While the oil mafia tried to entice him with bribes to turn a blind eye on fuel aduletaration, murderd IOC sales manager S Manjunath refused to waver in the line of duty, despite his own financial constraints.
So reads the poignant story in the Indian Express.
Details printed by the paper reveal that of his modest monthly salary of Rs 25,000, Manjunath was paying Rs 10,100 as EMI's towards two education loans (of Rs 3.5 lakhs) taken to finance his studies at IIM Lucknow. In addition, 3 months ago, he had availed of a car loan from his employer (EMI: Rs 1300)
It feels odd and a little sacrilegous to read about the private details of a deceased person's life. But in this case, the details are being published to make a point - that Manjunath could easily have taken the bribes offered and made his life easier.
He had apparently defaulted on the previous month's EMI for the PNB loan, prompting his father to write a stern letter to the son. A letter the son did not live to read...
Feeling Loansome?
In the last 10 years, education loans have become a way of life. Fees at professional schools - whether medical, engineering or management - have shot up. If and when students complain, they are offered a quick and ready solution: "take a loan".
And yes, getting a loan is not difficult. Loans upto Rs 4 lakhs don't even require margin. But repaying the loan is not all that easy. The interest rates charged by banks like SBI and Bank of Baroda is 10.5%.
This is linked to the BPLR (Bank Prime Lending Rate). Compared to housing loans which are available at 8-8.5%, education loans are pricier. But here's the surprise -BOB will even give you a car loan at 2% below the prime rate (ie at 8.5%).
I am not a banking expert so I can only conjecture that educational loans (below Rs 4 lakhs) are unsecured and hence the 2% additional interest rate charged is to cover the risk of default. In case of both cars and houses, the bank can attach the asset in case the borrower fails to repay.
Student loans have long been a millstone around the neck of college goers in the US. Interest rates (linked to their BPLR) are lower than in India, but the sheer number of people who take loans (practically every college-goer!) means the overall student loan market is huge.
The happy news for them however is that interest rates on federal student loans dropped to an all-time low - at 4.06% some five years back.
This is a political decision. "The Bush administration was committed to helping students and their families finance college and career training," declared Secretary of Education Rod Paige while announcing the rate cut.
Student loan-seekers are not yet a big enough interest group in India but in years to come they will be. Future PMs, please take note!
Soon enough there may be a market for loan consolidators as well.
Think before you...
The point is 'how to finance your studies' is the easy part. But before joining a particular institute, make sure you have an idea of the kind of salary you will earn on passing out. Most banks offer a 6 month grace period after which EMIs begin.
The average salary from the average B school is about Rs 15-20,000 p.m. Ditto for engineers getting into IT jobs. Can you afford to live in Mumbai, Delhi or Bangalore on Rs 10,000 a month (rent, transport, food, bijli et al) and repay Rs 10,000 as EMI?
Of course, you'll eventually earn more but not right away! I'm not saying this would happen to everyone - but it's a very real danger!
But the worst off would be medical students. Given that they earn paltry sums until they complete their MDs, it makes sense to take a loan only if your dad owns a nursing home or is willing to shoulder your EMI burden for several years to come!
Loans for studies abroad (which require collateral, and attract higher interest rates) are another case in point. You can take a loan - even upto Rs 50 lakhs. But will you be able to earn in dollars or pounds after finishing the degree - at least to recover your tuition costs?
If not, are your parents wealthy enough to start forking out the rather large EMIs that will follow??
So be a 'loan ranger' but make doubly sure the country you choose to study in has work permit possibilities. And that the institute you join has genuine campus placements.
Though it makes good sense to leave higher education to market forces and subsidize primary education, the approach of government in providing means- scholarship is loathable. Government provides huge sums of money to premier institutes (at least IIT's) to help those who can't afford to pay high fees. But it has become yet another case of a good scheme with poor planning.
One of my friends whose family income was just greater than the limit set by governement couldn't benefit whereas a fellow who owned a bike and laptop could! The difference was that former's father was in service and paid full income tax and the latter's father being a businessman showed lesser income than what he actually earned. The result - my friend had to take a loan to fund his studies.
I think such a scheme would exist in IIM's too but does it really help the needy? The whole problem is because people value the so called education provided in college too much and are willing to pay the exorbitant amounts demanded by colleges. It is high time society gives school and college education its true worth and stops behaving as if school or college education is a great thing. Only then will the extortion of people by those involved in the education business stop. After all college education is only a matter of timepass and brand building and is one of the biggest frauds perpetrated in the world as nobody ever uses what they learnt in college.
The same applies for healthcare as well where unnecessary tests and surgeries are done and it is high time some corrections happened in that regard.
And even then, be prepared for some amount of struggle in the initial years. The best education adds long-term value - and you have to be willing to pay the price.
The problem is, not all degrees, diplomas and quasi-degrees/ diplomas are really a value-add. But we live in a culture where people think an 'additional qualification' is definitely an asset. At least it looks good on paper...
Unfortuntely, sometimes it's better to keep that kaagaaz kora. Save on those EMIs. And write your own destiny.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Want to be a 'creative commando'?
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But then the headline says join the team of "creative commandoes" at GAIL and unleash your creative prowess.
GAIL - as in "Gas Authority of India"? GAIL and creative prowess?? The company is seeking executive trainees in the field of corporate communications with a 2 year full-time diploma in Mass Comm/ Advertising or PR.
The recruitment ad takes up 70% of the page and the headline tries to convince the prospective candidate it's a really 'creative job'. But, the entire copy reads like a typical old-school government job advertisement.
The payscale, age limit, company benefits - OK, those are relevant information. But under "how to apply" there's a long list of 11 points including please send "mailing address with pin code; tel nos with STD codes".
It's a step-by-step guide on how to write a resume! Considering the profile of candidates they're recruiting, is that really necessary?
There is no job description whatsoever. Or indication of how the candidate, if selected, will be allowed to unleash their 'creative prowess'. Unless you count the 'creative commando' photo, which I would not count as a good example of creativity!
What's more, a 9 pt caption notes that the people posing in the pic are 'the creative team at GAIL led by DGM (Corporate Communications). Why the mention of DGM? Because, it's a government organisation after all. A bit of fancy dress and war paint doesn't change that...
I wonder how effective this ad will be. And why companies go to such lengths to produce 'cool sounding' recruitment advertising. A job is a serious matter. Tell me what the job is. Not just how much fun it's going to be.
And never be creative for the sake of being creative, especially if it's for a 'creative' position.
Please Make it Count!
The Telegraph reported
But by making this the thrust of the protest, I think the OSOA devaluated Manju's death somewhat. Manju did not die because he was the sole person responsible for checking, and neither could his death have been necessarily avoided had the responsibility been shared by others. He died because, as a colleague of his says, "he took a government directive too seriously".
That means he did his job the way he was supposed to do it.
Did he HAVE to do it BECAUSE it was his sole responsibility? Nope. Remember, he was in a PSU. He was an employee of the Government of India. His job was protected. He could just chill out at home, and still, his boss could at best transfer him. He could easily have accepted bribes, built a nice bungalow in Bangalore, and then maybe gotten a cushier posting. At the very least, if goofing off on his job or accepting bribes went against some moderate-level-principles, he could have just changed jobs. The economy is booming, and an IIM grad with 2.5 years of sales experience would have been lapped up before he could have finished typing his resignation letter.
But Manju clearly wasn't just a person who stopped at moderate-level-principles. He cared about the highest level of principles. What his father said makes it amply clear that Manju put a high premium on his integrity. He did not want the easier way out.
To use his death to ask for a collective easy way out, to me, seems like demeaning his death.
Manju had spoken about his wish that the process of allotment of petrol pumps be made similar to the way distribution channels are set up in other businesses. In other businesses, companies draw up guidelines, ask for applications, have a thorough review and then allot dealership or distributorship. In addition, there are periodic checks, which the channel partners strive to pass.
Why are things different in the oil industry as compared to other industries? Why haven't we heard of an HUL, Cadbury, TATA Motors, or even IBM channel sales manager threatened for carrying out inspection?
We all know about politicians and ministers having criminal records. Some enterprising journo should find out this stat for petrol pump dealers. Petrol dealerships aren't earned like the dealerships for HUL, Cadbury, Tata Motors or IBM. They are "alloted" like political capital. And once measurable parameters go out of the window for the selection process and are replaced by political influence, is it surprising that many shady characters get the allotments?
Errant channel partners who indulge in adultery, fudging of records, margin tampering, etc, are an exception in all other businesses. But they are the norm in the oil business. It has nothing to do with the guidelines that OSOA obejcts to. It is to do with the fact that the process of allotment itself starts with so much underhanded skullduggery. Is it surprising then that the skulldugegry continues and grows?
I hope someone from OSOA reads this and makes the demand for a complete overhaul of the system for alloting petrol pump licenses, making it more transparent and parametric.
IOCL is supposed to be one of the "navratnas". A "ratna" is supposed to have no imperfections, no blots. Manju's murder is a blot on IOCL which has its origins in certain archaic systems of the Petroleum Ministry. If IOCL is to be truly considered a "ratna" it should embrace standards of professionalism in every aspect of its business.
The Oil Sector Officers’ Association threatened to go on an indefinite nation-wide strike if the new oil marketing discipline guidelines were not withdrawn and those behind IOC executive B.S. Manjunathan’s murder arrested.I fully understand and sympathise with the Oil Sector Officers' Association. Such lopsided guidelines do seem to put an inordinately large responsibility for checking adulteration on sales officers. And yes, if the responsibility is spread out, life would be less dangerous.
OSOA president said the government had been asked to “scrap immediately” the 2005 guidelines which place the entire responsibility of controlling adulteration on sales officers of oil companies.
The marketing directors of Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum submitted a memorandum to the petroleum ministry seeking changes in the guidelines.
He said it was not possible for an oil company sales officer to carry out the responsibility the new guidelines had thrust on him as he had to supervise over 50 retail outlets stretching over a 300-sq-km area. He said oil companies would have to be backed by state governments if adulteration had to be effectively checked.
But by making this the thrust of the protest, I think the OSOA devaluated Manju's death somewhat. Manju did not die because he was the sole person responsible for checking, and neither could his death have been necessarily avoided had the responsibility been shared by others. He died because, as a colleague of his says, "he took a government directive too seriously".
That means he did his job the way he was supposed to do it.
Did he HAVE to do it BECAUSE it was his sole responsibility? Nope. Remember, he was in a PSU. He was an employee of the Government of India. His job was protected. He could just chill out at home, and still, his boss could at best transfer him. He could easily have accepted bribes, built a nice bungalow in Bangalore, and then maybe gotten a cushier posting. At the very least, if goofing off on his job or accepting bribes went against some moderate-level-principles, he could have just changed jobs. The economy is booming, and an IIM grad with 2.5 years of sales experience would have been lapped up before he could have finished typing his resignation letter.
But Manju clearly wasn't just a person who stopped at moderate-level-principles. He cared about the highest level of principles. What his father said makes it amply clear that Manju put a high premium on his integrity. He did not want the easier way out.
To use his death to ask for a collective easy way out, to me, seems like demeaning his death.
Manju had spoken about his wish that the process of allotment of petrol pumps be made similar to the way distribution channels are set up in other businesses. In other businesses, companies draw up guidelines, ask for applications, have a thorough review and then allot dealership or distributorship. In addition, there are periodic checks, which the channel partners strive to pass.
Why are things different in the oil industry as compared to other industries? Why haven't we heard of an HUL, Cadbury, TATA Motors, or even IBM channel sales manager threatened for carrying out inspection?
We all know about politicians and ministers having criminal records. Some enterprising journo should find out this stat for petrol pump dealers. Petrol dealerships aren't earned like the dealerships for HUL, Cadbury, Tata Motors or IBM. They are "alloted" like political capital. And once measurable parameters go out of the window for the selection process and are replaced by political influence, is it surprising that many shady characters get the allotments?
Errant channel partners who indulge in adultery, fudging of records, margin tampering, etc, are an exception in all other businesses. But they are the norm in the oil business. It has nothing to do with the guidelines that OSOA obejcts to. It is to do with the fact that the process of allotment itself starts with so much underhanded skullduggery. Is it surprising then that the skulldugegry continues and grows?
I hope someone from OSOA reads this and makes the demand for a complete overhaul of the system for alloting petrol pump licenses, making it more transparent and parametric.
IOCL is supposed to be one of the "navratnas". A "ratna" is supposed to have no imperfections, no blots. Manju's murder is a blot on IOCL which has its origins in certain archaic systems of the Petroleum Ministry. If IOCL is to be truly considered a "ratna" it should embrace standards of professionalism in every aspect of its business.
The Death of Honesty
Manjunath Shanmugham (27) , an IIM-L alumni and IOL employee, was killed by the owners of a petrol pump he had recommended be shut down for adulterating oil in 2005.
Yet, only one mainstream newspaper carried the story.
It was very pathetic to point out the callousness and total loss of focus on part of the mainstream media for not carrying the story of a man who died for his honesty. On the other hand, I would like to thank the mainstream media from shielding us from this piece of disturbing news.
Because I want to be entertained. Because I want to tell my next generation:” Always speak the truth. Always be honest. Remember truth always wins. ” without the gnawing feeling at the back of my mind ” Will this advice, if taken to heart, kill the kid?”
That’s why I don’t need to know. But I do. Because of an incident that took place a long time ago. We as Indians have learnt our lesson—look the other way. Cowardly. Sure. I prefer being a coward than having a broken nose or being dead. And I am sure I am not the only one who feels so.
That's why these stories deserve to be suppressed because they can only convince more people that honesty does not pay. Now, we dont want them to lose their idealism, do we?
Am I being cynical here? I think not. A few articles will be written on Manjunath’s death, a few readers will say “chuk-chuk look what India has come to”, a few of us will burn with righteous indignation before we bury ourselves in the sordid Abu Salem trial. He shall be forgotten, by most of us, in a day or two.
But his family wont forget him. They will always live with the feeling that their son died for being honest—-something he could have avoided without much ado. If he only had taken the money, he would have been still breathing. Like the rest of us. What a waste of a fine human being.
So here’s my advice to everyone. Idolize Manjunath. Shed a tear for him. Discuss his honesty and the petrol-pump-allotment policies of the government over a cup of coffee.
Promise not to steal office supplies for a week. Err make it two days.
But do not under any circumstance try to follow him.
Remember that “Satyameva Jayate” is nothing more than a crappy Vinod Khanna movie.
Remember that.
And stay alive.
Yet, only one mainstream newspaper carried the story.
It was very pathetic to point out the callousness and total loss of focus on part of the mainstream media for not carrying the story of a man who died for his honesty. On the other hand, I would like to thank the mainstream media from shielding us from this piece of disturbing news.
Because I want to be entertained. Because I want to tell my next generation:” Always speak the truth. Always be honest. Remember truth always wins. ” without the gnawing feeling at the back of my mind ” Will this advice, if taken to heart, kill the kid?”
That’s why I don’t need to know. But I do. Because of an incident that took place a long time ago. We as Indians have learnt our lesson—look the other way. Cowardly. Sure. I prefer being a coward than having a broken nose or being dead. And I am sure I am not the only one who feels so.
That's why these stories deserve to be suppressed because they can only convince more people that honesty does not pay. Now, we dont want them to lose their idealism, do we?
Am I being cynical here? I think not. A few articles will be written on Manjunath’s death, a few readers will say “chuk-chuk look what India has come to”, a few of us will burn with righteous indignation before we bury ourselves in the sordid Abu Salem trial. He shall be forgotten, by most of us, in a day or two.
But his family wont forget him. They will always live with the feeling that their son died for being honest—-something he could have avoided without much ado. If he only had taken the money, he would have been still breathing. Like the rest of us. What a waste of a fine human being.
So here’s my advice to everyone. Idolize Manjunath. Shed a tear for him. Discuss his honesty and the petrol-pump-allotment policies of the government over a cup of coffee.
Promise not to steal office supplies for a week. Err make it two days.
But do not under any circumstance try to follow him.
Remember that “Satyameva Jayate” is nothing more than a crappy Vinod Khanna movie.
Remember that.
And stay alive.
NDTV on Manjunathan
NDTV had an excellent story on the Manjunathan murder case refering to as the "IIM Murder Case".
The channel visited the petrol pump in the interiors of UP where the killing took place. It even got a witness to declare - on camera - the names of the two people who shot Manjunathan. One of them was the petrol pump owner's son, Monu Mittal.
Ironically, the top story - preceding this one - was also about a man dying simply for doing his job. M R Kutty, 36, was a driver working for the Border Road Organisation (BRO) which was building roads in Afghanistan.
The Taliban ain't too pleased about roads reaching their part of the world - so what do they do? Abduct Kutty. The demand: "BRO, return to India, or else". Kutty learnt the cruel meaning of 'or else'.
His decapitated body was found "dumped by the roadside in Delaram, a district in southern Afghanistan's Nimroze Province".
Dangers ahead
There are apparently 290 employees of BRO still in Afghanistan - and work on the Zaranj-Delaram road project must continue...
Should they stick to their jobs or petition the government to be brought home? What would you advise if someone you loved was in such a dilemma?
We all know the answer...
And Manjunathan's father was on his son's case too. "I often pleaded with him that he should give up this job in that part of north India where the border with Nepal and the forest terrain made mafia operation conducive," Shakumugan told The Telegraph.
"But he would not listen," he sobbed, "and he would say he loved Lucknow which gave him his management degree, and that he was ready to give his life for Indian Oil..."
And he did.
The channel visited the petrol pump in the interiors of UP where the killing took place. It even got a witness to declare - on camera - the names of the two people who shot Manjunathan. One of them was the petrol pump owner's son, Monu Mittal.
Ironically, the top story - preceding this one - was also about a man dying simply for doing his job. M R Kutty, 36, was a driver working for the Border Road Organisation (BRO) which was building roads in Afghanistan.
The Taliban ain't too pleased about roads reaching their part of the world - so what do they do? Abduct Kutty. The demand: "BRO, return to India, or else". Kutty learnt the cruel meaning of 'or else'.
His decapitated body was found "dumped by the roadside in Delaram, a district in southern Afghanistan's Nimroze Province".
Dangers ahead
There are apparently 290 employees of BRO still in Afghanistan - and work on the Zaranj-Delaram road project must continue...
Should they stick to their jobs or petition the government to be brought home? What would you advise if someone you loved was in such a dilemma?
We all know the answer...
And Manjunathan's father was on his son's case too. "I often pleaded with him that he should give up this job in that part of north India where the border with Nepal and the forest terrain made mafia operation conducive," Shakumugan told The Telegraph.
"But he would not listen," he sobbed, "and he would say he loved Lucknow which gave him his management degree, and that he was ready to give his life for Indian Oil..."
And he did.
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