Diary of a Rural Manager!

Universal Basic Income is an idea whose time has come. Universal basic income will be a form of social security in which all Indian citizens below the poverty line regularly receive an unconditional sum of money from the government. The amount may be as little as Rs2000 - Rs3000 a year, but that's a lot of free money in the bottom rungs of the income pyramid. Poor families are always destabilized due to their lives irregular cash flows and looming expenses. This will act as small cushion for critical times. Why the time is ripe politically ? Demonetization has also created a disaster effect on Indian economy and market . Hence, NDA government has changed the demonetization narrative from one of fighting black money to bring about pushing for a cashless economy. NDA had prominently highlighted the issue of black money and had promised to bring it back in Lok Sabha election campaign. Universal Basic Income into Jan Dhan Account will be seen as commitment to a political agenda and a...

Humans in the real world behave in ways that are strikingly inconsistent with rational models based in economics. Bounded rationality, bounded self-interest and bounded self-control in human is a pure fiction, not a reality. With these assumptions, the profession of economics with its obsession with mathematical modelling has, over time, hopelessly removed from the complexities on the ground. Global Recession of 2008 was a jolt to the the neoclassical free market purists who were unable to predict market failure. The shock led to to the mainstreaming of behavioral economics. Behavioral economics  is a subfield of economics that draws on the psychological, social, and cultural foundations of human decision making. A Mckinsey report: Redefining Capitalism has summarized this quite good -   Over the past several decades, though, some of the bedrock assumptions of neoclassical theory have begun to unravel. Behavioral economists have accumulated a mountain of evidence showing t...

Why SHG movement failed in *North-East India but successful in Kerala? Kerala and Northeast India are both quite high in literacy rate and women dominated society.  Even  recently Tripura has become the most literate state  in the country overtaking Kerala. This question was asked by a government officer in Ganjam district where I was deputed in my stint at Odisha Livelihood Mission.  The argument seems valid, but I had three reasons for the failure now. 1. These are matrilineal societies, not matriarchal ones . Matriarchy is not just about descent and inheritance being traced through the female line. The matriarchal system means a system where women have power in “all activities relating to allocation, exchange and production, as well as socio-cultural and political power." When descent and inheritance are traced through women it’s called a matrilineal system. Matrilineality is only a sub-system of matriarchy and the power in the social power structure rem...

Incentives, capacities, norms and professional identities of the organization are the reasons behind success or failing in branding. Brand name is also created mostly by network of ex-employees, partners and vendors. Hence, managing human capital and relationship becomes key in creating brand value. There comes the massive role of HR Manager in the mapping the environment to identify : Unique Employee Allegiance Proposition & Distinctive Competitive Advantage. Why people switch organization? The answer to the question is same for each sector & development sector is no anomaly. Most Companies/NGOs have tendency to neither invest in the people nor provide mentors for the career guidance. This led to migration of the talented people who have quality of leadership. The mutual trust deficit leads to an organization which will be optimized to hire and keep people who merely want the next job. When organization sees people as true assets,they empower them with knowledge. I always ...

In the mid 1960s, India faced a severe food shortage (mainly in Bihar) and nearly escaped from a major famine. Prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri started lots of policy initiatives to curb food shortages and such initiatives in turn paved the way of Green Revolution. When India was throttled again economically in 1990, and that's what changed the country forever. The opinion of researcher Suyash Rai at the National Institute for Public Finance and Policy and Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania on black economy is required to understand the depth of the situation. The announcement of demonetization of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes came on 8th November 2016. Problem in rural economy had appeared as Kharif harvest is sold in hard cash, an investment is required for Rabi season and marriages in community will happen in this time of year. Farmers, landless labourers, domestic servants, pensioners, small traders, all these and many other groups have taken a terrible hit ...

Microfinance means different things to different people. There is difference between working of regular MFI companies and Community-Based Financial Organizations (CBFO). Community based microfinance model, owned and governed by community members has always served cost-effectively and provided financial services to the end users. Too much scaling without proper assessment could drive CBFO to financial indiscipline at the SHG level, lead to over-borrowing and potential default. While working with few clients will be unsustainable for the CBFO itself. Loans can benefit the poor and their community only if properly managed. In most of the default, the pressure on giving loans without proper risk assessment mounts on both supply and demand side. A debt becomes bad when it’s not paid for three consecutive months. Here are few pointers that are learnt with the experience - How to avoid delinquency ? • Peer monitoring and group pressure is the main influential factor in loan ...

Microfinance is financial services for poor and low-income communities, people who have been excluded from the mainstream financial system. Yet, there are the diverse opinions people have about Microfinance. I have encountered few in last 5-6 years and presenting them in summary format. 1. The MBA: "Truly amazing business model & poverty reduction tool." 2. The arrogant: “Unsustainable and too risky! Does it actually work?” 3. The over-informed: “Yes, I know about it, you give money to poor. Social enterprise!” 4. The ill-informed: “Thugs lending money to poor at high interest rates and brutal recovery techniques.” 5. The devout fan: "This is the future, only we need investment and scaling and may be P2P." Microfinance is not panacea from all troubles, this also means that not any poor person can obtain the loan. I can vouch with my experience that only micro loans can't solve poverty. There is enough evidence to support my claim :  Microloans Do...

Governor CH Vidyasagar Rao has appointed social researcher Dr Sudha Kothari and Founder of Dalit Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DICCI) Milind Kamble as expert members on the Rest of Maharashtra Development Board  on 6th June 2016. Sudha Kothari serves as the Managing Trustee of Chaitanya, a developmental organization established by her in 1993. Chaitanya is one of the pioneers of community based microfinance institutions in Maharashtra state and promotes 42 SHG federation with an outreach of 1 Lakh women members across 18 districts of Maharashtra. Dr. Kothari also serves as a Member of Board of Trustees at FWWB India . One of the great delights of my job is the daily encounter with Dr. Kothari. She is a great mentor and her whole life mirrors commitment to poor women. It’s an honor to work with people whose contributions make us proud and inspiring. 

What is Public Policy ? Public policy focuses on the processes by which various types of policies and regulations that affect members of the public are created and enforced.  Public Policy deals with public goods delivery – political economy, taxation, law and order, good social and physical infrastructure, including better education and health facilities – and facilitate provision of private goods (cheaper power, flexible labour laws and other subsidies). The guiding principles for better public policy include building people’s ownership and participation in the governance and decisions affecting their lives. Regulation, Redistribution and Equity came to the forefront of policymaking. Resources be it human, natural or financial are limited in a country and a government must utilize them in the most productive manner can achieve the best possible growth. That is the essence of good governance. The first and foremost requirement of good governance is broadly distributed political ...

Market at the micro-level has to serve three main stakeholders with different expectations. Farmers want good price and constant demand, distributor wants fat margin and consumer wants low prices and quality product. In the market scenario at macro-level production of the pulses, demand-supply conditions within India, volatility in global commodity prices, variation in exchange rate, policy of the government, and a surge in import can lead to determination of final price of the any commodity.  This article series aims to provide an introductory overview on the agricultural commodities in India. The first article of this series will carry the discussion by offering an analysis of the pulses in India. India is the world’s largest pulse producing, consuming and importing country. Bengal Gram (Desi Chick Pea / Desi Chana), Pigeon Peas (Arhar / Toor / Red Gram), Green Beans (Moong Beans), Chick Peas (Kabuli Chana), Black Matpe (Urad / Mah / Black Gram), Red Kidney Beans (Rajma),...