Reforms in Governance

This is wishful thinking in areas of governance that give the common citizen great amounts of irritation, if not angst.

All government services must be home-delivered at the customer's (citizen's) convenience. The government can employ people with minimum levels of education and lots of common sense to do the home-delivery, and charge customers for it if necessary-if the fee already charged is not enough. This can boost employment tremendously-it does not have to be in rural areas/farming. Could be a part of the govt. employment schemes, too.

There must be a fixed time period in which the delivery must happen, if not, the service should be free (or discounted appropriately).

There should be visible penalties (like a transfer to the boondocks) for non-compliance by the government official responsible.

No citizen should stand in a line begging for any favours. Approval of most things can be done online, or not depending on merit. A copy of the request can go to the Lok Pal of the respective jurisdiction, and maintained for a certain period until the window for complaints runs out.

You will see wonders happening, and bureaucrats lose their swagger in no time.

Modi- A Marketing Genius

This is not about politics, but about academics. In particular, the discipline called Marketing. Whatever may be your political inclinations, one must acknowledge a marketing guru when you see one. I consider Anna Hazare as one, and Modi as another.

The hysteria among commoners and Kings to welcome him anywhere he chooses to go (China, Japan, Bhutan, Nepal are some recent places), is something seen rarely in these days of extreme cynicism. What contributes to this series of grand welcomes is not clear yet. But it is true that a lot of people believe he can deliver. The simple things he talks about in a simple (simplistic at times) manner is a great lesson in communication. We often get carried away by big words and bombast without asking any of the 'marketers' in politics to spell out what they intend to do. A brand that does that in any other category will certainly fail.

The image of a no-nonsense, grounded hard worker has remained, right from his campaigning days. His shrewd marginalising of potential 'competitors' within the party has not been missed by many. His use of the media when it suits him (and staying away at other times) has left people begging for more (scarcity creating 'demand'?). His vision of a great, self-sufficient India has a lot of buy-in among youth tired of old, corrupt and moribund politicians who did little (or could have done a lot more) for the common man.

Finally, if you can market yourself to Americans in the U.S., the quintessential land of marketers, you got it made!