Barriers to Development in India

The toughest barrier to development in India is to check the crazy bureaucrat from taking crazy decisions by senior bureaucrats. Nurturing the ego of junior collegues cost the development of the nation & losses in crorers but protecting crazy collegues is continuing since the birth of bureaucracy which Max Waver never thought off. Fred Rig Could smell Indian Psyche a bit but was helpless as by the time bureaucracy has become so mightier that even the Iron Lady failed to reform. Development of the nation is capsized by crazy babus. The professional are the timid lots busy in praying for Lord Krishna to take another Incarnation rather assert their findings.

Indians lack courage to effect change

India does not need to learn from outsiders what it lacks or where it faulted. Many of us know who is the culprit for the debacle. But lack courage to indicate the culprit. We always get scared from our own short comings. We forget that the shortcomings of the culprit or the problem creaters are of much larger scale. We are scared that our short comings will be exposed if we indicate the defaulter. We shall learn to differentiate between the degree of mistakes & then get courage. Let us remember the fact that none of the change facilitators in the world were perfect. So why cant I become the crusader of change. I wish we become the Whistle Blower. 

IIDM & Britannia : Child has a Right to Growth and Development (TV)

Britannia, India’s leading Food Company created the Britannia Nutrition Foundation (BNF) in 2009 with the belief that Every Child has a Right to Growth and Development which includes not just the Right to Food, but also the Right to Nutrition. The purpose of the BNF is to provide a forum for organizations and experts in diverse fields who share the same conviction, to find models and solutions for the multi dimensional nutrition challenge. Drawing from the commitment and knowledge of key experts in this area, BNF has evolved a strong framework for effective action by focussing on three pillars – Scientific knowledge building and dissemination, Awareness building and Creating a platform for action.
Our belief that “every child has a right to growth and development through adequate and nutritious food”, is the driving force behind this initiative. This is also our way of uniquely combining business leadership and corporate responsibility, in a manner that is sustainable. All of us in Britannia have been entrusted with the responsibility to build and grow the best food brand in India and we take this responsibility seriously and comprehensively.

The 3rd BNF symposium was organized in New Delhi on 2nd September, 2011 in New Delhi during the National Nutrition Week. The symposium brought together experts, both Indian and International, from multiple sectors for a unique dialogue to find solutions to combat malnutrition. A picture deck covering the 3rd BNF symposium and the Program schedule are attached.



Special Televised Debate

The symposium on 2nd September concluded with a special televised debate titled 'India's Malnutrition: Cracking the Code'. The debate was a first of its kind in the industry and included eminent experts such as Dr. Syeda Hameed (Planning Commission), Prasoon Joshi (famous writer, lyricist, ad-man), Prof. Lawrence Haddad (Global Nutrition Expert) and Vinita Bali (Chairperson, BNF). You can catch special telecasts of the NDTV - Britannia Nutrition Foundation Special Debate at these times, starting this weekend.

Special Debate Saturday, September 10 Channel - NDTV 24X7 Time: 05.30 PM (17.30)

Special Debate Sunday, September 11 Channel - NDTV Profit Time: 10.30 AM (10.30)

Special Debate Saturday, September 17 Channel - NDTV Profit Time: 06.30 PM (18.30)

And there's More!
Also, Catch Vinita Walk the Talk as she speaks to Shekhar Gupta on his now famous show on NDTV 24X7, about Malnutrition and possibilities to counter the challenge.

Walk the Talk Saturday, September 10 Channel - NDTV 24X7 Time: 09.30 PM (21.30)

Walk the Talk Sunday, September 11 Channel - NDTV 24X7 Time: 03.30 PM (15.30)

Are Surveys Worth Consumers Time ?

What Harward has to say about lengthy surveys

• They take too much time!
• No follow-up action on specific complaints.
• No learning from the feedback.
• Their surveys are always quick and short
• They take direct action on the specific issues I raise. 
• My input makes a difference for other customers    

Complete Article : Are Surveys worth Consumers time 

By ROB MARKEY : Rob Markey is co-author, with Fred Reichheld, of the forthcoming book: The Ultimate Question 2.0: How Net Promoter Companies Thrive in a Customer-Driven World. He is a partner in Bain & Company’s New York office and head of the firm’s global Customer Strategy and Marketing practice.

3 Pillars on which development policies should align

Alignment simply makes things easier. When people and processes are in sync, it takes less time and energy to go from A to Z. Here are three areas where it is essential for decisions and actions to line up:

Act on Core Issue: Our  policy should promise and should be according to the problems envisioned for the beneficiaries . People are loyal or readily accept the changes in the policy   when you give them what they want. Make sure what you promise to them is something the public needs. More often then not we have to listen the hidden enfrases of what they actually want which means we should be acting on the root cause of the problem rather than providing the surface solutions

Investor , Implementer and Beneficiaries’ should be on Same page : Investors' interests and the top team's goals. The executive team and those funding the operation need to see eye to eye for the beneficiary’s issue. Otherwise, you spend too much time sorting out disagreements rather than solving the ground realities . where investor in most of the cases are the development funding agencies and implementers are various government and non government organizations

Targeted beneficiaries should be clear: The policies or suggestions offered should have a set of beneficiaries targeted at . i.e we are designing the polices and research for which group it should be clear at the very first instant. All stakeholders must clear on  which customers to serve. A "middle of the road" solution pleases no one. Know your key beneficiaries and make sure your policies satisfy them.

Why food prices are where they are ?

why prices have gotten to where they are? Is it demand factors? Are there commodity firms taking advantage of the poor? Are there speculators involved in this process, or is it supply problems?
Questions are many but can be seen in different perspectives at the same time on international level

It is a combination. We have had stocks of many of the basic commodities continue to get lower and lower over time, and therefore, if you then have some external event, like the weather problems we have had across Russia, Ukraine, North America, China, some in South America, you don't have much cushion.

Now, at the same time, there is a demand change going on, and that is that with the higher incomes in developing countries and changing diets, we are seeing an increased pattern. People will eat more meat products, for example, that will use more grain. This is a good thing over the long term in terms of nutrition, so I am not by any means suggesting that the improved diets in the developing world are the source of the problem, but it means that it takes longer to rebuild the stocks when you get a supply response.

So one of the points that we are trying to emphasize through these meetings is the need for the G20 and for the World Bank and others to put food first, because I think we are in a particular moment of vulnerability in that if you have some other events, which you can never predict, we really don't have a cushion.

Now, another problem is the connection with fuel prices. So, as you see fuel prices go up, driven in part by events in the Middle East and North Africa, the linkage between food and fuel is much tighter than it was 10 years ago. Some of this is biofuels, but part of it is related to fertilizers and the inputs for energy, and part of it is also connected to general money moving in and out of commodity markets, and that is linked to other issues including where investors will put their funds if they are concerned about inflationary aspects.

So you have a whole series of interacting items here, but the reason I emphasized this in my opening statement is that on the one hand, we can make this into an advantage with production and productivity and expanding the supply in the developing world, but in the near term, I think there are some very practical steps that can be taken to help avoid some of the problems of volatility, and I would like to push the system to take them over the next months.