The lessons from the chapter - Corona

Now it is 3.30. pm in the evening. I am peeping through the window of my bedroom. The whole world it appears has gone into deep slumber. The chirping of birds from a tree near and distant is clearly audible. The chatter of the squirrel is as clear and loud. Even the caw of the crow is heard. All these sounds are pushing me to those nostalgic childhood days when I used to play without bounds, scream, jump and fall in a carefree manner in the lap of nature. 

These animal/creature's sound made me reminiscent of my childhood in my village. All these indicate that man in those days was living on the lap of the nature coexisting with other flora and fauna. 

In this age, all these sounds were absent and only the rattling noise of the vehicles, the nonstop honking and the hustle and bustle of the modern day life was evident to our eyes and ears. Modern day man has drifted away and far from the lap of the nature. 

Today traffic on the roads is so minimal that it gives an impression that vehicles are just being invented.

The roads are so silent, calm and pleasant that they are attracting the much harassed two wheelers so much that they want to enjoy this once in a lifetime opportunity ride to the full satisfaction of their mind.

What a turnaround, what a comeback and what an irony. Have we come a full circle. No. This is only a temporary truce. Perhaps a warning bell for man to behave, respect the environment and the animal kingdom. A warning to rejig his his approach towards other living organisms. A message to live coexistentially with other living things and not to conquer, not to encroach, not to poach their habitats.

After we come out of Corona, will the man make a new beginning. Rejig and reorient his attitude towards neighbourhood. We should stop destruction of forests. At the same time we have to intensify afforestation Felling of trees in the name of development should be stopped. Cities have become concrete jungles. Constant awareness should be created through TV channels and other media and all available communication channels about preservation of nature, conservation of water. 

We have a duty and obligation to handover this planet to the posterity in the same way as we have received it from our forefathers. Otherwise the well being of our posterity will be in real jeopardy. 

Nature may not give another opportunity.

KN Krishnan.     31.03.2020

The Corona the challenges and the options.

The Corona virus has engulfed the entire globe at an alarming pace. It has sent the administration and governments to their kneels. And the governments are grappling and gasping with the enormity of the situation. The situation is so collosal and humongous that it makes the people who are fighting it clueless and blank. It is natural. The worst example is before us. Italy - one of the most advanced country in the world has given up. Ours is not so much infrastructurally equipped and added to this is one of the most populous countries in the world. So the problem here at home is himalayan. The situation is extraordinary and there is emergency. So facing extraordinary situation with mundane and normal methods is like taking a knife to a gunfight.  It requires extraordinary methods, innovative strategies and out of box thinking. 

Keeping this in mind, Indian government would do well, will be in a better position to fight the war against Corona should it adopt the following measures.

1. Make a war room at central government level consisting of

A. Social scientists (Sociologists) 

B. Eminent doctors

C. Scientists 

D. Planners

E. Administrators 

F. Health administrators

G.Economists

H. Police

This Committee should discuss, deliberate and devise the appropriate measures and swing into action swiftly without loss of precious time. 

This Committee should not hesitate to approach and seek guidance and help from the countries who have successfully tackled the virus.

This Committee should be vested with absolute discretionary powers to take the decisions it deem fit and the government should implement it in all seriousness.

Why this committee is because as I have already noted the usual administrative composition may not have the required competency, technological edge and above all a single command ( a single window type) is very convenient and effective at this juncture. Multiple departments giving multiple directons will only add to the confusion.

Other possible options in addition to the already announced CARES program, government may consider are

A. Introducing tax amnesty scheme to generate the funds. 

B. Let political parties also contribute from their party fund as they are sitting on huge pile of funds. 

C. Let the ruling party set an example as it has collected huge party fund.

D. Let the funds lying with world's richest Gods like Tirupati, Ananthapadmanabha, Shirdi Saibaba, Ayyappaswamy, Mathura, Ayodhya Udupi etc. to name a few be confiscated and used for this emergency.

E. Various religious maths also have huge unaccounted black money. Explore how it can be channelized.

F. Tax amnesty at this time can be 

simplified and limited. For example government can straightaway provide tax amnesty to whoever donates to CARES.

These are all my thoughts. They may sound outlandish but definitely doable. What it requires a will of iron and nerves of steel. And none other than Modiji fits the bill well. He is capable of pulling the rabbit out of the hat.

All the best Modiji in your efforts. The whole nation is with you in this hour of crisis. 

KN Krishnan. 29.03.2020

The Corona calamity

The Corona virus ie COVID-19 has engaged the attention of the entire world. It has created havoc on human lives. The most advanced countries have lost human lives in thousands. Their medical infrastructure is much more sophisticated and well equipped to handle the crisis than ours. When such is the case they could not contain the virus the way they wanted. And it took the lives in thousands. Italy has just given up conceding defeat in the war against Covid. The super power ie America is struggling in its fight against the virus. China is one country which is able to contain Corona in quick time of course after taking a heavy toll of human lives. The dangerous dimension to this pandemic is that there is no vaccine that can contain or cure the infection. We are way behind as far as our medical preparedness is concerned. On top of it we are the populous country with poor governmental health infrastructure. 

When such is the case, our response should be quick and decisive. The State should act with great alacrity and on a war footing. The government has clamped 21 day lockdown effective from midnight of 24th on entire country followed by a single day janata curfew on Sunday. This is the first and most important step in the war against the pandemic. This assumes importance against the fact that there is no vaccine available to fight the menace and prevention is the only tool available for us till now. We have an advantage too. Corona is a late entrant to India. We have the advantage of hindsight. We have the experience of other countries before us. We should therefore not fritter away the lead time we have. Urgent, effective and tough decisions have to be taken without resorting to wait and watch mode. We don't have that luxury. 

Therefore the compliance of the citizens to the advisories of the state in this regard is of utmost importance and an absolute and paramount necessity. When such is the case, the  sporadic incidents of citizens rebelling against the police while enforcing lockdown is most unpardonable and unthinkable. This resistance to law should be dealt with a heavy hand. It should be curbed immediately. It should be nipped in the bud. Zero tolerance to such anti social attitude should be the aim of the government.

Government should not hesitate to declare a state of emergency if the situation doesn't come under control in quick time. People should understand that the fight against the Corona pandemic is not only a national challenge and a national emergency but a global emergency too. It is not only a health emergency but has a serious global economic implications. It has crippled many a strong economies including America. It has set the global economy into recession India not excluding. India already reeling under low GDP growth, job losses, and serious crises in financial sector is in for another big jolt in the form of Corona. It is a double whammy for India. 

What is required urgently is Education followed by Action. Government has to explain to the public in a very clear and lucid manner in a layman's language step by step - of how it spreads, how it can be controlled, what precautions one has to take in the direction etc. For this, government has to appoint a single window governmental agency to disseminate the information. Government has to stop the TV channels from broadcasting anything of their own. Because umpteen no of channels each giving its own account of the story will confuse the public and the public tend to ignore an otherwise important message. These channels, of late have lost credibility. They make noise instead of news. Therefore, governmental agency should periodically air the information along with the latest updates in all the channels. This will be taken seriously by the public. 

Regarding action, government has already announced some measures in the form of package. This will be an ongoing process. Government should rope in corporates, industrial houses, NGOs and tap all possible sources of assistance and help. Especially the corporate hospitals should come forward to join hands with the government by providing their services, infrastructure etc. Opposition parties should also come on board in this hour of national crisis. One redeeming news is that Sonia gandhi has extended her support to the government in all its endeavours in the fight against Corona. Rahul gandhi has donated 5 crores to PM relief fund. Others should follow suit. I only hope and wish that Corona provide an opportunity for the government and the opposition to work in tandem as their relationship is strained and bruised by vendetta politics persued the Modi government. (Of course, where is the opposition? It has been decimated. That is an altogether different subject.) 

Let us all join together in this national task setting aside our affiliations, caste, colour creed religion etc., in the fight against this deadly menace. It is a threat to humanity itself transcending all barriers. 

Let us all give a big salute to all those warriors the Police, the Doctors, the paramedics, the bankers, the municipality workers, the delivery boys, the drivers and all those who are out there to keep the supply of essentials unhindered to make our lives comfortable when we are indoors. 

K. N. Krishnan           26.03.2020

The suicide of Anilkumar and its takeaway.

The suicide of Anilkumar, Branch manager of Jog falls branch on 19.10.2019 is the most tragic one. Most tragic because he is just 29years and has a small kid and wife who is young and just started the married life. What a heartbreaking, calamitous, unwarranted and stupid act by this young officer whatever may be the compelling circumstances. Life is most precious and it cannot be traded for anything else in this world.

The reason for Anil kumar to take that extreme step is according to various newspaper reports quoting his devastated wife is ubiquitous unbearable work pressure. His wife screaming under agonizing pain, thumping her chest in devastation and extreme shock was seen shouting that her husband has succumbed to unbearable work pressure in the bank. The severity of the shock she has undergone, the mental trauma she has suffered can be gauged from her refusal to believe that her husband is dead.

This Suicide is not an isolated incident in the bank. We are hearing such news from across the country with alarming frequency.

What is the takeaway for the bank as well as for the staff from this from these kind of incidents? He should not have resorted this extreme step no doubt. What thoughts could have passed through his mind just before the suicide? Probably the overwhelmingness of work and no hope of help or guidance would have driven him to this act. Psychologists say that it is invariably the HOPE that keeps a person going. When one does not see hope and the problem is too overwhelming and insurmountable, and there being no help from any quarter a person resorts to this kind of act. Here point to be noted is, it is a single man branch. 

There are many such hope less persons/staff in the bank. There may be many Anilkumars in the making. It is high time Bank has to sit up and take notice of the problem. 

Single man branch is a bane and a curse in SBI. We serve the multitudes unlike our counterparts in other PSBs or in private banks. We end up in doing mass banking. Added to this is the all pervasive pressure of cross selling which has spread like a cancer. The greed of incentives of cross selling has put enormous pressure on the operatives. This greed has robbed the humane element in all the transactions /interaction of the controllers with the branch level operatives. This greed has made them monstrous and mad. It is time that they realize the harm they are causing to the beleaguered and vulnerable staff.

A SUGGESTION TO RELEASE / FIND SOME TIME FOR THE STAFF:

Close the cash transaction by 2.00pm. When we are moving to alternate channels and digital banking in such a big way, keeping cash counters till 4.30pm is not required. This will release some time for the staff which they can use more gainfully like attending to compliance issues, NPA recovery, scouting new advances etc. I had suggested this long ago in one of my articles in the blog. 

APPEAL TO ALL MY COLLEAGUES :

Life is precious, divine and is created by God. No one has any right to cut short it even if it is his own. Please don't do it. If you come to a conclusion that it is difficult to continue anymore in the bank, please leave the bank not this world. If there is no job in SBI that is not the end of the world. There are umpteen number of avenues available elsewhere. Be bold, be realistic, be sensible. You have no right to put your family in destitution for no fault of theirs.

K N Krishnan. 

A lot can happen over a cup of coffee.

When VG Siddharth founder of Cafe Coffee Day (CCD), designed this tag line - A LOT CAN HAPPEN OVER A CUP OF COFFEE, perhaps nobody has  envisaged that this (his tragic death) could also happen.

When N T RamaRao died in the year 1996, Deccan Chronicle a daily from Hyderabad wrote an editorial on his death which was not so natural. There, the editor had mentioned a quote from - F Scott Fitzgerald, an American fiction writer. His quote was - Show me an hero, I will write a tragedy for him. This quote of Fitzgerald perhaps applies in case of VG Siddharth's death too.

Siddharth was a quiet, unassuming and self-effacing entrepreneur who shunned limelight and publicity. Many don't know the size of the business empire he has built. Only after his death that the world is aware of the scale and size of his operations.

His main grouse in his death note is against the Income Tax authorities. He says in that that IT authorities have harassed him and the raids on his business has caused him enormous damage to his business prospects from which he could not resuscitate himself and finally gave in to the stress in the form of his suicide. There may be other reasons too which at this stage cannot be deciphered. Only thorough investigation can throw some light on  the entire episode. It is said that the simultaneous raids on his premises across twenty two locations has sent the share prices plummeting to new lows thus causing large scale erosion of his asset value. Ever since he was missing and found dead in Nethravathi river there was a hue and cry over the high handedness of IT authorities and many termed it as Tax terrorism unleashed by the ruling dispensation. Also the IT authorities have clarified that they have proceeded as per law. This difference in perception of the issue between IT and rest of world is always debatable, but the fact remains that it has caused irreparable loss to the business, reputational as well as monetary.

This particular charge against IT brings to the surface another most important damage. The raids spree by IT authorities will be a serious jolt to the spirit of entrepreneurship in general. This negative sentiment will make the prospective entrepreneurs not to stick their neck out, there by people not only lose the existing jobs but also creation of new jobs becomes almost impossible because no Entrepreneur/Industrialist will ever come forward to venture into any new business. A negative business sentiment will pervade all through the capitalists who would otherwise have invested. Modi's favorite slogan of - ease of doing business will remain a mere slogan.

Siddharth, despite whatever may be the challenges, difficulties and obstacles should not have resorted to this kind of act. Because according to his own averment, the value of his assets is much more than the loans owed to the creditors. He could have been tenacious and persistent for some more time for the liquidity crunch to get over. He has failed to face the adversity with aplomb. This is most probably due to the fact that he all along kept these things to himself without discussing / sharing atleast with his friends and well wishers who could have given some guidance or shown the way. Life is too precious to be frittered away in the way he did.

The successful person therefore is not the one who is successful but the one who faces adversities, challenge the challenges and still hold his head high when chips are down and hope is distant. 

That's why there is a pressing need for all of us to discuss our failures essentially with our kids so that they should be mentally prepared to accept failures in their lives someday in future if they come across them. We should not make the mistake of always talking about success stories. Because success and failures are the two sides of our lives.

I pray God to give strength to the family of the bereaved and thousands of his staff to bear the loss. May his soul rest in peace.

Has Rahul Gandhi written the - epitaph for the Congress?

The much awaited results of the 2019 Loksabha election are out. The BJP has recorded a resounding victory. It has even bettered its own record of 2014. The enormity of the victory is such that it has dumbfounded even its own conservative analysts /poll pundits.

The moot point to be discussed here is more of opposition's failure rather than Modi's performance. The disparate and splintered opposition parties could not convince the voter of their commitment to come together and carry on the business of governance. This was very crucial simply because Congress's revival was considered a task of a tall order. Also congress failed to see the writing on the wall. It was in a wishful thinking that Modi's non keeping of his poll promises and his misdemeanor of demonetiization, GST etc would sail them through. What it also failed to appreciate is the fact that Modi provided a scandal free regime unlike them. The opposition, the
congress included really failed to match the fire power, the lung power and the muscle power of the BJP. They were clearly a distant second. And in organizational preparedness they were no match to the well oiled BJPs party cadres. One of the plus points that BJP had, was the RSS, its mentor, guide and philosopher. It had always guided, corrected and channelised the enormous resources of BJP - men, material and money to optimum levels. The opposition at no point of time sat up and took notice of how destructive the Modi and Shah combination could be to their survival. They couldn't do because they were in complete disarray and spent time in wishful thinking. Rahul Gandhi though he made some noices here and there, was drowned in the crescendo of the Modi and his ever ready brigade of enthusiast party cadres.

What many including the opposition could not really saw is the subtle undercurrent of a pro hindutva desire that was in hibernating status. The Pulwama and Balakot incidents were the real trigger for this undercurrent to manifest to the mainstream. This is the watershed moment in the entire election campaign which was vicious, vitriolic and without discussing the real issues confronting the common man. Many times it degenerated to personal and derogatory.

This victory has enhanced the responsibility of the government to be more responsible, fair and judicious to all sections of the society.

Perhaps Rahul Gandhi would have now realized that Modi as a rival is too intimidating and overwhelming for him. Probably this is the reason why he has reportedly offered to step down. Congress lost the game long ago when they sent Pranab Mukherjee to the Raisina hills. Instead they would have done well by projecting him as the Prime ministerial candidate. This would have atleast increased its longevity. Hoisting a novice on the grand old party, a party full of seniors and most experienced politicians and not looking outside the Gandhi family for leadership, congress committed a blunder and it is too late to undo the damage.

The Loan waiver & the Loan recovery.

Loan waiver and loan recovery are two polar opposites. They don't have a meeting point. They cannot converge as they are divergent. The bankers' task now is, how to achieve these both ends meet. The obnoxious and oft-repeated press statements by the Chief Minister instructing police authorities to arrest the bank officers if they issue the notice of recovery of loan has set the cat among the pigeons. This is a grave and extraordinary situation in the state which is unprecedented. This has devastated their morale. The loan waiver is spereheaded by the head of the government with all the pomp and public gaze where as the recovery has to be made by a poor official at the branch level without any support or protection from his superiors. Will he be left to fend for himself, is my fear. The poor fellow has a daunting task on hand.

Loan waiver is fraught with long term implications which will breed the culture of non repayment. It is a very negative and dangerous indulgence. No Economist hitherto has advocated waiver as a remedy for the farmers'distress. Government /economists /planners can think of alternative ways of ameliorating the hardship of the farmers. Unfortunately for the political class, farm loan waiver is a low hanging fruit in vote bank politics. Indian farmer is frequently affected by the vagaries of the monsoon and uncertain market conditions. When such is the case, waiver is not the panacea. It is rubbing salt to the wound for the banks which are already saddled with unacceptable level of bad loans. At a time when banks are struggling to bring down the NPAs, the announcement of loan waiver is a big jolt to their efforts.

The top executives are also in a great dilemma. Neither they can issue any written instructions to the branch functionaries not to issue the notices to the farmers nor have the gumption to say to the Chief Minister not to issue statements like the way he is doing. If the bankers do not issue the notices, they are liable to be made accountable by the Bank for the lapse and if they issue, the situation is any body's guess. The officials are in such an unenviable position that they are damned if they do, damned if they not. Whatever may be the constraints of the management, time has come to sit up and take notice of creation of a very negative and hostile atmosphere for the grassroot level officials of the bank.

There is an urgent need to educate the the Chief Minister of the immense damage his statements cause to the safety and morale of the bankers and the long term negative impact it will have on the entire farm credit dispensation. Loan waiver is a double edged sword, it cuts both ways. While on one side, it incentivise the defaulter on the other it demotivates the honest borrower and makes him become a wilful defaulter. In short, it vitiates the repayment culture of the borrowers and make life difficult for the banker.

State Level Bankers Committee's (SLBC) role now assumes importance. It has its task cut out if at all it is serious of the situation. The present situation demands lot of education, persuation and perseverance on the part of all the stake holders - the bankers, the government and the farmers. It is just not the waiver per say that is involved in the issue but the whole perception and attitudes has to be corrected.

What can be done?

1. All the heads of the banks affected by this should meet the Chief Minister and protest his remarks in the media. Loan waiver is one thing and giving dangerous and irresponsible statements is another. (But will anybody bell the cat is a million dollar question).

2. Explain him the negative impact it is creating on the credit discipline and the potential it has to breed a culture of non repayment.

3. Arrange a discussion in the electronic media by a panel consisting of RBI representatives, bankers and raitha sangha leaders and explain the intricacies of the issue and the advantages/benefits for prompt repayer. This should be done periodically for certain periods of time.

4. Publicize in daily local vernacular press the Rinn samaadhan (OTS) its details and benefits in bold captions and in front pages.

5. Conduct townhall meeting type of gathering in Agri intensive areas and play a suitably designed / tailored videos mounted on mobile vans that inspire and instill repayment.

6. These mobile vans should tour the Agri intensive pockets.

And in all these, the ghosts of Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi, the Essars, the Videocons etc will definitely haunt the bankers. The thousands of crores of Corporate loans written off will stare in the face of the bankers. This is something that will weigh on the spirit and drive of the banker in this marathon.

K N Krishnan,           94496 12446
Vice President, SEWA, Bangalore.