Showing posts with label UPA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label UPA. Show all posts

Monday, March 25, 2013

Fare the Well, Dear Mr. Governor

Amidst recurring controversies regarding Governors serving The Political Interests of The Centre, A debate to either Abolish or Relook The Constitutional position of The Governor is The need of The Hour.

The position of the Governor which was conceptualised by the founding fathers of India’s constitution to provide for an independent and impartial post which would rise above partisan interests and raise his conscientious voice in the event of a crisis or conflict in a state, has unfortunately disappointed us on more occasions than one. Recurring controversies of Governors being seen working in a partial manner and even dubbed as “political agents” has dampened the integrity of the post and calls for an urgent need for reforms of the highest order to protect the larger national interest of fair governance. The question here is whether it is time for India to totally abolish the post of Governor or not.

While one might believe that the current turmoil in Karnataka has led us to prompt this debate, one look in the recent past reveals cases where Governors of states in both the UPA and NDA regimes have not only acted partially; they have also tried to overrule the electoral mandate. Apart from the recent furore created by the BJP in the case of H R Bharadwaj and E S L Narasimhan, serving governors of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, former governors of Bihar and Jharkhand Buta Singh and Syed Sibte Razi also came under immense scrutiny after having invited a party in minority to form a government, thereby obstructing the NDA to come to power. During the NDA regime too, there was the case of Arunachal Pradesh where the Governor played a very dubious role in the formulation of the government after Gegong Apang switched sides.

According to senior political expert Subrot Kamal Dutta, “The past 20 years have seen people with political background being nominated to the Governor’s post, which has definitely declined its dignity. Even the Supreme Court has come down heavily on the Centre over the conduct of the Bihar and Jharkhand governors in the past. The post of the Governor has to be apolitical, and only people with relevant judicial and constitutional experience should be nominated. Impetus has to be on each individual to keep the post as apolitical as possible.” Taking a fair view on the ongoing turmoil in Karnataka, one could contest that Governor Bharadwaj was only carrying out his duties by acting to ensure that an individual under scanner for alleged acts of corruption to the tune of Rs.5 billion does not stay at the helm of affairs. After all, the constitution legally provides for the Governor to act against corruption, which is what Bharadwaj did. Even if we were to believe that his actions were not influenced by the Congress, his stand invited the ire of the BJP who blamed Bharadwaj of acting hastily only to divert the nation’s attention from reports of the CWG and 2G scams that the UPA was reeling under. Either way, the Governor’s actions, even if justified, stand to lose credibility on account of political gimmicks, the kinds unlikely to end anytime soon.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles

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Friday, January 25, 2013

Is the Tata Group prepared for this, or even the larger leadership crisis?

2009 will see Tata Steel, TCS and Tata Motors lose their top men to retirement. Is the Tata Group prepared for this, or even the larger leadership crisis?

Russi Mody was well past 70 and was unceremoniously ousted. Darbari Seth fought a subterranean battle that he lost when he turned 70. Even his son had to quit as MD, Tata Chemicals. And Ajit Kerkar could not even enjoy the fruits of being non-executive Chairman as he was turfed out of the Taj group when he turned 65. The exit of regional chieftains enabled Ratan Tata to transform the group from a loosely held federation to a tightly controlled corporate house where he and his trusted, hand-picked team held all the aces. In fact, Tata leveraged his unchallenged supremacy to ensure that the holding company Tata Sons substantially increased its stake in all group companies. This has been one of the key reasons for group companies like Tata Tea, TCS, Tata Steel & Tata Motors to execute expensive global acquisitions.

In 2002, when he turned 65, Ratan Tata stuck to the ‘group’ policy and retired as executive Chairman of the group. But then, no one in the group or anywhere else had any doubt whatsoever as to who called the shots in the group, no matter who the ‘executive head’. If you think Ratan Tata has actually relinquished control after 2002 when he retired as executive chairman, you will believe that it is Manmohan Singh, and not Sonia Gandhi who calls the shots in UPA. This arrangement worked well for while and then the clock started ticking again. It was Ratan Tata who had introduced a policy that defined 70 years as the final cut off age even for ‘non-executive’ positions; the same policy that was invoked to oust big wigs like Russi Mody and Darbari Seth. Most leaders tend to think that they are indispensable and Ratan Tata is no different. The dilemma was how to transform his ‘indispensability’ into official group policy. Out went the Sonia model and in came the Zia ul Haq cum Mussharraff model of governance. They changed the constitution to extend their rule and Ratan Tata changed the official group policy to extend his tenure. Back in 2005, Tata Sons announced that non-executive chairmen can now function up to age 75. Ratan Tata was 68 then and earned a fresh mandate to lead the group till 2012 at least.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
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Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Can we educate the regulator?

B&E’s Managing Editor Sutanu Guru wrote on this literate dilemma two issues back; you missed it, he knew it, we’re re-running it... diligently!

Over the decades, he has emerged as one of the most respected entrepreneurs of post-Independence India and nurtures the powerful corporate legacy of the Godrej family. He is very optimistic about India’s future. And yet, when B&E asks Adi Godrej about one single issue that could derail India. he unhesitatingly says ‘education’. “The State has to encourage private sector participation in education. There is no other option. It is the private sector that made the third rate telecom and aviation sectors in India world class. It is the private sector that will do it in education.” And of critical importance is the FEI (Foreign Educational Institutions: regulation of entry and operations, maintenance of quality and prevention of commercialisation) Bill, 2007, that had to be shelved last year by Arjun Singh due to stiff opposition from the Left. Granted that the current UPA government has just about a few months left to go before it is election season.

But just as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has staked his future legacy through the nuclear deal, HRD Minister Arjun Singh too has a great opportunity to stake his own legacy by reforming higher education in the country, and in a major way by getting the FEI Bill passed. In fact, the passing of this Bill could well lead to benefits that will be far more significant and enduring than the nuclear deal. And now that the UPA government is not hobbled by an obstructionist and obscurantic Left when it comes to policy making and implementation, Arjun Singh even has the space now to quickly leave a lasting imprint; if he so wishes to. The question is, does he?

It just seems, Arjun Singh wishes to do so, and this time is moving double time. “The hurdles have been removed to an extent and now the Bill should be introduced... If time is available, I would like to see it happen,” Arjun Singh commented just 48 hours after the government won the trust vote. Arjun Singh even set up an urgent meeting with state education ministers to initiate a blueprint for considerable expansion and education reforms in the next five years. But as he confirmed with his actions, the meeting was primarily with a focus on getting the FEI Bill passed quick time.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
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