Big Brother - Desi Ishtyle

From NDTV:

NCTC is a one stop set-up to monitor almost any activity of yours, whether through your passport or to check on immigration details.

Documents that can be sought to seek details:
Passport
Bank accounts
Taxes, PAN card
Ration card
Voter I-card
Airline, Railway travel
Telephone documents

Who will access your details:
New agency to be set up (National Intelligence Grid)
Intelligence Bureau (IB), Research And Analysis Wing (RAW), Central Burau of Investigation (CBI), Defence Research Institute (DRI), National Investigative Agency (NIA), Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Economic Offences Wing (EOW)

Are we marching towards a police state in the name of security?

What struck me most was the matter of fact reporting without any real critique of the proposed system. Of course, there was the perfunctory mention regarding privacy, but nothing more.

Juxtapose this with the reality that is Indian Bureaucracy/Police Service - Corruption, Heavy-handed treatment of people, no real care for Citizen's rights, abuse of power.

It might make sense on paper to have as much data available to the security/investigative forces, given our corrupt and morally bankrupt system, this is a recipe for disaster.

Wattabottles..Just for fun!!

Economy - Perspectives on US, China and India

Joseph Stiglitz, one of the economists i try to follow online, has an article - more of an extract from his book Free Fall - in Telegraph. He argues that we need to question the underlying concept of Capitalism as practiced in the west. I for one believe in active regulation of the markets by the government, thereby guaranteeing a level playing fair field for all the stakeholders. Anyone who has followed this crisis and the way the US Govt has gone about bailing out "Too Big to Fail" banks without any new regulations or slap in the wrist of the bankers who were responsible for the whole thing will know that what is practiced in the US is Crony Capitalism. From Telegraph -

Government needs to play a role, and not just in rescuing the economy when markets fail and in regulating markets to prevent the kinds of failures we have just experienced. Economies need a balance between the role of markets and the role of government – with important contributions by non-market and non-governmental institutions. In the last 25 years, America lost that balance, and it pushed its unbalanced perspective on countries around the world.

The current crisis has uncovered fundamental flaws in the capitalist system, or at least the peculiar version of capitalism that emerged in the latter part of the 20th century in the US (sometimes called American-style capitalism). It is not just a matter of flawed individuals or specific mistakes, nor is it a matter of fixing a few minor problems or tweaking a few policies.

It has been hard to see these flaws because we Americans wanted so much to believe in our economic system. "Our team" had done so much better than our arch enemy, the Soviet bloc

While speaking about economy, capitalism and such, it wouldn't make sense to not include China. With its break neck speed of growth, unforeseen levels of foreign exchange reserves and growing political muscle, it most likely is the next superpower. However i don't think they have the softpower or other ideologies that might attract people from every part of the globe towards it. Here is an article from Rediff which purports to show how the world with China as the predominant power would be very different. From Rediff -

Americans and Europeans blithely assume that China will become more like them as its economy develops and its population gets richer. This is a mirage, Jacques says. The Chinese and their government are wedded to a different conception of society and polity: Community-based rather than individualist, state-centric rather than liberal, authoritarian rather than democratic. China has 2,000 years of history as a distinct civilisation from which to draw strength. It will not simply fold under western values and institutions.

A world order centred on China will reflect Chinese values rather than western ones, Jacques argues. Beijing [ Images ] will overshadow New York, the renminbi will replace the dollar, Mandarin will take over from English, and schoolchildren around the world will learn about Zheng He's voyages of discovery along the Eastern coast of Africa rather than about Vasco de Gama or Christopher Columbus.

(If you have read the article above, do you see the inherent contradiction within the article.)

So, in all this talk about Capitalism and big economies, where does our country stand? Are we on the right path or are we just a few decades behind, but on the same path that led to western economies to this mess? We have escaped this crisis without being hurt bad because of the regulations that were put in place. Foreign money was not allowed in to provide for a credit explosion. Though there was a bubble in the real estate field, since most of real estate (not including commercial real estate) were bought by end users themselves, not by speculators like in Dubal, any crash in that market wouldn't be as big as we see in other places. We must note that this was not coincidence but by design. Reserve Bank had proper regulations and controls over our banks. In the coming years, we would see a lot of noise about the need to open up a lot of sectors and regulations, but i hope India too doesn't succumb to the lure of short term gains in place of long term well being.

I hate when guys from the west preach to us about why we should not be mimicking the west, whilst doing nothing in their home turf. Yes, mindless materialism leads to a meaningless life and all that. But this is akin to US citizens lecturing us about resource utilization. We all know what we saw when TATA introduced NANO. We heard endlessly about how India shouldn't learn the bad habits from the west. Yeah, we must all risk our lives with 4 riding a scooter, while monstrosities like Hummers and other SUVs are the norm in the US.

Anyways, for what its worth, from Times of India -

Maybe 50 years ago, the effects of massive consumption were largely ignored. But today, most people acknowledge many planets would be required if everyone picked up American consumer habits.

Even the western toilets have become a status symbol in Indian middle-class homes. Millions of fancy flush toilets are added every year to new trendy restaurants, malls, condominiums and five-star hotels in Indian cities. Instead of adopting unsustainable imports from the West, there are areas wherein India should inspire the latter. With its traditional squatting toilet for instance. Not just because it is cheaper, more hygienic and better adapted to the human anatomy, but mostly, in a context where clean water is increasingly rare and pricy, because it requires much less of it. Countless other sustainable concepts, values and products from India could benefit Westerners. Strong extended family ties, respect for elders, kriya yoga and tongue-scrapers are just a few of them.

Indian needs to avoid repeating the West’s mistakes. Only enlightened citizens can show the way towards a more viable economy by putting pressure on government, stressing India’s success should not be measured by GDP growth rates and spending habits alone. Nor should it aspire to become like the US or China.

What do you think India should do?

Desi Consultancies and the New H1 Regime

Many have read about the recent USCIS memo on H1B which has abruptly changed the career course of many, what with denial of entry to many who went to India this holiday season and more who are still here. The implications of the memo is far reaching and as such there could be a big change in the way IT consultancies work. Here is the latest from Murthy (read full article here) explaining the finer elements of the memo and the subsequent clarifications from USCIS -

Job Shop Arrangements - Problematic
The most important example for IT consulting situations is the example of third-party placement or "job-shop" arrangements. The USCIS does not consider that there is a valid employer-employee relationship if the petitioner contracts with outside companies to fill their staffing needs. The positions are filled on an as-needed basis, rather than specifically being outlined in a contract between the petitioner and the third party. The beneficiary reports to a manager who is an employee of the third-party company. The beneficiary does not get work assignments from the petitioner; rather, the third-party company issues the assignments. The petitioner does not control the work, and there is no proprietary information regarding the petitioner that is used in the process. The end product is not related to the petitioner's business of IT consulting, and reviews are completed by the end client. The petitioner does not have the right of control and does not exercise control. Accordingly, there is no employer-employee relationship in this example.

Since most of the desi consultants work in a Job-Shop arrangement, and the business models of both the end clients and the desi consultancies revolve around this arrangement, in the short term there could be a lot of problems for people trying to re-enter US or applying for H1, at a minimum until further clarifications come from USCIS. What are the implications, especially for us desis here -
(a) if you are a student, this is probably one of the worst times to graduate. The market is really bad, and IT consultancies might sound like a solution to many. While it was true a few years ago, it is not anymore.

(b) If you are a desi consultant, i think it is atleast time to think about the next steps towards FTE (Full Time Employment). While it is true that in this market one atleast gets a few months buffer while on bench with a consultancy (desi)- if you get laid off while on FTE, it could be really traumatic to get your visa status straightened out in time - if the trend we are seeing is an indication what is to come, its better to jump ship than to be caught off guard. The USCIS has basically said that the H1Bs filed by desi consultancies who do job-shop business are invalid. If USCIS decides to tighten the noose, in one stroke your H1B can be revoked on this basis. Though it is unlikely that they would do this to every consultancy out there, if they start auditing "random" companies, you could be in trouble when you are the least ready.

Since the US just cannot cut the supply of IT professionals to US businesses - it would just choke them in the short term - abruptly, i can of think of the following three scenarios -

(a) The new memo would be more less invalidated with newer clarifications and work arounds. This is a real possibility and consultancies that are run on sound principles - pay check in time, paper work in order - might have an easier time getting back to normal.

(b) A new class of Visa might be created - like L1s or B1s - to fill just these short term projects. I see this as a possibility, albeit a not so good one. But this would only increase the paper work and uncertainty for a lot of working people. So, while it won't be popular, if it comes through desi consultants will have a tough time. I hope this doesn't happen.

(c) Vendor companies and End clients would be forced to hire H1s directly instead of depending on contractors. This would increase their overhead costs - providing benefits and such - and operating costs.

Among these three i see only option (a) coming through since and possibly to a lesser extent option (c).

But all in all, the free ride that desi consultancies had is coming to an end and for good measure. The only sad part is that many hard working desis might get hurt in the process.

Share your thoughts on what else we could expect.

Democrats' Kabuki

Thank God for the Massachusetts results, the Democrats atleast have to act as if they are serious about financial reform. Having followed the Democrats in the Senate for the last 4 odd years, i can only say that they really are not capable of any fight. The Obama Presidency is probably the climatic manifestation of the pusillanimity of the Democratic party. No wonder with in one year of a historic win, they have managed to lose Ted Kennedy's seat from a state like MA.

Like millions around the world, i too was excited by a democratic presidential victory, not because Obama was becoming a president, but man, what a let down this has been. If i could be so frustrated at the way the bailouts, Healthcare reform and everything in between have been carried out, i can only imagine the frustration among the millions of young people who worked for Obama's campaign.

The next day after MA election result he announces that there is going to be a major change in Bank regulations. If this does not make one cynical, what would. Did he think he was elected to bail out wall street, cut a secret deal with Pharma companies, a complete give away to Health Insurance companies while unemployment hit 10% until before the elections.

As frustrated as i am with the whole thing, i am not surprised that this is happening. He never was experienced enough to handle as important a position as Presidency during normal times, let alone the Great Recession times.