Education Franchise - Foreign Educational Institution Bill

What did McDonald, KFC, Subway and the like bring to India? Well, a lot of good food, business for the local businessmen, work for the local lads, money for the Indian economy. The franchise model of business has worked wonders in the food sector in India. Relatively easy to set up, an instant brand recognition and invaluable assistance in terms of knowledge makes it an instant hit in booming economies like ours. Many other sectors have tried the franchise model as well - the hospitality industry for example.
If everything goes right in the next few months in the Parliament we may see the same franchise business model in the education sector as well. "The Foreign Educational Institution (Regulation of entry and operation) Bill" is all set to be tabled in the parliament for discussion soon. The cabinet has cleared it and Kapil Sibal is confident that though parties like BSP, RJD and SP would oppose it, the bill would get acceptance in BJP and other sorted out parties and should get cleared without much ado. The Left is expected to rattle a little but they have been disarmed in the recent times by the UPA government's massive numbers.
The bill, when passed, would be a big boost to the education system in India. If Universities like the Harward, Oxford, Stanford and the like start to show interest in Indian education market we may soon move towards a standardization in the education sector which is the need of the hour. The education system in India in present times is raked by malpractices across all fields of study. Unification of education metrics has been echoed a number of times by the education minister and few other government bodies and this bill can do just that in an indirect fashion. A number of universities have had similar successful experiments in countries like Singapore specially in fields of technology, fashion and other contemporary fast paced cources.
Education franchising would bring better education to the people of India, more robust education system may evolve and more than anything else it would create a respect for Indian education scenario in the rest of the world. According to the current trends the Indian student is in high demand in the global market but the Indian education is looked down upon, this Bill may change the attitude of the world.

Government making efforts to quash sex crimes in India

India is (slowly) awaking to a reality - sexual abuse exists everywhere in India and we need stronger laws to punish the criminals and to protect innocent victims! The Ruchika Girhotra's case has brought a lot of attention to the IPC treatment of crimes like rape, abuse, etc. Thanks to the frenzy created by the media (some news channels did 24 hours exclusives on the issue!) the government is talking about making stricter rules and promising to implement them with conviction.
A new law has been proposed (awaiting the cabinet nod) which makes the following changes:

• Physical and mental harassment would be considered sexual abuse and would be treated on par with rape


• The accused has to prove his/her innocence in case he/she is blamed for a suicide resulting out of a case of sexual harrassment


• The cases of sexual harrassment are to be dealt by special courts, expected to be cleared within 6 months

This law, if implemented in full measure, would certainly discourage such shameful acts and empower the fairer sex. The government's stance on such crimes before has not been very comforting - the maximum punishment for a case of abuse is 1 year! But, in the light of new cases coming up which involve decorated officers and senior officials like Rathore, the government is quick to react assertively.
A change in the mentality of people also needs to be advocated vehemently. The Indian society (specially in the rural areas) has been ridiculed for treating the victims of abuse like criminals which leads to acts like suicides and honour killings! Acceptance of victims of all types of abuse in the main stream and more importantly within their families is the need of the hour. A progressive government which has advocated even homosexual relationships can bring about a change in the mindset of people but above all the support from the people is required.

Good luck to UPA

Vijitha occupies the cubicle next to mine in office. A lady with a good years of experience in the IT industry, a mother, a responsible citizen of the country and recently a very happy person too. While there may be a number of reasons for her happiness one significant contribution is from the UPA!

"My long time dream came true. Finally, we have a party with majority to give a stable government at the centre!", she said.

What does a stable government mean for a common man living in this country? First, it means that the tax payer will not have to share the burden of an early election this time (people like Mulayam Singh, Devegauda, Mayawati, Left who are known for trying to shake the governments in power, move away!).
Moreover, a stable government and one which would be running a second consecutive term at the office would be high on confidence and would take decisions swiftly and decisively. Mr. Manmohan, while still may not have a perfect 'wave' for the supporters, sure has got guts now to influence the decision making in a significant way. The press buzz that Montek Singh Ahluwalia is being hinted by the PM as the next FM is a bold step, something that shows the resolve that Manmohan has this time around.
The next five years should bring about changes that would be significant from an international stand point too. Dr. Singh has already shared a good relationship with the US prez and with positive developments happening in Pakistan with regard to the Taliban issue, things may improve for India.
Rahul Gandhi could be a big factor! He is young, dynamic, has a legacy to back him up and he has proved that he is not a premature political enthusiast by swinging the faith of UP towards congress in this general elections (it was amazing to see him sit in the post-victory meeting of the UPA composed and poised as the next big thing that would happen to India).
Post recession, India has emerged as a stable economy. The economic policies of India have been applauded and the faith of foreign investor would be bolstered with this political stability in India even more (The first Monday after the election results when the market opened the new trust in India Inc. was evident).
Overall, I think, India in the next 5 years should be able to achieve big things and bring about a change that everyone has been wishing for since decades now! Good luck to the UPA government from the CnC team!

UPA Government's Report to the People

I am sure you would have come across people who associate themselves with Political Parties and vote loyally for the same party over the years.
Out of my curiosity, I happened to visit some of these Party sites to find out if there are any Principles set and followed by all the parties in India and how far do these parties stick to them.
And it wasn't surprising to note that, not all parties have a true philosophy and those who do, it is only on paper.

During this search mission, I came across something interesting. As as MBA student, we did check and analyze various companies just on the basis of their annual reports but here is the Report of UPA government to its people.

Even I felt the file to be bulky, but mind it guys its a must read..

Employment 4 all by 2010........

At a recent press meet, the Economic Adviser, to Prime Minister, Mr. Rangarajan said “A study that I have done shows that by 2010, the labour force and the work force will almost be equal in the sense that there will be no unemployment even assuming a growth rate of 8 per cent. In fact the economy will grow at a higher rate than this. Therefore the question that remains is not so much of quantity employment as the quality and this will depend on improving the total factory productivity both in agriculture and unorganised sector”.
Isn’t this interesting?? While most economists are trying to predict the year in which India will outshine America and eventually China to become a world leader, here comes a prediction that’s quite meaningful and brings in a ray of hope to all the budding Indians who are worried about the increasing competition to enter the corporate world since they are busy cooking sweet and sour.
I truly pray that the unemployment issue gets sorted out at the earliest; because it will indeed help solving many other problems in the country like poverty, child labour, exploitation, and will also help in bridging the big gap between the rich and the poor. It will also reduce the crime rate, and help in the social and economic development of all parts of the country. Remember, every fourth poor person is an Indian. So once employment is generated to all and then their wages start growing, we can minimize the number of people below poverty line and bring in prosperity to all.
Even then we need to be cautious and make sure that this supply-demand ratio for man-power is well maintained. Population should be kept under check and the growth of industry, services and agriculture should constantly open more doors for employment.
But hang on! Doesn't all this ring a bell?? I can still hear echoes of "India Shining” campaign by the NDA government. So I am keeping my fingers crossed and hope this too doesn’t turn out to be mere election propaganda for the parliamentary elections. Hope the prediction does come true and all of Indian truly Shines!!