Where is the accountability in Indian Governance

Here are the budget details downloaded from http://indiabudget.nic.in/glance.asp.   A number of observations can be drawn from this data.  This is just a sample...

• Ministry of Rural Development tops with 15% of the overall budget. According to latest census data, India has 593,731 inhabited villages.  This budget translates to 14.78 Lac Rupees per village per year
• 5 Ministries (Human Resources Development, Petroleum and Natural Gas, Power, Rural Development and Railways) each have over 50 thousand crore Rupees (~USD 1.2 Billion) in budget and account for 57% of the overall budget.  How transparently are these departments managed?
• Ministry of Women and Child Development gets 12,650 Crore Rupees.  Has the standard of this segment of population dramatically improved?

I hope someone can point me to audits and quantifiable impacts for each department.

(In crore of Rupees)
	2009-2010	2010-2011	2010-2011	2011-2012
	Actuals	Budget	Revised	Budget
		Estimates	Estimates	Estimates
Central Plan Outlay by Ministries/Departments
Ministry of Rural Development	74309	89340	89578	87800
Ministry of Petroleum and  Natural Gas	67306	69495	70088	74852
Ministry of Power	39678	60751	45668	66383
Railways	38867	40549	40218	56589
Ministry of Human Resource Development	29640	42036	43836	52060
Ministry of  Road Transport  and Highways	14933	25455	26210	27500
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare	17647	22300	21518	26760
Ministry of Communications and Information Technology	16669	21862	16216	24300
Ministry of Steel	13323	17200	16159	21103
Ministry of Agriculture	9405	11880	14049	13662
Ministry of Women and Child  Development	8482	11000	10370	12650
Department of Atomic Energy	6527	8226	7628	10012
Ministry of Home Affairs	939	2001	2615	10000
Ministry of Finance	1120	2418	9997	9895
Ministry of Coal	5303	13518	8388	9303
Ministry of Civil Aviation	11148	9588	6731	9071
Ministry of Urban Development	7627	7606	8519	8054
Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation	4555	9422	7391	7955
Ministry of Shipping	2606	6494	6676	6525
Department of Space	3169	5000	4000	5700
Ministry of Science and Technology	3829	4825	4817	5679
Ministry of Social Justice  and Empowerment	2449	4500	4300	5375
Ministry of Textiles	4222	4725	4725	5000
Ministry of Chemicals and  Fertilisers	1216	3480	3284	4525
Ministry of Commerce and Industry	2289	2730	2730	3300
Ministry of Micro, Small  and Medium Enterprises	1571	2550	2725	3250
Ministry of Minority Affairs	1709	2600	2500	2850
Ministry of Environment and Forests	1630	2200	2200	2300
Ministry of New and  Renewable Energy	1760	1950	2492	2150
Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises	2339	2965	2906	2136
Ministry of Planning	86	2000	1045	1600
Ministry of Mines	948	1763	1129	1589
Ministry of Tribal Affairs	616	1200	1234	1430
Ministry of Labour and Employment	792	1000	1227	1300
Ministry of Earth Sciences	754	1000	950	1220
Ministry of Tourism	935	1050	1000	1111
Ministry of Law and Justice	255	280	280	1000
Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports	2935	2844	2384	1000
Ministry of Information  and Broadcasting	473	850	850	861
Ministry of External Affairs	718	700	825	800
Ministry of Culture	573	735	735	785
Ministry of Water Resources	492	700	560	720
Ministry of Food Processing Industries	273	400	400	600
Ministry of Statistics and  Programme Implementation	85	268	123	600
Ministry of Consumer Affairs,  Food and Public Distribution	257	428	364	423
Ministry of Personnel, Public  Grievances and Pensions	233	250	215	260
Ministry of Panchayati Raj	106	120	120	200
Ministry of Development of  North Eastern Region	81	190	188	191
Ministry of Corporate Affairs	33	40	87	28
GRAND TOTAL	406912	524484	502250	592457

Choice of Agile Product Development Model

Republishing from my old blog...  I note that there are contrary points of view, but my observation below was unique given the circumstance I was in, at that point of time...
--------------------------------------------------------------------

I often wonder what kind of software product/project is a best-fit for Agile development model. While the answer lies somewhere in the product architecture, customer feedback loop, team structure, geographical distribution of teams and various other aspects, I am starting to realize that the "Delivery Channel and Mechanism" will actually provide a good decision box to start the algorithm. "Ends justify the Means" seems very appropriate here.

If your product version (or project) needs to be delivered very frequently, or your product is only hosted (not premised/licensed), you will obviously have some sort of iterative model in place already. Agile would be a no-brainer in such a circumstance.

On the other hand, if you had a 9-12 month long release cycle, would you move to Agile Development? An engineering-only decision will involve some deliberations along the points I mentioned in the first paragraph resulting in a downplay of implications across the rest of the enterprise ecosystem.

There are usually a lot of changes required in the other departments of the enterprise (outside the Engineering teams, let alone the extended enterprise) associated with a move to a frequent delivery model than one can imagine. The problem of having to release, sell/host, service, support, train, invoice etc is the much tougher nut to crack than the act of building the product itself. In other words, Agile development directly and heavily impacts the way rest of the enterprise thinks and acts.

A big bang approach to switch seems to be in-vogue when quick turn-arounds are expected. However, for an enterprise with diverse cultural/technical makeup and multiple geographical boundaries, a gradual adaptive model is probably the only wise choice. I strongly believe that the net goal of "efficient high frequency releases" will be achieved in just about the same timeframe as a big-bang approach, and the gradual transition will cause much less angst amongst the team members. In this hot market an unsatisfied team is a huge cost to pay for. A stepwise change from 9 to 6 to 4 to 3 monthly release (A total of two years) will provide enough time to exercise all the nuts and bolts of the new process.

In conclusion, the choice of agile development model is not that of the engineering organization, but is one that must be driven by the business goals, in response to the needs of the market with full cognizance of the ripple effects across the entire extended enterprise.

Excerpt from 'Who Says Elephants Can't Dance?'

I found this Management Values summary by Louis V. Gerstner particularly impressive.  I highly recommend you build and share your values and principles when you take on a new role involving multiple levels of organization hierarchy.  It is practically impossible for you to meet each team member face-to-face.  Under these situations, such a memo creates standard guidelines to develop a singular and strong organization culture...

Quoted from "Who Says Elephants Can't Dance?" by Louis V. Gerstner

• I manage by principle, not procedure.
• The marketplace dictates everything we should do
• I'm a big believer in quality, strong competitive strategies, and plans, teamwork, payoff for performance, and ethical responsibility
• I look for people who work to solve problems and help colleagues.  I sack politicians
• I am heavily involved in strategy; the rest is yours to implement.  Just keep me informed in an informal way.  Don't hide bad information - I hate surprises. Don't try to blow things by me. Solve problems laterally; don't keep bringing them up the line.
• Move fast.  If we make mistakes, let them be because we are too fast rather than too slow.
• Hierarchy means very little to me.  Let’s put together in meetings the people who can help solve a problem, regardless of position.  Reduce committees and meetings to a minimum.  No committee decision making.  Let’s have lots of candid, straightforward communications
• I don’t completely understand the technology.  I‘ll need to learn it, but don’t expect me to master it.  The unit leaders must be the translators into business terms for me.

On Fighting Corruption

As the number of "exposes" have increased, I am torn between two emotions - Happiness that this is coming to light and Sadness that so much still exists and will probably exist for eternity.  As everyone else, my first instinct was to google on methods to fight and possibly eradicate corruption.  As expected, there were numerous conferences globally on this topic, since time immemorial.  Of interest was the broad-based nature of action committees.  Religious and Spiritual interference was suggested as a way to attack this problem.  Solutions range from grass-roots to top-down approaches.  Clearly, CORRUPTION is a global epidemic in under-developed, developing and developed nations alike.  While ramifications of this practice are at multiple layers of the society, its manifestations are ubiquitous.

Needless to say, I am not an expert to recommend solutions.  Let me ask a few questions and see where it leads us....
Q1. Is there a need for consensus building on this topic?  Is corruption not bad enough that it be treated/addressed at all levels independently?
Q2. Can corruption be brought under jurisdiction of Lok Adalat? Would this work or would this lead to power build up at these centers?
Q3. What level and kind of evidence is required to punish culprits?
Q4. Who should be involved in the jurisdiction process?
Q5. What role should media, NGOs, Government, governmental agencies and public play in this process?
Q6.  What should the overall framework for trial and deliverance of sentences be?  What level of flexibility is allowed at the local sites?
Q7.  What level of oversight responsibilities are required to make this process work?
Q8.  Is ZERO Corruption the right objective?

If there is enough support on these, I plead to each one to start working at local levels to influence this grass-roots movement.  Pick on some "honest" and influential members of your society and get started....

Travelogue for the trip to Mahabaleshwar and Pune

We did a road trip from Hyderabad to Mahabaleshwar onward to Pune and back. We drove our faithful Tata Indica that had already done about 150,000 KMS. Fondly called the "truck" for its loud noise and clunky travel, it earned a new nickname through this journey - "Baby Jumbo" - for the laborious progress combined with a heavy appetite for engine oil, and ever so reliable for the long distance. I am starting to love the Tata's for their Indica and Nano :-)

Here is the journal and hopefully some useful tit-bits...

1. Start as early as possible - 4AM, anyone? - Not only do you avoid city traffic, you don't need to use the AC, thus gaining extra speed on a clunker like ours. Best of all, kids sleep for a few hours until breakfast stop and you hopefully have covered close to 1/3rd distance before their ranting starts.. On the flip-side, this is probably a dangerous time since most truckers are tired driving through the night and are yearning for a breakfast/chai (nashta-pani) stop. If this concern weighs heavy in your head, start a bit late (5 AM?). Needless to say, definitely go by your sleep cycle. If you are not a morning person, better safe than sorry !!!

2. The first 4 hours are probably the best. Cover as much ground as possible without a stop. Stop for breakfast @~8:30 AM. A road-side stall/dhaba will be a good idea to break all apprehensions. Carry your own bottle of water and stick to hot foods that are usually well cooked (Idli without the accompanying Chutney/Sambar is a safe bet). On the topic of letting loose, carry a portable-potty so that the kids can enjoy a free, clean and open "passing" :-)

3. NH9 from Hyderabad to Zaheerabad is perfect, but it becomes bad the moment you cross into Karnataka and then Maharashtra. It is painful to see a 2-lane "NATIONAL HIGHWAY" with trucks blocking traffic repeatedly. There are also tons of potholes throughout and it is a challenge to navigate them at high speed. You will learn to swerve around the big ones and "glide" over most. You will "dunk" through a few of them too.

4. We took a detour at Mohal (40 KMs after Sholapur) into State highway 74 to visit Pandharpur, the abode of Lord Vittal. Again, roads in Maharashtra are pathetic at best. I cursed the Maharashtra government constantly for its terrible attention to Infrastructure and Tourism. There are so many amazing forts, rivers, temples but the government has let it grow wild in a free-market style. Fortunately, the temple was relatively empty and we got a quick darshan and a nice lunch at the "sadguru sakahari" place in the temple road.

We also got some good pictures of the Chandrabagh river/ghat that flows through the town. This seems very much like the Ganga of the region.

5. We continued on State Highway 74 towards Satara and onbound to Mahabaleshwar. Again, TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE roads. Reached Hotel Valley View Resort at Mahabaleshwar around 8:00 PM

6. We had stayed at this place about 20 years ago and it was nostalgic being there again. Given the off-season, the place was still under renovation, but we managed to take good advantage of the Swimming pool, play area and most importantly the food (amazing personal service during breakfast, lunch, dinner)

7. We visited Panchgani the next day. Went to Table Top,took a horse-ride and climbed down a beautiful cave restaurant. Went to Rajpuri Caves, totally uninhabited but rich in culture. We also saw a few points along the way, the main one being Parasi point that has big play area for kids. Remember, you will be charged a small amount as a 7-day pass by the Municipal Corporation of Panchgani. Irksome as it is, you don't have a choice...

8. The next day, we visited Pratapgadh fort, Old Mahabaleshwar (Panch Ganga temple with its confluence of five rivers and temples for Mahabali and Athibali), Elphinston Point, Arthur Seat point. Elphinston point was awesome akin to the Grand Canyon. One can only imagine how tourism business in the West would have thrived on a natural wonder such as this. Again, the Municipal Corporation of Mahabaleshwar will charge you yet again for another 7-day pass. No amount of arguing helps !!!

9. The next morning we drove to Pune to stay with my cousin. We met a couple of friends and it was great catching up. Except for Harini's falling sick with viral fever, it was a great 2 days in Pune. One funny incident was that of a rat stealing my Dad's hearing aid and gnawing off the ear mold. We had a tense 1/2 hour while we searched for the missing device. It was indeed a humorous mystery.

10. We started the drive back on Tuesday morning and reached Hyderabad into its heavy evening traffic.

All in all, a wonderful trip - All kudos to the ever-faithful Jumbo and the kids for demonstrating patience to the best of their abilities.

Role of Leaders in building passionate teams

For the purposes of this post, I will focus on team-building in IT and Knowledge Engineering sector. Technologists exhibit a dominating trait that makes them different. They are driven by intellectual needs. They love to solve challenging problems. Subsequently, they only respect and admire colleagues, superiors, managers and leaders who they believe are intellectually competent in their areas of work. This is an important factor to recognize and it makes a huge difference while choosing right leaders for teams and organizations.

Passion is accepted as the best productivity tool. A team driven by passion exceeds defined goals and creates new standards. True Passion is the ability to maintain intense emotions to positively impact the goal. It is something that happens within the individual. External motivators (like wind and oxygen) definitely helps, but the spark and the fire needs to keep burning within.

How did Mahatma Gandhi move massive populations towards non-cooperation objectives. How did Martin Luther King create passion amoung thousands of people to fight racism? How did Nelson Mandela fight apartheid? They practised what they preached. They walked hand-in-hand with general populace as the compassionate co-human-being. Had they restricted their actions to public speeches from atop a podium, there would not have been the enmasse movement.

"Passionate teams" is an abundantly used buzz-word in management today. "Building Passionate teams" is a cliche. Frankly, leaders of most organizations are far away from the tactical workings of their teams. They barely know their team's daily activities. They are shielded and separated from the ground realities that affect a project delivery. They simply cannot empathize with fellow workers since they lack knowledge of the process. Some people also go to the extremity of building hierarchical walls to shield themselves from potential failures that may impact their jobs. However, the same individuals are eager to present successes as their strategic and tactical leadership. A person who cannot make time to interact with his/her employees on a frequent and regular basis is definitely missing the pulse of the organization.

Building Passion is not a one-way street or a one-time event. True and continued passion can only be generated and exhibited by being inside the field of play. No amount of watching and lecturing from the side-lines will sustain this. A leader who believes in the "Hire and Fire" model will never be able to demonstrate or build passion. Passion requires an individual to weather numerous storms. One that jumps ship or passes the buck at the drop of hat, simply is not passionate. True leaders are battle-field tested continually and demonstrate their leadership in the trenches. For those leaders who prefer to preach rather than practice, leadership is only a nominal title. It is critical for Talent Managers to identify and nip such individuals before they create permanent damage to the organization.