Passionate About India

“While, like last year, I seek the blessings of Lord Indra to bestow on us timely and bountiful monsoons, I would pray to Goddess Lakshmi as well. I think it is a good strategy to diversify one’s risks,” are the words of the ex-finance minister (and now President) Mr. Pranab Mukherjee during his budget speech for the year 2011-12. The statement is symbolic of the unfortunate ways in which our ministers have been keener on invoking Gods and Goddesses rather than depending on science and technology and straight forward ground level solutions to come to the rescue of India’s dwindling agriculture sector, which employs around 50% of India’s workforce, but is decreasing in its contribution to the GDP year aft er year. “As per latest estimates released by Central Statistics Office (CSO) the share of agricultural products/Agriculture and Allied Sectors in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country was 51.9 per cent in 1950-51, which has now come down to 13.7 per cent in 2012-13 at 2004-05 p...

With state elections gaining heat, the farmer community of India would again, suddenly find themselves in the thick of all attention.This pocket of population that is usually sidelined, would again find themselves at the top of all political manifestos. And why not! When farmers constitute 60 per cent of the entire population, no political party can ignore this huge vote bank. And ironically, in spite of their seasonal electoral importance, the very same people are left in the lurch post the elections. Today, this one sector employs almost 60 per cent of the entire population, yet contributes merely 17 per cent to our national income! Shamelessly, our successive governments have succeeded in keeping a majority of them marginalised, bereft of even basic amenities, which are required for day-to-day sustenance. The fact is that till date, our agriculture sector has hardly seen any major technological breakthrough. We are still stuck in an era from where we started. A stroll through any of...

The movie Do Duni Chaar higlighted the power of simple truths & facts. This Alternative Budget based on agriculture is dedicated to Indians who deserve a less catchy & more simple theme Often, the most profound and transformational changes can be achieved by taking simple and easy decisions that are usually very hard to take. Those simple decisions become hard to take because we – particularly more so in India – have this inexplicable and inexcusable habit of trying our best to avoid reality; to blink and look the other way even when harsh realities stare at us unblinkingly. While brainstorming for the multiple award winning movie Do Dooni Chaar, we were very clear that the lead characters must be confronted with choices that are gut wrenching even though they appear simple. I personally think the movie touched a chord with people across India because it highlighted the power of simple truths and simple facts; and because it enabled ordinary Indians to transcend obstacles by st...

If the government fails to unshackle the imposed market and economic restrictions in agriculture, then the day is not far when we would end up farming more corpses than crops ! ! ! At our institute (The Indian Institute of Planning and Management), since its very inception (1973), we have always emphasised the need for the study of marketing. So much so that for the entire two years of the rigorous course, from day one till the day the students are bid farewell, marketing is taught to every student, irrespective of whether the student opted for finance or human resource or technology as a specialisation stream. In fact at IIPM, marketing has been a compulsory specialisation, because not only do we believe, but also propagate the philosophy that ‘Business’ is nothing else but ‘Marketing’. No business can survive in this world – however much the product might be world-class – unless it is marketed well or gets the right kind of avenues to make it marketable. Interestingly, our nation pre...