Warrier's blog

It’s a different innings for Sachin | Business Line My VIEW: ‘Sachin’ Model This refers to Raghuvir Srinivasan’s piece “It’s a different innings for Sachin”(April 1) and BL interview with Sachin Tendulkar with focus on development of Puttamraju Kandrika in Andhra Pradesh as a model village under Sansad Gram Yojana. Let us congratulate Sachin and Joint Collector Rekha Rani whose leadership qualities and the urge to do something for India changed the lives of 400 people in the adopted village. Projects like community development project under which development of blocks of manageable size were under Block development Officers(BDOs) responsible for planning and ensuring linkages, Lead bank Scheme under which flow of credit to villages under the purview of each bank branch(under service area approach)  were to be provided backward and forward linkages necessary to ‘absorb’ credit for productive purposes and  Integrated Rural Development Programme have all contribut...

Nonchalant postman - The Hindu

Govt against consent of tribals for displacement | Business Standard News My VIEW: Lending norms This refers to the report “India against prior, informed consent of tribals for displacement”(March 31). As a lender, World Bank is known for imposing conditionalities which go much beyond the normal safeguards taken by a banker while extending credit. In the instant case, the requirements borders trespass of the borrowing nation’s sovereign right to manage its resources to the country’s advantage. The human rights and environment protection issues are being used as a veil to enforce lender’s right to withhold credit.  Those who are suspicious about India’s stand here may note that the World Bank is trying to interfere in the internal policies of the borrowing nation by luring the country with a ‘small soft’ loan. Having said that, the argument is not that local population’s livelihood rights or right to proper rehabilitation when land is acquired for development projects....

Indoctrination in the guise of education - The Hindu My VIEW: When scholars talk, chances are that common man may trust them blindly. Unfortunately, the sensitivity of the issue on hand has made Professor Rohit Dhankar to pick and choose stanzas from Gita and give interpretations to suit his line of argument. Let me draw his attention to Dr S Radhakrishnan’s perception of the purport of the now controversial stanza 4:13 of Bhagavad Gita. He explained caturvarnyam thus: “…the fourfold order. The emphasis is on guna(aptitude) and karma (function) and not jati (birth). The varna or the order to which we belong is independent of sex, birth or breeding…” Readers may take into account Dr Radhakrishnan’s interpretation of Bhagavad Gita also before coming to conclusions based on this article. M G Warrier, Thiruvananthapuram

How much of Indian Constitution is for “We, the people”? - Moneylife This article was published in 2012. Posting again, instead of writing another article. Revisiting the provisions of Indian Constitution is always rewarding. M G Warrier

Medha Patkar quits AAP - Moneylife My VIEW: The goings on within AAP or the criticism AAP is facing would not surprise those who have been watching the ‘evolution’ of AAP as a political party. The emergence of AAP on India’s political scene was welcomed by many including this writer. Not because we expected AAP to become a political alternative at a time when both left and right, as also the middle, if one existed, political forces and their leaderships were doing more harm to the country than good. AAP served as a timely ALARM or Wake-up Call for the people of India who left their destiny to the inefficient and corrupt political leadership. AAP has played its role as a change agent. For sustaining the change, ‘WE THE PEOPLE’ should take charge. M G Warrier

I knew E X Joseph since early 1960’s when he was Secretary General of the All India Audit & Accounts Employees’ Association when he was based in Mumbai and I had just joined Accountant General’s Office, Trivandrum. He maintained our relationship unbroken since then, though both of us passed through many phases of life both in personal and ‘official’ life. Every New Year, every ONAM, every X’mas we remembered each other. I had opportunity to understand his association with V K Krishna Menon and V R Krishna Iyer, to read his writings on human issues and to watch from a distance his work in relation to publications he edited and books he wrote. Copied below is the poem he mailed to me on March 28, 2015: TO JESUS ON THE CROSS The cross was your destiny, it was bound to be You challenged power, defied authority You exposed the hollowness of the learned mind You pulled down the gods that man had created You rejected the claims of the priests, the Pharisees You walked with the lo...

Medicine is becoming a business - Moneylife

We have a sound draft health policy | Business Line My VIEW: The draft National Health Policy(dNHP), when it becomes a reality and gets operational, may bring affordable healthcare to the door-steps of all citizens. But, at a time when policy makers and government abhor even the thought of a realistic poverty line for fear of the majority of people going below that dreaded line, dNHP leaving the drawing board and getting implemented can remain only a fond hope or a dream. But like carrying out population census or making efforts to issue AADHAAR cards, a health connectivity for all families could be attempted by issuing health cards to each family. The card should carry the following information: (i)                  Name and age of family member (ii)                Medical insurance cover, if available (iii)     ...

Growth for a few, loss for many - The Hindu My VIEW: March 28, 2015 Displaced locals The issues highlighted in the article, which include, market-led agrarian reforms that entrench bigger and deeper land markets, environmental stresses and the consequent indebtedness of farmers, fast shrinking cultivable land area and establishment’s eagerness to maintain an adequate ‘stock’ of low-wage reserve workforce, if ignored by the policy makers and government, will impair the long term sustainable economic development of the country. World over, every geographical area, where locals have been displaced or annihilated for faster economic development, has later faced environmental, political or economic problems leading to loss of quick gains. It will be difficult to sustain any economic development without factoring in the welfare and/rehabilitation of the local population. M G Warrier , Thiruvananthapuram

Being Christian in India - The Hindu My VIEW: HOW MANY OF US ARE AWARE THAT 'CONVERSION' HAS THIS MANY DIMENSIONS? M G Warrier

NITI Aayog plays safe on poverty | Business Standard News My VIEW: Playing safe on poverty Although the thought behind the stand taken by NITI Aayog not to estimate its own poverty line is laudable, there is a need to have a nationally accepted method to arrive at poverty line- even if the line for different geographical regions within India may vary- and that method having the sanction of NITI Aayog and GOI. This is because several government schemes for poverty alleviation(now poverty elimination) relate the eligibility criteria to poverty line. International comparisons, fear of loss of image if the number of those below poverty line goes up during a particular period, total disconnect of poverty line or comparable indicator for different countries with purchasing power parity and several other constraints make poverty estimation highly subjective and sometimes prejudiced in India. Economists and consultants help out policy makers in such situations by creating confus...

Bhupesh Bhandari: India's first corporate agent? | Business Standard Column My VIEW: Arundhati's comments served a purpose. More and more people started 'reading' Gandhi. ThanQ Arundhati. M G Warrier

Victory for free speech - The Hindu

The judgment that silenced Section 66A - The Hindu

Free speech Ver.2.0 - The Hindu

POINT OF NO RETURN? I HAVE ALWAYS SAID THAT THERE IS NO DEAD END(MEANING, A DIVERSION IS ALWAYS AVAILABLE) TILL THE END. I found the following quote from a mail received today interesting: “Here, I want to share a situation faced by me during my difficult days in the past. I was trapped in to very difficult circumstances where no one was trust worthy for me and I was not expecting help from any corner of my friends, relatives, colleagues and what not. In search of few sympathetic assurances I went to Mumbai and met someone (I do not want to quote name). Unfortunately, there also I received the same treatment and rather I was banged by the concerned person very badly. In few moments I was so out of gear that I did not intend to return back to home. However, at the same moment and at the same place, in a magazine, I saw a citation of one author named 'Harriet Beecher Stowe', I stole that piece of paper from the magazine and it is preserved with me till date. I know, it was a ...

Section 66A of IT Act - Moneylife

Restructuring RBI - Moneylife

No disconnect between government and RBI: Arun Jaitley | The Asian Age My VIEW: As several crucial policy issues were dodged during the past ten years or so, broadly due to compulsions of coalition politics, there is a hurried rushing through of announcement of intentions by government and bodies responsible for implementation of government policy. Government should be cautious to ensure that such hurry does not end up in destabilising existing institutions like RBI. Yes, the reference here is specifically to the need for revisiting half-baked recommendations of FSLRC before implementation. Intentions behind the proposal for an independent Public Debt Management Agency ‘outside’ RBI and GOI may be noble. But ultimately, as the agency will have to handle  ‘debt’ which is dependent on credibility and clout of the borrower, for the moment, it is better to continue status quo. Every time a new initiative or decision is taken affecting financial sector, we have a legacy of...

Bankers resort to 'Gandhigiri' to recover dues from wilful defaulters | Business Standard News My VIEW: The mention by Prime Minister Modi during the 2014 Independence Day speech about the need to improve toilet facilities in schools especially for girls has resulted in creating improved awareness on the subject and action is in progress for changing the situation. Wilful defaulters(put simply, those who do not repay bank loans on due dates, despite having resources to repay) are a category which may not be amenable to ‘Gandhigiri’. They may ‘show you the other cheek’, but still they will refuse to repay. The action by bank employees should be seen in right spirit, as it comes long after RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan explained in some detail why wilful defaulters should not be encouraged to continue the exploitation of the system. This also shows that the will to take strong measures to recover dues fast is still lacking. Banks should be given policy support in timel...

Unlocking growth through labour reforms - The Hindu My VIEW: This refers to the article “Unlocking growth through labour reforms”(March 21). It  is comforting to see a member of parliament from the ruling party analysing an issue touching the majority of Indian workforce with deep insight and making every observation backed by available data. One wishes more members of legislatures do similar homework and make policy formulation more realistic. There are several issues impairing the efficiency of India’s workforce in addition to the primary ones like inadequate minimum wages(it is common knowledge that Minimum Wage Acts, where existing, are also violated quite often) referred to in the article, low literacy levels, abject poverty and responsible authorities turning blind when violations of laws meant to protect the interests of workers happen in broad daylight make workers’ life miserable. Most of the forceful arguments for labour law reforms come from industry source...

National policy for Upper Houses? - The Hindu

Managers vs. ideologues in AAP - The Hindu

'I have Parkinson’s but Parkinson’s will not have me' - Moneylife My VIEW: Articles like this help readers familiarise with latest developments in certain areas of medical science. As those who really suffer such ailments have no access to websites or newspapers, the responsibility for sharing information is more on those who are healthy. Madhavan, Dr BM Hegde and Moneylife deserves special appreciation for their contribution in creating awareness about living a healthy life and ‘managing ill-health’. Perhaps, Moneylife could adapt an old bye-line of a steel producer and say, “Moneylife also talks about money!” M G Warrier

Digital Age - Moneylife Healthcare: Sharing and caring This is with regard to “When doctors assume that they know what a patient wants” by Prof BM Hegde. Thank you, Dr Hegde, for creating awareness about the grey areas in healthcare. The gradual disappearance of the concept of ‘family doctor’ in India and the transfer of healthcare responsibilities to machines and specialists are causing avoidable agony to those who approach hospitals for medical attention. The medical profession and pharma industry are becoming parasites on the ill-health of patients. Some self-regulation and some amount of sharing and caring from the government can reduce the agony. MG Warrier

Letters: Institutional credibility | Business Standard Letters

Inflation targeting of the wrong kind | Business Line My VIEW: The article gives deep insight into the historic relevance of the Reserve Bank of India’s role in the economic growth of the country. The criticism about the central bank deviating from the mandated role(the author has relied on the Preamble of the RBI Act) need to be seen in its right perspective. Price stability, being a function of, among others, productivity of various sectors including agriculture and manufacturing, resources availability, taxation policy and exchange rate, RBI’s success in maintaining price stability will depend also on fiscal management by and policy support from GOI. Having said that, it would be too soon to expect  RBI’s Monetary Policy to have inflation targeting as its sole or primary objective. In the Indian context, unlike other central banks, for historic reasons, RBI has taken on itself several responsibilities in relation to economic development. It will take time to put ...

Adding wind to Raghu’s sails | Business Line

Promising show by students - The Hindu

India’s heart is in the right place - The Hindu My VIEW: Coming from a person who has gone deep into the several dimensions of the human sensitivity and legal and logistic issues involved in heart transplant, hopefully, the contents will receive the attention they deserve from people who can influence policies and procedures that can make things easier at the execution stage. My suggestion is that some responsible organisation like Indian Medical Association should prepare a comprehensive check list for carrying out organ transplants factoring in all linkages including counselling and legal formalities. I am not saying that the details of procedures are not there in ‘books’. But creating more awareness will help. Perhaps, one insurance company or a group of insurance companies could provide cover for such procedures accepting a premium from centres where facilities exist for such transplants. The final question raised by the author, “Why is it I wondered, that we can rece...

Abheek Barua: Policy on the hop? | Business Standard Column My VIEW: March 17, 2015 This excellent open analysis of the challenges faced by RBI in the context of a top to bottom revamp of its own structure and the credibility issues arising from hurried rushing through of some of the half-baked Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission(FSLRC) recommendations, deserves to be taken seriously by both RBI and Finance Ministry for a quick “stop, look and proceed” in regard to the speed and direction of the policy vehicle they are riding. The effort to divide responsibilities in regard to fiscal and monetary policy responsibilities now being attempted, while theoretically better, may breed more problems. One wishes, even at this stage, wiser counsel prevails with GOI to review the decision to hurry with the move to transfer the responsibility of managing public debt from RBI to Finance Ministry. Not in a very distant past, we have seen regulators including RBI reiteratin...

India, a bright spot on cloudy global horizon, says IMF chief Lagarde | Business Line My VIEW: March 17, 2015 Welcome change This refers to the report “India, a bright spot on cloudy global horizon, says IMF chief Lagarde”(March 17). India’s toiling masses, entrepreneurs and the availability of resources within the country have not changed overnight. What has made the IMF chief observe that ‘When adjusting for differences in purchasing prices between economies, India’s GDP will exceed that of Japan and Germany combined. Indian output will also exceed the combined output of the three next largest emerging market economies-Russia, Brazil and Indonesia’ is the confidence of the Indian people, infused by the political and financial sector leadership provided by Narendra Modi and Dr Raghuram Rajan. Once again, one remembers: “Uddharedaatmanaatmanam Naatmanamavasaadayet Aatmaiva hyatmano Bandhuraatmaiva Ripuraatmanah” (One should lift oneself by one’s own efforts and should n...

The elusive quest for autonomy - The Hindu

Post-job Problems - Moneylife This response won the best letter prize from Moneylife magazine(Anice wall clock!) M G Warrier

Letters: A welcome move | Business Standard Letters

Analysing the Budget - The Hindu

India adopts flexible inflation targeting | Business Standard News My VIEW This move will infuse transparency in the thought process of policy makers. At this stage of economic development, when analysts and economists dissect and find reasons or attribute motives for every utterance by the Finance Minister or RBI Governor, such transparency will give some relief and make debates more focussed. Having said that, let us not talk too much about responsibility and accountability of either side. Like Railway Time Table tells you about late running of trains, Inflation Target will tell you what was the aim of the policy makers at a given time. Aberrations will be explained from time to time. M G Warrier

Senior Citizens - Moneylife My VIEW: Government has to take the responsibility to ensure social security in general and care of the elderly and the disabled particularly. At this point I am not just on the issue of adequacy of old age pensions or share of healthcare in the budget. The euthanasia administered on a regular pension system that was in place in the organised sector(Yes, I am referring to introduction of NPS to camouflage the country’s unpreparedness to start funding the existing pension schemes- remember this was done to satisfy the spokespersons of a country which has an unfunded pension liability of over $4 trillion!) has added to the agonising situation faced by Indian middle class. Now wage bills have to factor in adequate pension component and the employers/employees in the organised sector will have to be guided to ensure that this component goes into a reliable pension fund. As regards the inadequacy of old age pension, time is opportune to think in ter...

Why shift public debt management from RBI to GoI? - Moneylife This article was published @moneylife.in during November 2013. Posting again here, as some readers wanted to know my views on the subject in the context of recent developments. M G Warrier

Game changers in the Budget - The Hindu My VIEW: That the government faces an uphill task in restoring lost credibility in government as an institution comes out loudly in Gurumurthy’s observation that “The idea of gold monetisation also calls for a massive campaign to convince millions of Indians possessing gold to look at gold bonds as equal to gold itself.”  More transparency in systems to make it clear that gold deposits, after a minimum lock-in period will be allowed to be withdrawn as cash at the prevailing market value of standard gold, an assurance that sovereign gold bonds are backed by gold-holdings and an acceptable reassurance that the Indian made gold coins will contain gold of internationally accepted standard are simple features that should be factored into the gold monetisation scheme to make it successful. Once gold becomes an asset comparable to shares, real estate or bank deposits, the abuse of the metal for ‘show off’ also will come down and ‘black gold’ will ...