More on IT Unpolicy
In my previous post IT and the Role of Government I objected to Atanu Dey’s arguments against having an IT policy for India. He proposed, what I called an “IT Unpolicy” – basically, do nothing.
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IT and the Government
Atanu Dey has a series of posts that criticize the IT Vision Document released by the BJP in the runup to the Indian elections. In his latest post The Rational IT Policy, he proposes an IT policy that basically does nothing – an Unpolicy, if you will. It requires government to stay out of the way of individuals and the market which will make their own decisions about using IT or not.
To me this seems wrong-headed. I think it is important for any government that comes to power to nurture and encourage the use of IT in government, business, education and at home.
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Career Advice to the IIM Ahmedabad Graduating Class
Last week I was at IIM Ahmedabad for my 20 year reunion. For two days and three nights we had non-stop fun reliving all the special memories from our times at IIM. Reunions, some say, can be quite a let down. Your classmates and you went down different walks of life, they’ll say, and you don’t quite have that connection anymore. Our reunion was, if possible, even better than the high expectations we came with. The reconnection was instant, as if no time had gone by. Needless to say, a good time was had by all.
During one of the few serious sessions on campus, we talked to some of the current PGPs and PGP Xs about careers and career choices. (PGP is the Post Graduate Program, which is the regular two year MBA. PGP X is a 12 month program akin to an Exec MBA). Given how bleak the job scene out there looks, and how concerned the students were, I thought I’d do a post for IIM A students graduating this year or the next. More »
Satyam – the Larceny Scenario
Investigators looking into the fraud that has been called India’s Enron have found a “maze” of about 300 companies related to Mr. Raju that were used to “siphon” as much as $1 billion in cash from Satyam, said a senior official involved in the inquiry, who was granted anonymity to discuss developments in the case.
A New York Times report indicates a simple answer to what happened to Satyam’s missing billion dollars – larceny. The performance of the company – revenues, margins – were not systematically overstated over many years as Ramalinga Raju claimed they were. Instead, the promoters were stealing. This simpler explanation is something I have suspected all along.
Ironically, if this is true, this is good news for Satyam. On many fronts. More »
Satyam Operating Margins Look Real
I pulled this chart together on our very own research platform just to see if there were any signs in the operating margins that Satyam was managing earnings. I found none.
The comparables to Satyam (SAY) are Infosys, Wipro and Cognizant. Satyam’s range of the operating margins is just fine. The seasonality caused by the annual influx of trainees through campus hiring is also there. I couldn’t figure out why the dip was a quarter later than Infosys but there is probably a rational reason for that.
Also present is the uptick in margins in the last couple of quarters, which is presumably because of the favourable movement in exchange rates.
Managed earnings should leave some fingerprints. I couldn’t find any. So either Raju and co were very, very careful with how they were managing the earnings. Or, they weren’t managing earnings at all and the money has actually gone missing.
Satyam Next Steps
India’s regulatory authorities have made a great start on the Satyam accounting fraud scandal. The two bodies that would have regulatory oversight over such a situation – the Ministry of Company Affairs and SEBI – are both playing this on the front foot. The Raju brothers the CFO have been arrested and remanded to judicial custody. The Satyam board has been sacked and very quickly a new board is being assembled. So far so good. More »
Questions re Satyam
While I was out of circulation and not blogging (business trip and vacation) the Satyam saga was unfolding. I remained abreast of what was happening but didn’t post anything on it. It’s been well covered by other bloggers and the media in general both in India and abroad. So I won’t bother adding my opinion except to say that if India Inc. is to redeem itself, what happens from here on out is what matters. The Rajus, on the other hand, cannot redeem themselves. Nor can the independent directors, unless they publicly say that critical information was withheld from them.
But I have several questions about the whole affair. Some of them are rhetorical, others are real questions. So if you know the answers or where I can read up on material, please let me know. More »
Singapore and Indian Cities
I was in Singapore for a few days during my winter vacation. Sandwiched between two weeks in India and a week in Thailand, the contrast between Singapore and these two third world Asian countries could not have been starker. As we all know, a few decades back all three countries were equally under-developed. Today Singapore is an advanced economy and continues to grow (though not in 2009) led by an enlightened government. More »
Wanted: An Indian “Yes We Can”
A couple of weeks after the Mumbai attacks, India and Indians are still fuming. There is this great stirring to action, particularly among the young and the educated, who want to see some change. All this is good, but the big question is how do you take all this energy, this dissatisfaction with the status quo, and convert into constructive action?
The recent US elections had some similar contextual elements to it. A general dissatisfaction with the way the country was being run and a section of the electorate – again, the young and college educated – who were highly motivated to do something about it. But that’s where the similarities with India end. In the US they had in Barack Obama, a leader that they could rally around, who represented that hope for change. In India there is no such leader. Most of the ideas for action that one hears today from the intelligentsia are policy related, rather than politics related. And that is a problem. Real change can’t take place unless governance changes. More »
ISI Chief Visit – PR Mistake or Oneupmanship
Indian PM, Manmohan Singh talks to Asif Ali Zardari, the Pakistani President. He is angry. Zardari is trying to placate him. Manmohan Singh asks him to send his ISI Chief over to participate in the investigation. Zardari agrees.
So far so good. Then the Indian side, presumably, announces/leaks it to the press. Headlines in newspapers say “PM summons ISI Chief to India”. Bad mistake. They should have let Pakistan announce it to the world. The headline could have been very different. “Zardari says ‘We will work with India to fight terrorism’. ISI Chief leaving for India.”
Now India looks stupid and Pakistan looks petulant. Not a good way to start working together on what is the biggest challenge facing both countries.