The Right Write Ideas

The B-School entrance test season is about to begin. Often, there are verbal ability questions, based on the fine difference between words that are generally interchangeably used, albeit in a wrong way. 

A few days back, I found an infographic highlighting a few commonly misused words in written communication. Run through this infographic to get a hang of the right usage of these eight + eight words. I do not remember where I found this terrific infographic; however, all copyrights belong to the original creators. 

  

Global Women Leaders

There are very few countries in the world with women leaders at the helm. In India, we have Pratibha Patil in the largely ceremonial role as the President of the State. On the Reuters blog, I found this interesting infographic that details various women political leaders, either in executive or ceremonial roles.

Look at the 2011 names, like Dilma Rousseff (Brazil) and Yingluck Shinawatra (Thailand); they might just make an appearance in one of those GK sections in the SNAPTest / IIFT / IRMA, or any exam with a GK section! 

Click on the graphic for a larger view.

Mother, Son, and the INC's Political Culture

We, including Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, know that Sonia Gandhi and her family control the reins of the UPA government at the Centre. Rather than being coy about such an unpalatable fact, Diggy Raja the Loudmouth (aka Digvijay Singh) and his ilk often go around the town bragging about Madam's remote control power. Sycophantic Congressmen are always in a race to outdo each other to become sycophant par excellence. 

Most political observers know that all Congress leaders have had a small coterie who would 'give' the Leader (with a capital L) her so-called political sagacity. Sonia Gandhi is no exception; access to Madam is restricted and even senior Congress leaders have to pass through this coterie to get an audience with their Leader. Talk about exclusivity!

For years, it has been an open secret that Ambika Soni and Ahmed Patel are part of this coterie. Now WikiLeaks has shed more light on the coterie and the Congress culture. To cut a long story short, I will reproduce excerpts from two U.S. Embassy cables (with my highlighters in bold) on the dubious nature of politicking in the corridors of power.

Please note that this cable was sent from the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi in 2005. Since then, of those names mentioned in the cable, Arjun Singh is dead, Natwar Singh is out in the cold (because of the UN report on food-for-oil scam) while Shivraj Patil's political career is in the loop line. Otherwise nothing much changed in the Congress party except that the levels of morality have plumbed new depths. 

Congress Culture Defines Sonia Gandhi's Role (Link to cable here)

 Summary: Since the Congress-dominated government has been in power, there have been widespread allegations by the opposition BJP and media commentators that party President Sonia Gandhi has been pulling the strings of government.  Our conversations with a wide variety of insiders suggest that her role is more muted and nuanced.  She has deliberately attempted to preserve the image of being ""above the fray"" politically, taking maximum advantage of Congress culture, which prescribes that the party figurehead be surrounded by an ""inner coterie"" to provide advice, and shield the leader from criticism and dissent.  The Gandhis remain coy as to which of their many advisors are ""in"" and which are ""out,"" leading to endless speculation, and large numbers of people claiming to be ""close to the Gandhi family.""  Mrs. Gandhi also heads the National Advisory Council, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Steering Committee, and a committee that administers relations with the Left Front (LF).  She restricts her role in these meetings to presiding as chair and utilizes senior Congress leaders to do the talking.  Embassy contacts emphasize that Mrs. Gandhi prefers to wield power behind the scenes, relying on discrete back-channel communications with key figures in Congress and allied parties to address outstanding problems.  While this elaborate system protects her from blame for GOI shortcomings, it also complicates honest assessments, as her handlers strictly control information flow and access.  End Summary.

The Web Around Sonia

For decades, Congress culture has had an ""inner coterie"" around the Gandhi family, to offer them advice and protect them from dissenting opinions and criticism.  The family has been secretive about who belongs to the inner circle, which makes it difficult to define the current membership.  Embassy contacts claim that this complex web assists and inhibits Mrs. Gandhi to wield power.  While the BJP accuses Mrs. Gandhi of acting ""as a shadow Prime Minister,"" our contacts generally agree that she and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh have defined their roles, with the PM acting as a corruption-free technocrat handling governance, who remains above the political fray, while Mrs. Gandhi concentrates on the constant give-and-take associated with running an enormous political party with tens of millions of members and a disparate coalition. Mrs. Gandhi's three principal advisors, Ahmed Patel, Ambika Soni and Jairam Ramesh, have served the Gandhi family for many years, and derive their power through proximity to her.  Party insiders believe that Soni is on the ascendant and currently among those individuals that Mrs. Gandhi trusts the most.  Ramesh is primarily viewed as a thinker and wordsmith, who drafts Mrs. Gandhi's speeches and helps shape her views.  Insiders dismiss Ahmed Patel as an intellectual lightweight, known primarily for his skills as a political ""errand boy"" who gets things done behind the scenes for Mrs. Gandhi.  His star has fallen after allegedly mismanaging recent assembly elections in Jharkhand and Bihar. 

Unlike the advisors, who tend to remain with the Gandhis over the long-term, individual politicians move in and out of Mrs. Gandhi's inner circle.  At present, the three most prominent include HRD Minister Arjun Singh, Party General Secretary Digvijay Singh, and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar.  All three are extremely ambitious and would like to become Prime Minister.  According to our sources, Arjun Singh's chances are fading, as he is viewed as too old and too overbearing.  Sharad Pawar, once plagued by ill health, seems to have recovered and is considered one of the most senior and competent of the old Congress leadership. Digvijay Singh, the former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, is highly regarded as one of the few senior Congress leaders with the ""common touch.""  Foreign Minister Natwar Singh, Home Minister Shivraj Patil and Defense Minister Pranab Mukherjee occupy a separate orbit of super Ministers whose long-standing personal ties to the Gandhi family and seniority in Congress politics allow direct personal access to Mrs. Gandhi, and routine input on Congress decision making across a range of issues.  Of these three, Mukherjee is clearly the most formidable -- and reportedly harbors the greatest hope of some day becoming Prime Minister.

Sonia and the NAC 

Mrs. Gandhi's role as NAC Chairman provides her with Cabinet rank and a ""secretariat"" with a complement of civil servants and staff that report directly to her, as well as office space and a travel budget.... Contacts tell us that while Mrs. Gandhi nominally chairs the sessions, she restricts her involvement to brief opening and closing statements.

Since the NAC has been largely moribund, some political observers theorize that Congress created it to provide Mrs. Gandhi with needed Cabinet rank and infrastructure, to help convince the Communists that it was serious about the CMP, to help burnish Mrs. Gandhi's image as a ""compassionate leader"" who cares about the poor, and to provide entre for NGOs in the policy process.

Sonia and the UPA

There are three components that must be placated and balanced to keep the UPA government in power: Congress, the Communist parties, and the regional/caste parties.  Sonia and the Congress leadership complain about Communist obstruction, but are convinced that these parties, although ideological, are not ""irresponsible.""  In the eyes of Congress leaders, most Communists are ""pragmatic,"" projecting an image of looking after the poor and downtrodden, in order to mollify the party faithful, while not preventing government from functioning.
 While many in the Congress inner circle have some affinity with the Communists and work together with them on selected issues, they view the regional satraps of the UPA allies with disdain, and prefer to keep them at arm's length.  The recent Congress fiasco in Bihar, for example, convinced many in Congress that Bihar-based politicos Laloo Prasad Yadav and Ram Vilas Paswan are ""loose cannons"" who cannot be trusted.  Their disdain for these often rustic regional politicians has prevented Congress from properly managing the UPA coalition.  Because of these engrained prejudices, Congress has been unable to focus on the BJP as its principal adversary, and instead has become mired in internecine squabbling. 

According to our contacts, Mrs. Gandhi plays a similar role in the Steering Committee meetings as she does in the NAC, sitting silently through meetings without participating.... these meetings, which are held largely for public consumption and to demonstrate to the public that Congress is a responsible party interested in "coalition maintenance."

As one of the world's oldest and largest political parties, Congress has evolved an elaborate culture aimed at protecting the Gandhi dynasty.  Mrs. Gandhi's inner circle carefully controls her access to information, and inoculates her from criticism, while her carefully scripted public appearances protect her from making gaffes or missteps.  This has the advantage of preserving the ""sanctity"" of Mrs. Gandhi and the dynasty, but can also complicate her efforts to wield power.  This system prevents Mrs. Gandhi from asserting herself and reduces her charisma, and makes her overly reliant on a selected group, which may not always have her or the party's best interests at heart.  She appears more comfortable working with the often high-caste and well-educated Communists than with regional satraps of the state-based parties, which suggests that the bumpy Congress/UPA relationship is likely to continue. 

The Son Also Rises (Full cable here) 

Congress Party supremo Sonia Gandhi appointed son Rahul Gandhi to a senior position in the Congress Party on September 24, a move that gives Rahul a formal role in the party organization and is seen as ensuring a clear line of dynastic succession.... Rahul is widely viewed as an empty suit and will have to prove wrong those who dismiss him as a light weight.  To do so he will have to demonstrate determination, depth, savvy and stamina.  He will need to get his hands dirty in the untidy and ruthless business that is Indian politics.

Congress Party officials and workers reacted with enthusiasm and fanfare to the elevation of Rahul Gandhi and the infusion of the younger MPs into the organizational structure.  Unfortunately for them, the buzz surrounding the appointment was short-lived.  It was overshadowed immediately by euphoric nation-wide celebrations when India lifted the cricket Twenty-20 World Cup on September 24 by defeating arch-rivals Pakistan.

Much has been made about Rahul Gandhi taking a party post once occupied by his father en route to becoming the Prime Minister.  The political landscape that Rahul steps into, however, is very different from what Rajiv Gandhi encountered in the eighties.  The Congress Party then was by far the most dominant political force in the country.  Except for a brief post-Emergency period, it had been in power continuously since independence.  It had a clear majority in Parliament.  It controlled most key state governments. Opposition parties, including the BJP-precursor Jan Sangh, were mere irritants to Congress Party rule.  Rahul Gandhi enters the national stage in starkly different circumstances.  The Congress Party is a much weakened entity.  The Dalit-Muslim-Brahmin coalition that kept it in power for so long has unraveled.  The party no longer has a presence in Uttar Pradesh, once the seat of its power in Delhi.  Regional parties have gained at the expense of the Congress Part as they have better harnessed regional aspirations.  Coalition government is the rule rather uthe exception in Delhi.

Little is known about Rahul Gandhi's personal political beliefs, if any.  He is reticent in public, has shunned the spotlight, and has yet to make any significant intervention in Parliament.  His singular foray to center stage during the UP elections was unremarkable.  He is widely viewed as an empty suit and will have to prove wrong those who dismiss him as a lightweight.  To do so he will have to demonstrate determination, depth, savvy and stamina.  He will need to develop his own networks of loyalists and operators. He will need to engage with coalition allies and cross words with the opposition.  In sum, he will need to get his hands dirty in the untidy and ruthless business that is Indian politics.  Relying solely on family inheritance may get him the top job but it will not be enough to make for a successful long-term political career in India.

Let us look at how things have turned out for Rahul Baba since his entry into politics. His impact on Congress' electoral prospects everywhere has been zilch. Look at Uttar Pradesh: all his efforts to galvanise the INC at the grassroots level have flopped. Forget Gujarat; both mother and son were swept away by the Narendra Modi tsunami. And Jayalalithaa pricked their bloated egos in Tamil Nadu. 

Any electoral win is attributed to the charisma of the mother-son duo but any electoral loss is the result of the opposition's money and vote bank politics as well as the weakness of the local Congress leaders!

Rahul Gandhi was nowhere in the picture when Team Anna lauched the Jan Lokpal agitation. Even when he emerged toward the end days of the agitation, he sided with the UPA government. So much for his ideals of a corruption-free and all-inclusive society. 

Till date, he has not defined his political beliefs. Not that they are needed if you happen to belong to the Gandhi Dynasty. 

22 Most Misunderstood Words in English

Most aspirants to this blog are either MBAs or MBA aspirants. Folks belonging to the latter category sit for entrance tests, which have loads of vocabulary-based questions. I have found, much to my dismay, that most students do not like learning vocab through the good old way of reading extensively. They wish to cram or mug up vocab!

On the other side, those who wish to learn are often faced with the problem of understanding and using words that are seemingly easy; but scratch the surface, they  often end up either misunderstanding the word (i.e. its meaning) or wrongly using the word in the right way or, worse, both. 

I found two interesting infographics on Grammar.net, which detail 22 most commonly misunderstood words. The lists, though not exhaustive, are very informative.

Click on the graphic for a larger view.

The Top Five Articles of Sep 12-16

Tehelka has a story on the Air India saga. This is easily the best article I have read this week. Here's an excerpt from the story:

The financial ill-health of Air India is attributed by a civil aviation expert to a “systematic failure of the political and bureaucratic masters who have run the airline like their own principalities for years now. And the merger of Air India and erstwhile Indian Airlines in March 2007 under Patel’s directives has led to an unmitigated disaster”.

Ironically, adds the expert, global consulting firm Accenture, which was hired to draw a road map for the airlines’ merger, was paid Rs. 90 crore for services provided. There are also whispers about why, while other airlines in India hire pilots at a salary of $8,000 per month, Air India hires from a particular placement agency at $10,000. The agency, it is learnt, is run by the son of a former Air India official.

Last year, the Committee on Public Undertakings (COPU) termed the merger as a “marriage of two incompatible individuals” and slammed the government for the “ill-conceived and whimsical” decision.

Read the complete article on Tehelka.

One of the largest ten economies in the world, Italy now is neck deep in shit. It has asked China to help it stave off from what can be a potential debt trap.The Economic Times has more on this. 

The U.S. and the European nations have rejoiced at the flight of Muammar Gaddafi. One major power that is visibly uncomfortable at the turn of events in Libya is China. The Economist has an interesting article on the Middle Kingdom's growing unease with the Libyan developments. 

For the tech-minded, Tech Crunch ran a story on the declining usage of Google+ users. If you are a Google+ fan, that's not so cool news.

Another story for the tech geeks, Mashable has an interesting piece on how once-tech-gadgets-from-the-realm-of-fantasy from the Star Trek sci-fi drama have come become real life technologies.

Happy reading!

Infographic on Inflation

Inflation relates to the sustained rise, over a period of time, in the general price level when there is a rise in demand (for goods) without an equal rise in supply.

In today’s interconnected world, a lack of stability in the prices of goods and services characterises all types of economies, be it in an emerging economy like India or in an advanced economy like the United States or underdeveloped economy like that of Senegal. But as we all know, any kind of uncertainty is not good for business; so is the case with price instability. 

If you wish to read a comprehensive article on inflation, check out The Explainer on Inflation I had written a few weeks ago on this blog.

Here's an infographic I sourced from Mint.com (as you can read from the infographic below) on the phenomenon of inflation and how it affects us all.Trust me this is easily one of the best infographics I have come across.

Jobs: World's Biggest Employers & Shedders

Walmart is the world's biggest corporate employer, even bettering the humongous state-owned companies in China. In this list of the planet's top 15 employers, you will find seven public sector companies and one private company from China. 

Foxconn, the biggest Chinese private sector employer, is the largest producer of iPhones for Apple. In fact, it produces nearly, according to some estimates, 85% of all iPhones. However, it has a dubious distinction: tens of its employees have committed suicide, especially after jumping from the rises of the manufacturing giant's plants. 

The superb infographic below, sourced from The Economist (click here for the link to the chart), captures two important sets of facts and figures: world's largest corporate employers and job cullers. Given the already weak global economic scenario, especially in the U.S. and the Eurozone, more companies will shed huge number of employees in the days and weeks to come. 

Indian Railways, with 1.2 million employees, is a notable name missing from the list; it could be because rather than a state-owned corporate, it is a departmental undertaking of the Ministry of Railways, Government of India.