Being born in independent IndiaI never had to struggle for any form of independence. I have always adored the freedom fighter who have sacrificed their lives, families and everything for India. I salute their sacrifices, their passion and love for this country. A lot of them always knew that they might not be alive by the time India gets independence but they continued their mission so that coming generations can breathe in free India. Their sacrifices for the good of future generations is simply amazing and difficult to comprehend for my generation. Are these fighters getting the recognition and respect which they always deserved in present day scenario.

Unfortunately within 60 years, our generation (that includes me as well) has started taking this freedom for granted and has started forgetting the sacrifices our freedom fighters have made to certain extent. I dont doubt the feeling of patriotism but I think its more of passive kind and momentary. We Indians always feel in back of our minds that we are most cultured, intelligent & patriotic people on this planet. Are we correct in our assumptions...

The New Freedom !!

The world has changed so much especially in past 15 years or so. We are living in a globalised economy..where co. from any country can do business n any country...till it can do tht business profitably ( thts the bottomline) providing value to the customer !!

After opening of our economy in early 90s, we have seen hell lotta MNCs entering in Indian mkts from all walks of life. Directly of indirectly Indian businesses and consumers have learnt so much from them, in terms of doing business professionally, ethically and profitably !! Competition has always been good for consumers...as it brings prices down..improves efficiency and provides hell lotta choice to the end user !! It gives consumer freedom to choose from vast array of options. Now a days we hear lot of Indians heading prestigous positions in these MNCs worldwide..making India proud !!

All this has thrown so much choice for our generation in every walk of life, be it deciding for studies (school or college), job avenues, arts, sports or culture eveything has been affected by this wind of globalisation ! Indian youth is confident like ever before. We can now dream big and achieve even bigger !!

Pros & cons of this Globalisation are once again debatable but I feel that over long term the anamolies tend to get corrected and adjusted so as to suit the local conditions, society and culture !! That I feel has been THE most important quality of Indian culture and civilization !! We have adjusted ourselves with time and accomodated changes as they come !! I guess Darwin's theory applies equally well for cultures and civilizations as well !! Once again pros & cons of this quality are debatable !!

A lotta questions are in front of us, which our generation and society should seek answers for in a very honest manner. I have some thoughts on debatable points/questions referred above which I will write about next time...

Happy Independence Day !!

Jai Hind

Views abt PSUs

Heavy weight...ONGC - white elephant...but is it worth your money..read the article in Business Today (apr 2006)..which clearly shows the money laundering going on on ONGC which can be safely generalised to other PSUs like IOCL, BPCL etc etc...there is so much wastage of resources...manpower something really dangerous...ONGC has made no significant gas find ever after Bombay High...ONGC is heavily over paying for various machines..rigs..and other equipments..as compared to common sensical market price !!!few months back i read another article...tht (with no disrespect to profession) - peons...floor clearners in these PSUs are earning Rs.20000 p.m ( m not against equality of wages but wat abot merits) and above because of the simple reason tht thy hanged thr for 20 years or so, Privatisation is the only way to save these co.s other wise god only knows...how much of shareholders wealth...govt resources..money..will be spent on these monsters !

Network 18 - a media conglomorate in the making !!
According to the 2007 PricewaterHouse Coopers report on the Indian media and entertainment industry, film entertainment is estimated at Rs 84.5 billion and projected to grow to Rs 175 billion by 2011.

Network 18, the holding company of TV 18, Global News Broadcast, Web 18 and Studio 18, is investing $10 million in a new entertainment company - The Indian Film Company, to be listed on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) of the London Stock Exchange by mid-May 2007.

The point is whether -Network 18 will be holding co only all the time - or does it plan to enter into any real business as well that will be a key issue which co. will decide upon!!

Wats the point in making holding co a listed one - just to raise funds onli !! a knidda SPV !!its like VSNL and MTNL n Infy having prime land - at cheap rates !! but thy will never/rarely sell those assets !! similar wud be the case with holding co.s as well - thy mite never sell those holdings and due to no business - even if thy sell wat will thy do with tht cash/asset neways - re-invest in holding business again !! so its the business whichs growing - so why the holding co - Mcdowel Holding, UB Holding, JSW Holding, NW18 fincap etc etc !!! merely to create value and keep business within family and hence wealth for Promoters !! So, there has to be game plan which will unfold slowly n steadily !!

Lotta MFs n FIIs are already into this stock, which reduces the liquidity to certain extent (June 2007)!!Oflate the movies produced by NW18 has not been doing good either !!Yatra n Homeshop are very tiny business as of now with fierece competition n unless something really good turns out for studio18 or IFC, NW 18 mite hover ard these levels, its still 20% lower thn its all time high whereas Indices are near all time high !!

Overall the best part if -Management !! n thts the most imp aspect rather than EPS growth or FII holdings etc. Because its the people who run the business and if they are convicted, no matter what mkt conditions are they will survive all odds and will deliver results !! thats what i expcted from TV 18/Nw18 group in next 2-5 years !!