Capt. Shaji Kumar

Tag: #Chaque Jour

  • The advent of a new Morning…

    Even the longest and darkest of night, ends with morning light. We are nearing the end of the 3rd Lockdown. Maybe, just maybe, even if the announcement of the lockdown was abrupt and sudden in line with what we have come to accept as the innate style of our Prime Minister, it may have helped India avoid what could have been a large scale devastation, as seen elsewhere in the World. Still waiting, but the statistics till date does project quite an encouraging outcome. Anyway, lockdown or not it is time when manufacturing and other operations will be and undoubtedly should be permitted to restart in a phased manner. How much more can we remain locked up? This is an extremely critical and delicate operation that will involve clear guidelines, operating principles and a very vigilant approach to health and safety.

    Communication that is simple, easy to understand and practice becomes an essential tool in this phase. Unlike what we saw in these last 50 days, all stakeholders need to be explained the steps and procedure for operating productively while maintaining social distancing and essential practices. As also everyone in the Industry will be waiting in hope when the Finance Minister unwraps the Economic Stimulus announced by the Prime Minister in his 3rd address to the nation tonight. Astrology is always capable of predicting the future for anyone, whether it is a man, woman, country or the world itself, but astrologers can sometimes predict the future and events accurately and at times can even fail to predict it correctly. But I do firmly believe, as the Prime Minister reiterated, we can really turn the tide and change things – to make India great again. This is an opportunity for us to change things.

    When we see a hole in a piece of silk, we are hardly surprised. It may be a shame but given the susceptibility of this fabric to wear and tear, it is inevitable. When we see a hole in a piece of steel, we are amazed. What on earth caused this?  Our psychological armour is sturdy. For all our inner sensitivity, it takes a lot to dent our external confidence – and it has been proved many times over. We are made of quite sturdy stuff. The experience of this pandemic will yet again just prove the point. I am quite certain that collectively we would see a resurgent India galloping ahead.

  • The World at War?

    This Covid-19 pandemic has gripped the entire World in a vicious vice, well almost the entire World but for one – where it all began. It has now been proven beyond  doubt, that if the alert had been sounded and strict measures enforced just a mere two weeks before it was eventually acted upon, we would all still be going about our lives as “old normal” instead of trying to adapt to a “new normal”. How the severity of the spread has been targeted or diverted more towards the developed part of the World, where despite the most advanced health care system, these Countries have grappled helplessly as the pandemic spread throughout, leaving in its wake an unpreceded toll.  All these years, ever since the last World War, nations have been foolishly spending enormous amounts of money, in stockpiling weapons & weapon systems including the lethal nuclear arsenals. We always tried to visualise a World, as how it would be, the day after a nuclear holocaust. Never, has anyone in their wildest dream imagined a parasitic holocaust. Biological warfare – yes, but it was always deemed to be restricted to a vicinity of geographical area and much less potent than a nuclear holocaust.  Who would have thought that devious minds enshrined in God knows what agenda, would work silently to create a situation where the entire World is brought down without lifting a single finger or ordering the troops out of their barracks. Introducing – “The Parasite” that would rule the World.

    This World is at War!! People are inside the cover of their homes, not because of an imminent bomb raid, but to protect themselves against a far more viciously lethal enemy – an enemy which can’t be seen with naked eyes. Like a seasoned predator this particular enemy can wait patiently, lurking on some surface always ready to invade the body of an unsuspecting victim, the moment he lets his “mask” down. As leaders across the Universe are trying to take a sneak peek and test waters by announcing cautious lifting of Lockdowns, the coming few weeks and months will be the deciding factor on which way this situation is going to swing. While all this has been going on, there is but one Country which is preparing, to go shopping. Pick up the spoils of the war from the devastated battlefield, just like the old times where the victorious troops would be allowed to scavenge off the corpses, whatever precious things could be scavenged. Like a soap opera, the plots and sub-plots keep changing. The days, weeks, months ahead would be very interesting to see how this drama unfolds.

    The truth is that human behaviour all over the World has made pandemics like this inevitable. We have shrunk the natural habitats, thereby giving more opportunities for viruses to combine and create lethal iterations. Then with the current socio-environmental set up in our cities, we give them more opportunities to spread, making the demarcation line very thin. Then we have provided ample opportunities. Just remember that, there’s always something to panic about, worry about or generally be in fear of. There always has been and there always will be. What’s upsetting or disturbing us now is, no more, or less serious than anything we have ever faced in the past. Over-react to it and it will get worse. Deal with it calmly and confidently and it will go away again – as ever. It is said that Good always prevails over the evil. This is what we have always been led to believe. We need to get faster at containment. We need to catch the virus at source. We know what it takes and fighting every pandemic since life on earth began – and no virus has ever beaten us yet. Historically whenever a pandemic virus has invaded causing destruction, all of human ingenuity has been brought to bear together to bring them down. It is only a matter of time…

  • Occult & Mysticism.

    Astrology, Palmistry, Numerology, Tarot, and a whole lot of other occult sciences are used to “predict” the future. The quest to know what lies ahead is more prevalent now than ever. Even though it has always existed in all cultures and across continents, the yearning to know what lies ahead is gaining momentum – much more than ever. Consequently it has been a catalyst in creating a vocational Industry in itself. The soothsayers might have never had the going so good. The more your yearn to know about what lies ahead, the more you make the essence of living life a pain. The beauty of life is in living each day as it happens, and not by trying to stay ahead. This can never be done as it is absolutely impossible to “predict” to the point as to what is going to happen. Anyway even if it is predicted, there is no way it will happen without making the requisite effort.

    The key to success now is to maintain focus, keep a sense reality and, most importantly, plan all of your moves carefully and strategically.

  • MSME’s : Wither to?

    India houses more than 63 million MSME’s contributing 29 percent of the GDP, 45 percent of Industrial Production, providing employment to millions of Indians. However, it has always been beset by inherent issues which unfortunately has largely remained unattended to. Despite a dedicated Ministry setup by the Government there still remains a huge gap between the cup and the lip. The most unique challenge that MSME’s endure is access to low cost capital. This despite having dedicated channels like SIDBI in existence. Authenticated reports estimates that the credit gap for MSME’s stand at approximately INR 15 lakh crore. And with the advent of technological advances, initiatives like GST and the formalization of the economy, the back of this sector is already at a capacity stretch. Only 20 percent of the MSME’s are being financed by the formal banking system, that leaves the rest 80 percent to scrounge for “finances” from the informal sector at atrocious rates of interest. This lack of adequate access to timely and affordable credit continues to remain one of the sector’s biggest challenges, restricting its growth and future potential. There has been some initiatives led by the Government like the 59-minute loan, co-organisation between banks and NBFC’s for affordable credit, however despite these initiatives being laudable at a macro level, it still leave a huge gap at the micro level, as it does not translate into anything.

     

    The dream of growth and pushing the GDP to get to 5 trillion, with a budding young India and initiatives like start-up India, pushing the young Indians to explore avenues of entrepreneurship & self-employment, the Government needs to step up its act and ensure that the hand holding translates to grass root level. The hand holding has to be more visible. There is no other way around the crisis of employment, and it is only logical to push entrepreneurship and self-employment. The large businesses may only contribute just as much to this 5 trillion target, than the 30 percent sector which can be pushed to clamour and contribute as much as possible – and it can. This is the only way that a young vibrant India having 70 percent of able bodied under thirty raring to go population can take us to the finish line.