Author: Sanjay Mohan Johri

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We will have a new world order!

by Sanjay Mohan Johri November 30, 2024 No Comments

It has almost been a month of lockdown world over for varying periods and  the Corona Pandemic is yet to show a flattening curve in USA and many countries who are still trying to take control of the situation.
In India cases may not be showing the world pattern but the picture would become clear after testing is picked up.
Perhaps we are going to see a new world order and history in making post pandemic.
US President Donald Trump has already raged a war by openly accusing China for hiding crucial data and charging that WHO was hand in glove with it .The  balance of world power will see a shift and Asian countries , India in particular, will emerge stronger after it recovers from worst hit Economy.
While Scientists and Doctors world over are working 24 x7 to find out effective therapeutic combinations of medicines and vaccine to fight Covid-19, surely the crisis has to get over sooner or later. But we are already witnessing new technology and change in the social order across the globe. In these difficult times worst ever economies will take time to recover and hopefully everything will be for the better.
Work from Home (WFH) seems to be emerging as a new business model as it has so far turned
out to be a positive experience and companies are seriously thinking if they should go for downsizing and reduce cost on their establishments.
Unfortunately many establishments in India have moved in this direction and employees face threat of losing jobs as in many places there were salary cuts.
It is believed highly automated production infrastructure will not only save energy, lower production cost but also cause reduction in work-force working hours.
E-Services will be introduced in both the government and private sector irrespective of nature of business  and so far experiments have been successful. Brick & mortar establishments will shift to a future where there is more technology and less human resource.
“Lockdown has proved should there be a need for meetings and interactions, they can be held through Video- Conferencing  mode  and in days to come it could be a well-planned strategy to cut down expenses on travel”, said an expert adding “it is the high time for young minds to come out with new technology”.
The pandemic has brought to fore the fact that a big boost is required for Healthcare as most of the developed nations faced the wrath of the deadly virus and everyone ran out of life saving facilities.
The Education system world over went in for a quick transformation as classroom teaching got converted into Online mode and opened different options to experiment. Though it can never be a substitute to Classroom teaching, some of the key benefits of Online teaching emerged significantly giving a hope for this transition.
The world looked cleaner as pollution level reduced significantly and Centre for International Climatic Research in Oslo has started working on the estimates of reduction in emission of toxic gases and the possible scenario.
Since everyone got hit with Pandemic, Corona has certainly brought the international community  together in global empathy to help each other.
Though it is too early to comment as to how things will progress since Corona curve has yet to flatten and settle down, it seems, the coming months will see all kind of problems yet positive developments.

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The happiness in Life …

by Sanjay Mohan Johri November 30, 2024 1 Comment

The happiness in Life …


Are you happy with your life ? No ! Did you ever try to find out what can keep you happy and satisfied. Actually it’s a difficult question .We need to look at different ways of getting there.

I keep pondering over and often ask myself on my happiness level despite the fact I have faced some very tough days in my life both professionally & on health front . There was a time I was at peak of my professional life but got brakes as there were major health issues and at one point of time things went too bad. I had to bounce back & win over because I was 27 only with two kids. Had I not taken life differently I would have come to complete circle. I introspected and thought to find answers to your problems and achieve happiness and success. God has been very kind to me. I made myself happy and satisfied because I held on my values in life. What I found true, fair and whatever I believed in , I stuck to that . The more I honored these values , the better I felt. I never thought I should avoid a particular process as it might disappoint me but I did make an attempt to see whether it works. It worked and brought happiness in me. There were failures too and everyone faces such kind of situation. I generally do things I love and find greater happiness when there is a result. I look for purpose in every minute thing and love contributing to the well- being of all those surrounding m . Remember if you serve downtrodden , under privileged and poor ( who perhaps can’t dream big in life) and become part of their life and happiness , I can bet ,you will derive maximum happiness . It does not matter whether they reciprocate because take it as you have done your duty and derive satisfaction. Always listen to your heart because you are the only one who knows what fills you up. Be open to change , change will happen and not necessarily it will be for good always. Have a contingency plan and get the experience. I am reminded of Aristotle who believed “ To be happy , a person needed to live a life of virtue”. By virtue he meant showing such attributes as courage , generosity, and wisdom. “How can you achieve these virtues ? By acting out on them. Be generous to another person ,for example , by sharing your time , intellect, care or your money”, Aristotle said. It sounds simple but true .Make a list of all positives & then think of a life without these positives you had like your spouse , children , home or even a job . You are sure to derive lot of satisfaction , happiness and strengths . I never compare myself with others in terms of position , wealth or bigger house but always think on those who do not have these things . I automatically get strength and long term happiness. Happiness and fulfillment are within our grasp . What works best for me is all about my own personality, ideals and what I deserve. All such goody things do not come to you necessarily but this does not mean you had all the negatives in your life. I look for a balance between the two and find I had all happiness I deserved. Let us bask in the simple pleasures .Happiness will always be around us.

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‘Digitalization’ – an imperative for the new age India

by Sanjay Mohan Johri July 11, 2022 No Comments

‘Digitalization’ – an imperative for the new age India 

Prof (Dr) Sanjay M Johri

Jul 11, 2022

In today’s world, when we speak of making payments, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Google Pay, Paytm, PhonePe etc, right? Well, that’s where the changing dynamics of financing comes into play. Rapidly expanding UPI has undoubtedly changed the face of payment ecosystem in India. Considered as a financial revolution, this instant-payment system with its hassle-free functions, enjoy a great consumer base and use in India. Incepted in 2016, as Unified Payment Interface, many SCBs, NBFCs and SFBs rapidly followed suit and launched their own versions of the digital payment system.

From vendors to normal people, from local grocery stores to shopping stores, UPI has overpowered and has spread its aura all over. Amongst the youth and the middle-aged population, UPI has increased its presence, even though people above 60, still prefer to make payments via cash. Within UPI, the two biggest players are PhonePe and Google Pay, with a market share of 46.3% and 36.4%, respectively. In an article by the Times of India, it was mentioned, “Launched in 2016, UPI has seen

tremendous adoption and crossed 1 billion transactions for the first time in October 2019. A year later in October 2020, UPI processed over 2 billion transactions, and in October 2021, it crossed $100 billion in value”, referring to the fact the growth of UPI is enormous and humongous. Surge in UPI transactions can be accounted to various factors of ease, safety, convenience etc. It keeps your money secured, as it provides with the option of keeping a safe passcode, which only the owner knows and have access to. It’s easy, since you no more have to worry about keeping change. When asked people about the advantages that UPI has bestowed upon them, Kashish, a college-goer, said, “I do not need to ponder upon the fact that I have to keep money with me, for making payments in college. I have Google Pay, which just takes me a few seconds to pay the amount. Thus, making this procedure for me smooth and effortless for me”. 26-year-old Rahul, a working professional, added, “Initially I used to have long-due payments with the tapri waala, but now I just G-Pay him, and all my payments are cleared on the spot”.

As widespread the use of UPI is, sometimes customers do face problems while making transactions, because we cannot deny the fact that a coin has two sides, therefore UPI has its positives and negatives. On one hand, “Monthly transaction volumes of UPI are likely to cross the 5-billion-mark, but have increasingly been facing glitches and failure rates, on the other hand”, in an article by the Indian Express. Users often face issues at certain times when online payments of their specific bank goes down, and in that case, they are left helpless, as some of them don’t carry cash because of UPI. There have also been instances when continuous payments are made because of some malfunction and the money gets delivered to other person, more than once. In such scenarios, UPI fails to address the issues sometimes then and there, but ultimately it gets resolved within 2-3 working days, or sometimes within a few hours. Although UPI can face issues, but the bottom line remains that it has made people independent, and somewhat reducing the chances of thefts and robbery.

UPI has been to the rescue with it’s ease of use. But one should not entirely depend on it and should make sure to carry some little amount of change in times, when UPI turns its back on you.

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Is Western media biased in reporting India’s second Covid wave?

by Sanjay Mohan Johri May 16, 2021 No Comments






Dr Sanjay M Johri

May 16, 2021

India’s battle with the second Covid wave, which has resulted in one of the biggest human tragedy of our times exposing lack of preparedness and mismanagement by the government, has received flak from all quarters including International press.
The fourth estate— media— has a right to question the functioning of government in a democratic set-up. Hence press criticism of this ‘mismanagement’ is natural, however, what raises question is Western media’s approach in reporting India’s current Covid situation.


Is Western media biased or only fulfilling its duty?
If we go by what and how Indian media projected and highlighted Covid-related tragedies in the West, particularly, the USA, Italy, France, Germany, Spain, United Kingdom, Brazil among others then it only seems natural that the Western media is fulfilling its duty by reporting facts based on ground reality.
Rama Lakshmi, an eminent journalist who spent 27 years as India correspondent for The Washington Post, in her recent piece in ‘The Print’ rejects the ‘bias claim’. “Who in India showed a photograph of a corpse’s foot sticking out of the sheet, another of grave diggers, body bags being U-hauled, a morgue full of bodies wrapped in plastic bags and even refrigerator truck used to store. Have we forgotten the video showing mass burials at Hard Island, New York? Certainly, these were not by any standards coverage American government would have liked,” she questioned.
While emphasizing that pictures do the talking, she says unnecessarily conspiracy theory going around that the American papers do not cover death and tragedy the same way they are covering Indian Covid fatalities.
Some of the descriptions like ‘A tsunami. Disastrous public health outcome. Stunningly reckless decisions Preventable deaths. Covid hell. A moment of reckoning. Out of touch approach.,’ did bring India to a disrepute at international arena but can we deny it?
The government surely would not have anticipated the magnitude of the devastation the second wave caused with ‘double’ and ‘triple mutant’ across the country but it did not prepare itself as it assumed ‘all is over’ after first wave last year.
“How long we can say ‘Ghar ki baat ghar mein rehne do’ since the villain in the room this time isn’t Pakistan, JNU, or urban Naxal?” Rama asked and said, ‘there is no denying the fact that it is the usage of photographs of funeral fires, shot up-close or aerially, that has enraged some in the Indian commentariat’. The charges range from Orientalism to the Western desire to see India fail by choosing to focus on ‘bhooka-nanga’ tragedies, Rama said.
‘Most of the reports, analysis and, especially, editorials on India’s Covid situation, which have appeared in the foreign media bluntly blame Prime Minster Modi for fueling the crisis and failing to manage it’, says Shambhavi Thakur, another top journalist in News Laundary, who also questioned the handling of the second wave of pandemic and contended that the Western media backed up their arguments and analysis with facts, generally gleaned from the ground.
Meanwhile, Arati Jerath, an eminent political commentator, opined that while Indian prime ministers have been criticized by international media in the past, the current coverage was unusual in how personal it was. “It started by talking about mismanagement, bad administration, and the mistakes that PM Modi made. But now, they’re commenting on his personality flaws and that is very unusual,” she said. “Attributing the mismanagement to certain flaws in his personality is a lot like the way the Western media used to criticize Donald Trump”, she further adds.
Jerath attributed much of the negative press to the prime minister’s boasts earlier this year, about defeating Covid and being the world’s pharmacy.
“The government has brought all this criticism on its head with its behavior, the boastful comments, the way they are trying to take on the world,” she said.
Happymon Jacob, who teaches international relations at Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi felt the coverage is not unprecedented, as international media have always covered India extensively. “India is too important to fail, too important to ignore. What happens here has an impact on the international system. Besides positive and negative coverage are two sides of the same coin therefore it will be reported,” he said in a recent interview.
“The West and the media looked at PM Modi as the man who was going to transform India. But over the last seven years, the western media is closely watching India and now, with the biggest mistake of all, which is not preparing for Covid and trying to shift blame, they are just calling it out,” he adds and cautions about its economic implications. “For economic engagement, the general positive mood is important. The coverage could also make a difference to how India is perceived abroad. Until now, India was a huge success story. The public perceptions are going to change,” he concludes.

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Media Industry- From Pandemic to Exploitation

by Sanjay Mohan Johri March 16, 2021 No Comments

Media Industry- From Pandemic to Exploitation

Covid-19 pandemic came as a big blow to perhaps every sector including a wide range of Mass Communication verticals like the Media industry, Advertising, Public Relations, Event Management, and even higher education, which not only faced its worst-ever crisis but heavy job losses. Down with business, many companies faced closure or went for downsizing while shifting from business premises to Work From Home (WFH) mode.

The media industry comprising big organizations responded by massively cutting jobs and salaries, closing bureaus and editions and though the indian economy is finding it hard to settle down, the media houses continue to exploit now the employees in the name of a pandemic by continuing to separate experienced journalists. Recent separations of top journalists with leading brand times of India in south editions are a recent example.

Are these big media houses are really incurring losses looks illogical but a pandemic is the one word to exploit employees?

The precise number of journalists who have lost their jobs isn’t known because the employers were secretive and tight-lipped about layoffs, but estimates put it in the thousands. And the crisis is not yet over. Media workers continue to be laid off, furloughed, or made to work on a reduced salary. Employers have been ruthless.

This situation pushed journalists to switch to other professions with many even opting for their own ‘YouTube channel’ as salaries offered were meagre. Few took up content creation, translation, and even teaching in journalism schools. Freelancing is an option, but it is not a viable source of livelihood in today’s media market. “There is not enough freelance work in the market as most organizations have seen their revenues dry up,” said a senior journalist who till recently was working with a well-known newspaper. Even starting a new media venture, especially in today’s market, is no mean task,

Digital media has come to the rescue, but it was more of a pastime as payments were hard to come by. Salaries offered are meagre with delayed payments.

Advertising and Public Relations, an integral part of mass communication, had to battle newer challenges. Normally these two media sectors are no stranger to disruption and turmoil having overcome economic pressures & political tensions but most of these episodes have been short-lived.

Ad and PR agencies, which are heavily dependent on mega-events, sports, and ad-tech gatherings faced unpredictability as the global outbreak of Covid-19 intensified and travel restrictions continue to be imposed. Closer home, several agencies changed their working to go online and hold virtual meetings to deal with this unprecedented crisis. Modern ways of technology came to the rescue but in the process, an unspecified number of people in these two industries lost jobs.

With the global market observing a slowdown, people stopped buying newspapers & clients’ proactiveness towards continuing PR activities was put on hold because of prolonged lockdown, which impacted product launches and other promotional or media events where PR teams play an important role. So was the case of multi-million-dollar events businesses.

The Indian entertainment industry was one of the worst-hit and productions of films came to a halt. Depressed with the continued impact of the pandemic we heard of suicides and deaths of superstars. Indian Bollywood lost many great stars either because of Covid-19 or they could not withstand the pressure.

Meanwhile, the Education industry too faced a stiff challenge as schools, colleges and universities closed. However, there was a silver lining to this cloud as it opened new gates to innovative methods of transmission of knowledge across the globe.

The fact is despite pandemic Education as an industry was least affected if you talk about the new admissions, though with a slight drop in a number of students and one of the factors was delayed results of Intermediate classes by different boards. Some students had to opt for a break under confusion whether admission cycle will be maintained.

COVID-19 accelerated the adoption of digital technologies to deliver education. Education institutions moved towards blended learning and encouraged teachers and students to acquire technology savvy.

Soft technology, online, webinars, virtual classrooms, teleconferencing, digital exams, and assessments became a common phenomenon, where otherwise we might have merely defined them — or they might have come into practical use a decade later or more. However, many universities taking the advantage of the situation either stopped salary or went for heavy cuts and even teachers lost jobs in the primary and secondary education institutions. There are no new appointments in universities and now offer is contractual or Visiting faculty to save money as a regular employee. The universities too in the name of pandemic made their faculty & staff ‘Work from Home’ on reduced salaries, the students seem to have gone lazy and unwilling to get out of their houses?

While universities are gradually opening up, they have offered Hybrid Classes giving the option of Online and Offline classes and this has affected the quality of teaching. Online teaching can never be an alternative to Class Room interaction but this system is helping college and university management to go on Low in the maintenance of their campuses thus saving money. The unpredictable behavior of the Covid-19 virus keeps the situation dicey?

I do not see the possibility of returning to normalcy and both the education and media industries will continue to be erratic and exploiting in the year 2021.

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Students’ dilemma: To go for job or higher studies?

by Sanjay Mohan Johri December 17, 2020 1 Comment

Students’ dilemma: To go for job or higher studies?


Sample this: Ten candidates and two vacancies against Program Executive Position in a National Channel. Five decided to back out knowing fully well that they were not fit to take a chance. Tension was visible on faces of the remaining five. A quick interview takes place with pointed questions in a quick five minute per candidate round and they were asked to wait for the result. Tension gripped their faces as they passed each day worrying who would be the lucky ones. Three days later, the two best were selected with a decent package and asked to join within 15 days. Most of these candidates, in their final year of graduation, were initially groping in dark whether they should pursue higher studies or go for an industry experience first before deciding take up Masters. Actually in the present day stiff competition and proper guidance these students are always under pressure from parents/ friends/ relatives/ teachers and students to land a good job and hence the confusion. I believe this pertinent question among present day youth is certainly a big question and what is important for them is to look at the financial condition of their parents and how crucial it is to take up a job to support the family or clear your education loan and don’t want to burden parents anymore. The confidence level of a student is also important. What a student has to assess is whether the type of job he/she is looking will let them prove their worth? The type of higher studies, he/she wants to pursue, is also important. He/she must think twice whether a particular job will give him a better future that he/she is aspiring for. If higher study is your immediate agenda then don’t think twice and go for it choosing the right course at the right institution. Identifying a good course abroad in a foreign institution is not a bad idea if you can afford the financial burden initially. Students can work in foreign land and easily manage the pocket money thus reducing the burden on parents. The journey is tough for the first year but there is no reason that you will not be able to settle in life with sheer grit and confidence. Higher education in India is no less expensive. But the quality of education and exposure you get outside is far better as compared to India. However, average students hold little chance as no employer will offer them any job because they are not running charity organizations. Personally speaking, brilliant students should be encouraged to pursue higher studies with full support from their parents. In my opinion it is better to weigh the pros and cons between choosing higher studies and going for a job and then decide judiciously based on one’s circumstances. Always remember persistence and hardwork never goes in vain.

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कोरोना भैया होम क्वारंटाइन किये गए !!!

by Sanjay Mohan Johri June 30, 2020 No Comments

इस बार सपने में इंतज़ार लम्बा हो गया ! एक बार तो लगा कोरोना भैया कहीं नाराज़ तो नहीं हो गए ? अचानक मोबाइल पर नज़र पड़ी तो देखा एक अनजाने नंबर से मैसेज पड़ा था! समझ गया यह वहीँ हैं “और का हाल बा ! हम बाहर हैं , जरा वीडियो कॉल पर आ जाओ “!
वीडियो कॉल कनेक्ट होते ही हमने पूछा भैया कहां से बोल रहे हो ! बोले “आपात कालीन” बैठक के लिए हम सभी “कोरोना सीनियर्स” हेडक्वार्टर्स बुलाये गए हैं ! मन ही मन मैंने कहा ‘आपातकालीन बैठक’ और ‘सीनियर्स’ कुछ हजम नहीं हो रहा !
हमने पूछा यह ‘सीनियर’ कब से हो गए !
बोले हमारी उपलब्धता की छमाही समीक्षा की गयी थी और हम वह सब जो सबसे पहले कई देशो में चिन -पुन के मिशन पर जाकर घमासान मचा के आये , इस ख़ुशी में शाबाशी दी गई ! बड़ी पार्टी हुई ! जमके रात भर नाचे और हचक के गाला तर किया!
‘आपातकालीन’ इसलिए कि चिन -पुन बहुत ‘तनाव’ में हैं ! अब दबाब तो हर तरफ से है ही लेकिन “तुम लोगन ने कुछ ज्यादा ही चरस कर दिया है ! बोले ज्यादा हम नहीं जानते लेकिन चिन -पुन कह रहा था कि हमारे 56 एप्प बंद कर दिए ! प्रोजेक्ट रद्द कर दिये और व्यापार के नए नियम इतने सख्त कर दिए हैं कि नुक्सान बहुत होगा ! बैठक में बहुत तनाव में था !
मैंने कहा कब लौट रहे हो ! बोले हम ‘सीनियर’ हो गए मतलब , समस्या बढ़ गयी ! ‘क्या मतलब’, मैंने चौंक कर पूछा? बोले यह समझ लो छह महीने हमने काम तो धुआंधार किया लेकिन चिन -पुन कह रहा हमारी ‘सर्विसिंग’ होना जरूरी है ! सर्विसिंग , आप क्या कोई कार या दो-पहिया हो !
बोले इस तानाशाह की मानसिकता को कोई समझ ही नहीं सकता , खुराफाती दिमाग है !
मुझ जैसे हजारों कोरोना भैया को समझ लो एक ‘गुफा’ में डाल हम-सब “होम- क्वारंटाइन” किये गए है! मोबाइल और I-Pad हमारे पास है ताकि कम से कम अम्मा-बाबूजी और दोस्तों से बात कर मन लगा रहे और दीन -दुनिया की खबर मिलती रहे ! व्यवस्था चकाचक है बस समस्या यह है की सारी देखभाल का जिम्मा ‘चमगादड़ मैडम’ का है ! हमें कुछ ज्यादा अच्छी नहीं लगती क्योंकि जासूस ज्यादा है – वैज्ञानिक कम !
तो आप सबका कर क्या रहे हैं ! बोले बताया तो “सर्विसिंग” !
सबसे पहले हम सब को ‘लैब’ में डाल दिया ! बस सिरिंज से दिन भर खोंचते रहे ! सारा माल-मसाला निकाल कर टेस्ट करते रहे ! अगले दिन हम सबको ‘इंडोर वार्ड’ में भर्ती कर दिया गया ! जैसे तुम्हारे यहां मिलिट्री वालों की ट्रेनिंग होती है बस समझ लो वैसा ही है ! सुबह चार बजे से जो ‘वर्जिश’ शुरू होती है वो रात तक ही ख़तम होती है ! सभी प्रकार के ‘जंगली जानवरों’ का ‘जूस’ पिलाते हैं, ताकि ताकत आये !
हमने कहा क्या कहीं से आप लोग ‘कमजोरी’ महसूस कर रहे हो ! हमारे यहां तो 22,000 प्रतिदिन घुस रहे हो और बाकी देशों में भी कसर नहीं छोड़ रहे हो !! कमज़ोर कहां से हो !
भैया बोले यह टेस्टिंग हैं कि हमारे अंदर कितना दम है !
एक हफ्ते बाद घोषणा होगी कितने अभी भी दमदार है और कितनो का दम निकल गया ! ऐसे लोग देखो शायद रिटायर करें जाय ! बोले हम तो मना रहे हैं ‘रिटायरमेंट’ लेकर अम्मा-बाबूजी के पास हवेली चले जायें ! दरअसल दौरा करते करते -करते थक गए हैं ! कुछ न हो तो ‘ऑफिस-ड्यूटी’ ही दे दें ! हमने कहा ऑफिस में बैठकर क्या करोगे बोले वही “कण्ट्रोल रूम मॉनिटरिंग”! दरअसल कूल जॉब है 10 से 5 वाला !
कोरोना भैया आज की बात चीत में ‘सांसारिक’ ज्यादा थे ! ऐसा लगा कुटाई और दौड़ भाग के बाद काफी थक गए हैं ! अपने काम के प्रति रूचि भी कम हो रही है ! जब मैंने इस बारे में पूछा तो बोले देखो चिन -पिन और तुम्हारे ‘मित्रों’ के बीच में तना तानी काफी चल रही है ! ‘गलवान घाटी’ के बाद से हमारी स्थिति थोड़ी कमज़ोर पड़ गयी है ! तुम्हारे 20 जवान मरे तो हमारे 50 , चिन -पिन न माने तो इससे क्या होता है- “झूठा और मक्कार” !
तुम्हारे ‘मित्रों’ कल लेह-लद्दाख गए तो थे ! सैनिकों के बीच में खूब ‘हुंकार’ भरे हैं और बातों ही बातों में चिन – पुन को ‘ठोंके’ भी बहुत हैं ! दरअसल इन ‘चिन – पुन’ और ‘मित्रों’ का कोई भरोसा नहीं हैं ! “यह वह आदमिन हैं जो कहत कुछ और करत कुछ ! दरअसल दोनों पलटी मार हैं”!
कहने लगे वैसे तो सभी देश हमारा ‘ख़ात्मा’ करने में लगे हैं और सुना है तुम्हारे यहां कोई “वैक्सीन” भी तैयार होकर जल्दी ही इस्तेमाल की जाएगी ! अब दवा और वैक्सीन दोनों साथ-साथ दोगे तो असर तो होगा ही ! शरीर का कोई हिस्सा जा सकता है , लंगड़े- लूले होने से तो अच्छा है पहले ही रिटायर होकर चैन की जिंदगी जी लें !
हमने पूछ ही लिया “आपके परिवार में तो कई शुभ कार्य होने हैं तो क्या आप हवेली नहीं जाओगे ! आपने बताया था – तीन महीने बाद सार्स भैया की मंगनी है और आपकी Measles बहना के होने वाले है और आप मामा भी बनने वाले हैं !
बोले हमारे यहां परम्परा है वायरस रूपी बच्चे का नामकरण पहले कर दिया जाता है और नामकरण हो गया है ! मैंने कहा मतलब ! कुटिल मुस्कराहट के साथ बोले “G-4” ! मैंने कहा यह कोई नाम है , यह तो ‘कोड’ लगता है ! भाई बोले हम भी तो Covid -19 हैं ! हमने पुछा यह G-4 क्या है ! बोले ‘चमगादड़-महिला’ ने इसको ‘सुअर’ से खींचा है ! अब बस फिट-फाट करने में लगी है ! संतुष्ट होते ही Measles बहना में डाल कर जन्म कर देगी ! इसी प्रयोग के बारे में तो बताया था पिछले हफ्ते !
मैंने कहा मतलब Covid-19 के बाद G-4 ??
बोले अब जब लगभग साबित हो ही गया है की हमारे चिन-पुन वुहान में “जैविक हथियार” बना रहे हैं तो यह तो अब बड़े लोगों के बीच की बात है ! हमने कहा था कि हम वायरस तो बस कटपुतली हैं ! फिर कोई पैदा होगा और यहां से वहां नचाया जायेगा !
इससे पहले की बातें और बढ़ती भाई बोले अब थोड़े देर सो लेने दो !
सुबह होते ही कम्बख्तों की ठक -ठक शुरू हो जाती है !
सबसे पहले दौड़ाते हैं – देखते हैं दूसरों की सांस फुलाने वालों के फ़ेफ़डे खुद कितने मजबूत हैं !!

 

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Book Preview: ‘Ethical Dilemmas of a Civil Servant’

by Sanjay Mohan Johri June 27, 2020 No Comments



Book Preview: ‘Ethical Dilemmas of a Civil Servant’

Dr. Sanjay M Johri

Jun 27, 2020

To do or not do?
A Journalist by chance and an academician by choice, I made several lifelong friends during my professional journey. As a reporter, I mingled with a cross section of people from the society including many bureaucrats. Watching, interviewing and reporting the dynamics between the politicians and bureaucrats, I found very few who were able to stand their ground.
Once such bureaucrat, Anil Swarup, left a lasting impression and so when he told me about his second book “Ethical Dilemmas of a Civil Servant”, which is being released through online platform on July 5, 2020, I naturally got excited. His first book “Not Just a Civil Servant”, which was released last year was a delightful read as it contained so many interesting anecdotes from his life and even those faced by bureaucrats in general.
A 1981 UP cadre IAS officer, Anil served his state for any years holding several key positions during which he faced several interesting situations that he promised to pen down after retiring. While his first book is already drawing rave reviews, Anil decided to bring out his second labour of love.
I remember him once telling me that civil servants are unsung heroes, a fact he elaborates in the book. An excerpt: ‘A civil servant is like the foundation of a grand building that never gets its due credit despite being the steel frame that holds the structure together. Unfortunately, the only time the common man gets to know about a civil servant is when things have gone wrong, while their good deeds like managing the unprecedented Covid-19 crisis, usually, fail to earn them the recognition that is due. But that is what the civil service is all about…. It is only on some of the rarest of rare occasions when officers like E Sreedharan and KPS Gill may get a chance to grab the limelight’.
Recounting his experiences he writes: “It will not be hyperbolic to state that the ‘good’ are struggling for recognition and a large number of them are fighting their battles against a much more organized set of ‘negativity mongers’. The best lack conviction and the worst are full of passionate intensity!’ The quintessential bureaucrat, if there is one, has been left no option but to change. They have been forced to attempt to come out of their cocoon. And I feel that they should change”.
Another excerpt reads: ‘There is no way they (civil servants) can afford to remain in the ‘ivory tower’; to remain just the silent foundation. They have to make their presence felt. The question is, how?’ He goes on to list some bright bureaucrats who ‘made things happen’ despite serious limitations. Some of them include: Sanjay Agrawal (transformed whichever sector he handled, the turn-round of the Uttar Pradesh Road Transport Corporation being the most significant one); Ajay Bhalla and Vivek Bhardwaj (put in place a transparent and non-reversible regime for coal block auctions); Sutirtha Bhattacharya (Former Chairman, Coal India Limited, whose efforts led to record production of coal in the country); and Ajay Seth, Naresh Gangwar, Nand Kumar, and Sandhya Rani (brought about a transformation in school education in Karnataka, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh respectively).
So what’s the key to encourage officers? An excerpt provides the answer: ‘The key is first to appreciate the good work that they are doing, understand how they are doing it and then try and replicate what they are doing. Civil servants frequently face various dilemmas. There are sacrifices involved and, on many occasions, the choice itself is difficult. And the jury on this is still out!
The book also deals with the issue of bureaucracy being questioned for their ‘credibility’ and goes on to point several institutes being run by them like: The Election Commission, the Comptroller and Auditor General, the Union Public Service Commission and the Central Vigilance Commission that have come under the spotlight from time to time for toeing the line drawn by political masters.
Anil concedes, “It is extremely difficult to insulate institutions from political interference but it is possible to do so due to increasing use of technology and the consequent transparency. The political masters can be induced to make more informed decisions. They can be made aware of the implications of their decisions in a much more aware and transparent world.”
Well, it certainly has whetted my appetite and now looking forward to the release of ‘Ethical Dilemmas of a Civil Servant’.
Congratulations in advance, my friend.
(Anil Swarup has served as Secretary, Ministry of Coal and Secretary, School Education, Government of India. He also served as the head of the Project Monitoring Group (PMG) set up in the Cabinet Secretariat. He is also the founder of ‘Nexus of Good’, which highlights the good work being done by civil servants.)

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Rural distress to impact economy: Survey

by Sanjay Mohan Johri May 30, 2020 No Comments

with migrants making their way to villages, rural India, which has been the mainstay of the Indian economy, is now facing a double whammy—more mouths to feed and loss of livelihood. All this is bound to hit the preparedness for the upcoming kharif crop season that lasts from June to October, which is likely to affect the food production and supply chain in the long run.
Rural India accounts for two-thirds of the nation’s 1.3 billion people who account for 45% of the country’s gross domestic product. Back-to-back droughts and demonetization in 2016 had badly affected the rural economy and now migrants returning home with empty pockets because of job loss, are likely to add pressure on families.
According to one of the largest survey carried out to assess the impact of COVID 19 and the lockdown on the rural poor, it was found that majority of households have “very limited stocks of food” grown by them in the last Kharif or Rabi season. The rural households are today solely dependent on food supply through PDS. The survey covered 5100 households in 47 districts in 12 states of the Union and was carried out days after the lockdown.
It was jointly anchored by Transform Rural India Foundation, Delhi and Vikasanvesh Foundation, a development research centre based in Pune, Maharashtra and methodologically
supported by Sambodhi, a well know research firm in Lucknow. Participating NGOs were: Professional Assistance for Development Action (PRADAN), BAIF), Action for Social Advancement (ASA), SATHI-UP, Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP),
Grameen Sahara .
The findings have raised alarm bells. While the months of peak food insecurity in most rain-fed regions are July and August, people are already experiencing food insecurity. They have begun consuming fewer items and eating fewer meals every day than similar periods in normal times, the survey points out.
The survey says “It is just a snapshot of the ‘Rural Stress’ when only 13% of migrants had returned home.” With reverse migration becoming rigorous after Indian Railways and the State Governments ensured that Shramik Specials and Roadways buses were pressed into service from different states to take them home, the real issues will surface then.
Indebtedness among rural poor is rising and nearly 30% of the respondents have already had to borrow from their kin or professional money lenders to meet subsistence costs.
There are early signs of acute distress, which are visible with all discretionary expenses on marriages or similar ceremonies are either put on hold or being cut down drastically. Their children are likely to be withdrawn from schools in 30% of the households. Households have begun depleting productive assets with many even selling even bullocks or milch animals. With only a sixth of the households reporting return of their migrant members, the workload on women has significantly increased from fetching water and fuel wood to cooking food. This drudgery shows no sign of abating.
Now, it remains to be seen whether the financial package announced by Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, which focuses primarily on migrant workers with free food grain supply to all migrant laborers for next 2 months (Each worker to get 5 kgs of rice or wheat & 1 kg of chana), will bring some semblance to the rural economy. The finance minister had said eight crore migrants who do not have either central or state PDS card, will benefit from the free food grain scheme and Rs 3,500 crores will be spent on this.
As the country enters into Lockdown 4.0 and the reverse migration increasing steadily, the situation only seems to go from bad to worse, for now.

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The hullabaloo about lockdowns

by Sanjay Mohan Johri May 28, 2020 No Comments

 

Did the nationwide lockdowns since March 25, 2020 helped India curb the rapid spread of the dreaded Covid 19? This only time will tell, however, it is undeniable that at the time it seemed the best option to ensure people’s safety considering how the disease was wreaking havoc globally with even the most advanced nations staring in abyss as Coronavirus steadily decimated its victims.
But after almost three months of near global shutdown resulting in deeper economic crisis, governments have gradually started opening their economies. The government of India while observing lockdown 4.0 has also started easing restrictions to re-start economic activities and post May 31, it will take a fresh look at the strategy as there is no let up in Covid-19 crisis with cases continuing to spike menacingly figuring at 1.55 lakh and around 4,500 deaths in the country. India stands at number 10 among the wors May 28, 2020
Did the nationwide lockdowns since March 25, 2020 helped India curb the rapid spread of the dreaded Covid 19? This only time will tell, however, it is undeniable that at the time it seemed the best option to ensure people’s safety considering how the disease was wreaking havoc globally with even the most advanced nations staring in abyss as Coronavirus steadily decimated its victims.
But after almost three months of near global shutdown resulting in deeper economic crisis, governments have gradually started opening their economies. The government of India while observing lockdown 4.0 has also started easing restrictions to re-start economic activities and post May 31, it will take a fresh look at the strategy as there is no let up in Covid-19 crisis with cases continuing to spike menacingly
figuring at 1.55 lakh and around 4,500 deaths in the country. India stands at number 10 among the w
t Covid-hit nations.
The commercial hub Mumbai in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu being the worst have so far failed to check the spread and there are no signs of flattening the curve. Maharashtra, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu have to be blamed for under preparation besides other reasons.
Top medical expert and AIIMS Director Dr R.K. Guleria says the peak will happen till June end but we are certainly better prepared to fight the pandemic with gradual improvement in the health infrastructural facilities.
The Government of India still claims “It is perhaps due to the restraint exercised by the citizens, guided by the cautious and meticulous approach that despite being the second most populous country, the contagion has been contained to a number that is significantly lower than in many other nations”. The lockdown that came into effect on March 25 has led to minimal incidence of the pandemic.
“Bearing in mind the slowing down of the rate at which the cases were doubling, the measures that have helped and are likely to strengthen our hands further in the fight against COVID-19 merit attention”, a top government official claims.
On a day former Congress president Rahul Gandhi attacked the government that lockdown had been a failure, the Chief Economic Adviser Dr Krishnamurthy Subramanian, in an interview to NDTV, strongly defended the lockdown saying “what if we hadn’t had the lockdown, we may have had about 70,000 deaths and lakhs of cases.”
Experts argue India with 1.4 billion population can not be equated with countries like Sweden with just over one crore population or South Korea with five crores plus where better healthcare infrastructure coupled with health protocols like hand hygiene, social distancing helped them cope up with the crisis in initial days. Developed countries across the world fought the pandemic with different strategies and even US, which tops the tally of Corona pandemic both in infection and deaths, completely failed to control it.
At a time when millions of people have been displaced, businesses shuttered, educational institutions closed, hotels and restaurants shut and job losses, the lockdown looked like a problem for country’s economy but keeping in mind the available health infrastructure the government perhaps had no option but to go for it to slow down the pandemic.
Meanwhile, the poor have been hit like never before and the states and Centre were caught napping with reversef in large numbers. Pandemic is being tackled on mathematical models, which show a peak and then flattening of the curve. India is yet to witness peak – till June end hence precautions were necessary and gradual restoration of the economic activities is the only way to tackle the dual crisis.
India’s overall ‘cluster-containment’ strategy has certainly done better to possible large scale spread but states like Kerala, Rajasthan, Oddisa and Uttar Pradesh, due to their better preparedness and strategy, proved as model states in the country. Kerala based on their SARS experience flattened the curve via the creation of a contagion route map while Odisha’s susceptibility to natural disaster gave it an advantage in crisis preparedness.
The communist run government was first to open the economic activity. Rajasthan’s Bhilwara containment strategy proved as a model for others while Uttar Pradesh, India’s largest populous state, prepared well with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath forming Team-11 of top bureaucrats who guided him well to face the challenge.
It is easy to criticize any strategy but Union Health Ministry has to be complimented for preparing a strategic approach taking into account different possible scenarios – travel-related cases, local transmission of COVID-19, large outbreaks amenable to containment, and widespread community transmission of COVID-19.
As lockdown restrictions eases, economic activities begin, domestic travel resumes in a calibrated manner and hotels, restaurants open up the only thing that can hopefully help minimize the Covid-19 spread is strict adherence to health protocols. Lockdowns or not, mask, gloves, sanitizers and social distancing are the only way to beat the virus.