Of Financial Inclusion, Hindi Imposition, Gandhiism and InOrganic Growth

You've read the ATM story, haven't you? If you go into an ATM in Hubli, Karnataka and if you were among those crores of Indians that don't know Hindi, you are highly likely to be surprised by this ATM's user interface being in Hindi and English alone. Yes, there could be more ATMs in Karnataka that provide instructions in Hindi than ones that provide instructions in Kannada. This is a glaring trait of our bank markets that one can notice across the country - banks are yet another channel through which Hindi is imposed upon a large non-Hindi geography of India. 

At a time when India is reported to be suffering from poor financial inclusion across the country, the RBI - the central bank that governs all other banks operating in the country, and chartered to increase financial inclusion, sets such standards to these banks with regards to customer services and customer interaction that the banks are all but bullied to perceive better returns in displaying allegiance to the RBI than vowing to serve their customers' original, uncorrupted needs; those needs that require banks to offer services in a language the customer is most comfortable with. 

A brief look at some of the circulars issued by RBI to all types of banks in India will tell us what kind of strikingly lopsided a language plan has gone into the making of its language policies. These policies openly declare Hindi alone as the sacrosanct language that banks must accept in undeterred fashion and impede no processes involved in serving customers using Hindi whereas a similar treatment is not even dealt with for 21 other languages listed as Scheduled languages in the Constitution of India. 

The very act of making one language mandatory as opposed to making 21 other scheduled languages optional in a diverse market such as ours shows how market agnostic these RBI's regulations are and exposes the undesirable government control over a supposed market transaction. The people of India cannot afford to rest so much control in a banker of banks that remains market agnostic but never fails to uphold aspirations of a central government to promote Hindi in the market.

In fact, it appears from the powers entrusted in RBI, it could well be using it to dole out market benefits to banks as an incentive to promote Hindi usage and service among customers and employees respectively. Being instructed to adopt Hindi enablement as one of its top goals, the RBI finds success in this incentive route. A statement issued by RBI's former governor (Mr Subbarao) backing Hindi usage as vital to increasing financial inclusion in India sent a shocker to anyone who understands a customer's actual needs. This is an unfortunate development happening in an intersection of governance and market. 

While imposing Hindi through banks is evidently making financial inclusion a more elusive mirage, RBI has also been making many other things difficult for non-Hindi speaking Indians. The encouragement (and incentives ?) provided to nationalised banks to celebrate Hindi Day, Week and now Fortnight has in a way solemnized this unnecessary and expensive government intrusion into market territory. This has also added on most of India a huge annual tax burden camouflaged under the notion of a mythical financial inclusion, and an even more mythical national interest. In the wake of such Hindi imposing programs inserted by the government into the market, national interest could well be getting compromised, what with the interests of customers being thrown into air. Mahatma Gandhi once said that protection of customer interest should be the top undertaking of any business if it wishes to survive in a market.

In the wake of these anti developments it would be in the best interest of customers, and Indian citizens in general, that the Govt of India ceases to interfere in the operation of banks to this degree where it has to tell them what language must be used and what languages may be used. In a broader sense, the central government must also realize and honor the linguistic diversity in India and stay away from politics of raising the promotion of one Indian language above that of all other Indian languages. 

GOI must immediately make appropriate amendments in the Constitution to accord and reflect equality to all languages of this country. To start with, it should first make all languages listed in Schedule-8 as official languages of the Indian Union and the central government. 

Hindi imposition is an evil remnant of the imperial touch India experienced during the British era. It is in the best of national interest to shed this diseased skin and let Indian growth happen in its own way - organic or inorganic way.

One For The Master and None For The Little Boy

Today's DNA reports that the Karnataka State Food & Civil supplies minister has decided to write to the Government of India (GoI) seeking restriction on rice exports from the State. Apparently this move has been contemplated in the wake of rising rice prices in the open market, and that "the State has no role in curbing price rise."

We may recall in this context voluntary steps promised by the GoI towards controlling spiraling onion prices, again in the open market. These and many similar instances of government intrusion into a free and open market to regulate prices through lateral exercise of legislative and executive powers present evidence of loose interpretation of governance boundaries or an oppressive attitude towards an open market.

These episodes provide evidence to the fact that governments are exceeding their appointed charter to remain in popularity. But an even more interesting pattern that emerges from such episodes is that all the powers required to suppress free-market forces and regulate market prices seem to have been appropriated by the GoI - the master. The State governments, the little boys, as always, are reduced to mere observatories - which are expected to observe the price rise in local markets and obediently report them to the Center.

The Public Distribution System (PDS) is yet another instrument that portrays the State government as a mere spectator, what with the fickle Central ministry fiddling with the rationing of cooking gas and State governments mutely watching the show unfold.

Another burning matter that surfaces out of this issue is the matter of border and import-export control. If the State governments cannot exert control over what gets exported out from the State and they have to rely on the executive powers of the Center to exert this control, it exposes the sad state of control an Indian State has over its own physical borders. It exposes the mechanism in which the States have been made to bequeath control over their own borders to the Center, making States dependent on a less capable government (GoI) when it comes to protecting itself either from external attacking factors or from leakage of internal stuff through these borders - both against State interests.

These topics are fine examples that help understand the critical loopholes that can exist in a highly centralized governance mechanism. Such holes can only be plugged by proper decentralization of governance and powers. A comprehensively thought over devolution of governing powers is highly overdue in India.

Also read (in Kannada) about other border control issues: ಯಾರ ಗಡಿ ಮತ್ತು ಯಾರ ಪಲಾಯನ?

Namma Metro: Will we climb this Mountain between the Valleys?

Namma Metro is here, and my, is it the talk of the town or what? As a weird coincidence of sorts, I had to head out of Benglur on the night of Oct 20, 2011 - same day when Namma Metro was officially launched for public use - flying from one valley to another.. from one Metro town to another. In this context, here's a roll-out of my observations on our Metro in comparison with the Metro running in another Valley on the other side of the planet!

Upon a quick survey of public transport in two Silicon Valleys, we find on one hand, VTA, the authority that runs a hybrid public transit system connecting multiple south Californian suburbs, and on the other hand two bodies namely BMTC & BMRC together connecting our own valley, Benglur. Standing among various differences between these geographies and organizations is the common factor that urban public transit systems are localized-by-design, in that their target audience and the traits expected of their operation are all locally attributable. These transport systems operate within smaller limits, earmark a limited demography as beneficiaries, and are structured to assist the lifestyles of the local people.

Similarities aside, there's a marked difference one finds in the nature of operation & maintenance of these transport bodies, a difference bearing in the way these bodies perceive commuters, and the bases on which they appear to be taking operational decisions. These differences could be in taking budgetary decisions, in publishing them, or using the smallest opportunity to thank people for their tax money. The VTA (and its like) seem to be voluntarily ahead with an upper hand compared to their Benglur counterparts, who in turn not only fail in attributing their existence & operation to public tax money, but also display clear aloofness in their publications (some really vital documents not in Kannada, the lingua-franca of Benglur) and in decision making that affect their functioning thereby impacting the people - its customers i.e.

What seems to be the Problem?
As a generalization, it'd appear that these govt. run transport corporations, like other govt. bodies chartered to directly serve people in commercial transactions, do not take public as customers at all! Be it the BSNL, or ESCOMs, or RTOs, or the Palikes or BMTC or BMRC, although their very existence (& profitability in some cases) is hinged on public turnout, their indifference towards customers has continued to cause frustration among the public. In return our governments are known to have showered unconditional love and protection covering losses of such organizations with more public money supply. In doing so their indifference towards customers is solemnized and perhaps even legalized, making customers of such public sector undertakings fall dumb prey, left with little choice to churn.
(Its a different matter, of course, that this very lack of choice could have paved way for severe corruption in our society. Although this is not uncommon knowledge, it is important we the people write & read about this!)

Where seems to be the problem?
For instance, the BMTC is a govt. sponsored company that runs bus services in Benglur city. While it owes allegiance to the Karnataka govt (and hence the people) for most of its funding and other sponsorship, it still needs to be told about the importance of using Kannada in all its customer interactions, not just in its administrative affairs. It needs to be continuously polled and complained at the first instance of playing Hindi music inside its city buses. Having prevented any competition from breeding, BMTC has in a way been abusing its sponsor's (the govt.) dominant position to take undue control of the market and at thereby denying good service in Kannada to deserving Kannadiga customers in Benglur.

BMRC: Heluvudu ondu, Maaduvudu innondu

Taking a look at BMRC - problems galore from day one. Marked with public exclusion all along, this project continues to shock with information in three languages, one of them Hindi - a totally out of context language in a locally run train service, nowhere cutting across lands of Hindi speaking people. Making it yet another instrument of Hindi imposition in the hands of a federally elected govt. in Delhi? BMRC's journey tickets are given weird names from the Hindi dictionary, and the boards inside the real train coaches differ markedly from their mock counterparts (see pic). All this talks volumes about public exclusion being practised big time in these organizations.

Well, where lies the problem, really? Is it in those government bodies? Is it in our own bodies? Are we being forcibly shortchanged by these government undertakings? Are such urbanization measures of governments feigning modernization running their hideous imperialist enterprises entirely at our costs? Are we ending up paying for all these Hindi imposition? Have we lost our grounds and forgotten our rights as a customer in all these situations? Have we unlearned the skill of running projects to meet what our society needs? Have we given up before the battle has even begun? The battle for better quality of living, for our rights as customers, for our rights as equal citizens.

Being Kannadigas, don't we remember anymore that service in Kannada is indeed our right!? Then why aren't we hearing people complain?? Come ooooooooooooooooon! Lets not buy our tickets after the train has left! Lets write to them: 
BMRCL - sivasailam@bmrc.co.in, sudhirchandra@bmrc.co.in, vasanthrao@bmrc.co.in, bmrcl@dataone.in. 
BMTC - "Chief Traffic Manager (O)" <ctmobmtc@gmail.com>, bmtcmd@gmail.com
Karnataka CM - cm@kar.nic.in

A Government to Control Onion Prices?

Have you ever wondered what made you go out there and vote for your representative in the last election, if you did i.e.? Did we vote him so that he could go and sleep in the parliament? Did we vote for him to go and bargain fuel prices, or worse-still, bargain for onion (among other vegetables) prices in our locality? Well, the latter is nearly what is happening at the central govt. of India lately. An excerpt from Governance Now of 21st Dec 2010 goes as below:

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today expressed deep concern over the sharp rise in onion prices and said effective steps should be taken to bring down the prices to affordable levels.

What steps is our Prime Minister hinting at here? Although the question immediately apparent from the PM's above comments is "What can the government do?" the question we the people should really be asking is "What should the government do? And what it should not do?" In other words I wish to ask, why should a government, elected by a people after spending 1120 Crore Rupees, interfere in the fixation of prices of onions in markets across India? Now the reason I ask such a question may not be immediately apparent. It becomes easy to decipher when one gets to know what are the typical tools and moves available to an elected government in correcting a market! Subsidy, for instance, is a commonly used deadly weapon by governments to 'subside' inflationary prices but little do many people know where those subsidy moneys come from, and what adverse effect such subsidies could have on the creators of such commodities - onion farmers in this particular case.

The "Street" has only two curves - Supply & Demand.

Irony strikes, of course, when the left front in the parliament (CPI et al.) alleges the government's pro-market policies to be reason behind this "defeat" of the governing side to market forces! On one hand are the ruling parties unaware of the real structure of a pro-market government, and on the other hand, we have a (part of the) opposition, with a much acute ignorance about pro-market governance, that believes the government has "totally surrendered" to market forces. Interestingly although such a situation is required for a healthy market, it would be better termed as co-existence instead of a surrender to market forces.

Given all this, will you cast your vote to someone to go out there and "play" with our markets? Will you cast your vote to the best bargainer of onion prices?! Or will we vote for those who know what a market is, and help keep it sacred and separate from governance? In democracy, like in a market, there's no free lunch. Unless we the people put in our efforts and get educated and use it, our societies and markets will not get better.

Worse still...
Just before publishing this, found in today's Kannada Prabha was this snippet citing Mr Veerappa Moily, our home-grown lawyer turned union law minister, commenting against the Karnataka state's stance in this regard just because he sits on the other side of the table in the Parliament! Stuck between the jaws of such governing machinery is our market and we, the customers. I guess its time we peeled the onions in this regard.

Flying... With Strings Attached

In the last post I talked about the confusion apparent in airports and aircrafts of India, and highlighted the confusion that I witnessed in some of our international airports.

I wish to dive deeper to understand the root causes for this confusion in our airports, and unravel what lies beyond this mirage of confusion.

Amidst the fast expanding global liberal markets that have resulted in influences deep into societies across the world, Indian governance machinery appears peculiarly suspicious of the power of market forces, and continues exercising its power by means of regulations, constraints, guidelines and circulars on businesses through complex & innovative combinations of committees, regulatory bodies, departments and sometimes dedicated ministries. One such combination is that of the Airports Authority of India (AAI), Airports Economic Regulatory Authority, Civil Aviation Ministry, and the quintessential Indian flagship - the Department of Official Language.

At the outset, isn't it itself startling that the Rajbhasha department (whoever needs it?) is even listed in the affairs of an authority responsible for Indian airports?! Being a super biased yet powerful department that it is, it is not surprising how this department finds an influential spot in the airways market in India. It is empowered to monitor and influence the deployment of Hindi in AAI, among other central government undertakings. This deployment has incorporated Hindi in examinations and interviews, Hindi literacy is now a key pre-requisite for employment in many of its agencies. These agencies, in turn strive to press indirectly and repeatedly on the AAI and related departments the need for having Hindi in all possible uses of language - the interiors of airports and flights not excluded from this list. As a consequence of such machinery aided by the who-asked-for-it three-language formula we've all become mute evidence to confusion lurking in our public places.

The final casualty of all this is doubtlessly the common man, and the customer in his respective market. It is reasons such as these behind market ill-health that we need to wake up to, not get used to the filthy situation itself. It is the customer inside each of us who can poke businesses to strive to get our markets back to good health. After all how far can one fly with strings attached?

Our Airports, very confusing!

Welcoming the world via elaborate airports is a new found fashion of every country. This is a trend one can notice today - in an era when a globalized economy seems to be the destiny of every nation and embracing a higher flux of people across its borders a desired consequence, reasons manifold.

With this as background, I happened to take a quick glance at a couple of Indian airports. In fact the following few illustrations are sequences one would commonly witness when passing through some of our country's airports and when flying in planes run by some of our airline companies. (Please note, I am referring to those airlines that are registered on Indian soil, and come under the purview of rules applying here.)

Tamil comes first in Anna airport in Chennai

Ambient Language
While the ambiance and services an airport offers to its passengers could be a mere cosmetic artifact, the real charisma is embedded in the cultural richness the airport stands to represent, a culture the airport apparently opens doors to. Its an easy guess about the important role the ambient-language of the airport plays in making it this cultural tableaux.

The picture to the left illustrates two informative boards inside Chennai (Anna intl) Airport, marked significantly in the Tamil language (on top), followed by Hindi and English. Although the question about the need for three languages remains unasked here (too), common-sense seems to have prevailed though, clearly prioritizing communication in Tamil. This pattern of signage appears uniform across this airport making it clear that Tamil is the language that represents the culture of that land. This airport certainly has a bright future.. all such airports I mean.

Near invisible Kannada on boards in Bengaluru Intl airport

On the other hand, the picture on the right taken in the new Bengaluru Intl Airport illustrates its dismal state of affairs when it comes to clarity in communication. Ambivalence and poor understanding of the real culture of Karnataka seems to be advertised shamelessly in every such placard inside BIA. Notice the clear difference in the sign-age methodologies between these two airports of neighboring states. Bengaluru being the capital of a Kannada state, this situation in BIA confuses the daylight out of its visitors with every such board!

More Confusion mid-air

In-flight directions - a rather risky confusion this!

Going ahead, this picture inside a plane further demonstrates how worse this confusion about language use (in a market) has become and how troubled and confused it leaves the common man participating in such markets. Consequence - this flight between Bengaluru and Chennai is evidently missing languages of both cities involved in this flight! Even here, English and Hindi swap positions between boards, reflecting the confusion even these airliners seem to be in when it comes to providing vital communication to passengers!

Why, I ask myself, does this confusion prevail in a market that has been functioning since longer than many other world markets. Let to itself, will our market not figure out which language is best placed in which market? Will the customers in those markets not want lesser confusion?! Who is voting confusion to rule here, after all? Let us find out...

(to be continued)

Getting Deeper Into Consumer Affairs

The Indian Ministry of Consumers Affairs includes a department taking care of consumer affairs and their welfare in India. Under its aegis, a set of rules has been listed to regulate consumer information, safety and comfort. Among these rules is this peculiar one that particularly addresses the importance of good packaging of consumer goods.

Under Chapter II, Section 9 (4) refers to a particular way in which Declarations on packaged consumer goods must be made. What this says is that the declaration must be either in Hindi (Devnagri script) or in English, but of course, the central government through this rule doesn't preclude usage of any other regional language on the package, as long as Hindi is not missed out. What's so official about language used on consumer goods?

While this presents a clear case of myopic thinking on the part of policy makers, to every individual consumer, this translates to an additional indirect expenditure of no avail, especially in non-Hindi speaking states. So going by number of people living in these states, nearly most of India (around 60+%) is bearing the additional burden of expenses on packaged goods which come with the mandatory Hindi Declarations as well.

All this doesn't mean the Indian government is sitting quiet observing all these wasteful expenditure incurred by its subjects & corporates alike. It is also, in turn, spending money to educate people and make them Hindi Literate - thereby creating a virtual less-lossy environment for corporates. As a by-product, of course, all other languages (and cultures associated with them) are rapidly going down the drain, thereby shaking the very pillar of our unity - cultural diversity.

So what're all these costing the common non-Hindi speaking consumers? Much. One - for a consumer to learn a new language only to be a consumer. Two - always bear the extra costs of packets with multiple languages, because, come what may, Hindi would never fully be absorbed by tens of Crores of non-hindi speakers in India (stats for this are available everywhere). Three - the true consumer's interests are being compromised with, businesses cornered-in with misplaced polity intervention. At the end these are only driving consumers into a pit of confusion amidst multiple languages - something that will invariably follow when policy makers get so deep into consumer affairs.