DK Kapila The Oracle

. The new private sector banks have rewritten banking experience in India and been a game changer in banking and retail banking in particular; though the PSU Banks have now caught up though inspite of their staid image with the public. The role, ambit and performance of the new age private sector banks is well recognised and justly so and cannot be doubted in any manner. However what has puzzled me is the sheer churn at private sector banks and the staff turnover, that is at entry level of trainees recruited by most of them with designations such as Assistant Managers or Officer Trainees, normally for the operational areas. Coming out of a bank which claims to have founded modern retail banking, I ran into Ramesh (name changed), I asked what he was doing at a rival bank as he was employed at a bank which claims to be having the finest systems and processes in India. He laughed and said, ‘Sir, have been working in two banks and this is the third, where do I go, the stress of target...

It was pitch dark, I was cursing myself and wondering what to do. Being stranded on a dark national highway, at even 9 pm is not an event to give a pleasant feeling. It was end September of this year, I needed to be in Chandigarh on a Friday to collect my foreign exchange and passport for the official trip to Germany starting from Saturday itself. So here I was, having started on Thursday evening from Shimla at around 0545 pm, the mountain drive having been quite pleasant till then. The radio belted out old and new songs, I drove non stop   and enjoyed the sight of the setting sun around 7 pm or so. I still remember it reminded me of my days as DDM at Ropar, where as the seasons changed, I would notice from my office window the sun slowly setting early towards autumn and it would give me an oddly peaceful feeling.   Dusk seems to add a certain privacy to a person, it adds an invisible coat for reflections and nostalgia to take over. Ever noticed in a bus or flight, as the l...

The SHG movement has witnessed a tremendous upscaling in terms of both mass (formation of SHGs and their linkage with banks) and flow of bank credit but stil remains weak in North West India. I have come across regularly at various interactions with bankers, formal or informal, some concerns which I have now classified into ten broad concerns. The clarifications as stated about each concern are also provided and if understood and internalised, I am sure would bring about the enhanced flow of credit to SHGs in north west India. We must remember that any nation’s development requires among other parameters the access to credit to all segments of society, which is the objective of the SHG movement. The ten concerns and clarifications are stated in a question and answer format as below. 1. Query – A new President and Secretary were elected by the group members, they were advised to open a new account for the SHG, they did not return to complete the formalities. Clarification – The...

The marketing of financial products in rural areas or semi urban areas, specially in the hinterland presents unique challenges as also learning opportunities. My own posting in the districts enabled me to gain insights into the process and I am sharing some experiences as they only amplify the viewpoint. While discussing the marketing of financial products, I am essentially focusing on the marketing and sale of mutual funds, ULIPS, tax free bonds, traditional life insurance products, medical insurance, infrastructure bonds, FD’s of companies etc. The scenario in rural marketing is always complex, the distance from the company / corporate offering the product is vast, both in terms of geography and perception. The absence of qualified agents, bankers facing stiff targets for cross selling products, a perception of safety embedded in all products, dependence on subsidy and governmental programmes, arbitrage, mis- selling, lack of access to financial papers, inability to appreciate ...

I do not know of how many friends watch ‘Band Baja Bride’ on NDTV Good Times, its about the makeover of a bride (at times a bridegroom) with a leading designer associating in the process. Its all ooh and ahs and squealing and gesturing and make believe excitement as the ugly swan becomes an ‘oh such a pretty young thing’!. I reach Chandigarh most weekends at night, Priyanka (my daughter, with very much a clear mind of her own and not afraid to state it) will normally be watching the show, my reaction normally and on purpose is, ‘so you are watching the glorified darzi’s (tailor’s) show ?!. Initially there was a violent reaction, with her questioning as to how I or anybody could even think of labelling Sabyasachi or any other designer as a darzi and when would I learn to appreciate the finer aspects of clothing lines . Now it’s a cool ignore from her as I make my observation , no more loud voices in protest but the channel does not change and neither does the enshrinement of the desi...

Eavesdropper Me! Absolutely Not!. By Dinesh K Kapila Eavesdropping is understood as defined as the act of secretly listening to the private conversation of others without their consent. It is commonly thought to be not really ethical and there is an old adage that "eavesdroppers seldom hear anything good of themselves...eavesdroppers always try to listen to matters that concern them’. Now maybe I ought to be discussing overhearing, but we will discuss this aspect later. The problem is that people seem to have forgotten the art of being discreet, of whispered or low voiced discussions or at least watching out as to who is around. Now take this gem, a young newly married couple is walking in the park at the same pace as I am, I assume newly married as the bride is still wearing the bangles (churra) indicating her newly acquired marital status. Now the guy is cribbing about his lack of acceptability by his in laws and their culture and ...

Rural Transformation and Sustained Growth of Agriculture. By Dinesh K Kapila In India the composition of the poor, primarily concentrated in rural areas, has been changing and rural poverty is getting concentrated in agricultural labour and artisanal households and urban poverty in casual labour households. Agricultural labour households account for 41% of rural poor in 1993–94 as well as in 2004–05. The share of the self employed in agriculture among the rural poor had fallen from 32% to 21.6%. Casual labour households accounted for 62.6% in 1993–94 in urban areas and 56.5% in 2004–05. The occupational composition of rural poor varied across the States. In general, in developed states / regions poverty was highly concentrated among agricultural labour households, and in contrast in backward states / regions poverty extended to other occupational groups including the self-employed in agricultur...

Business Communication In Organisations – Concepts, Barriers, Challenges and Relevance to the Governmental Sector. by Dinesh K Kapila, AGM NABARD Shimla (written for a journal, yet to be published) A. Concepts - Communication as such is inherent in all phases of managing, though it is one of the most important components of effective leadership. It can be defined as the process of transfer of information from the sender to the receiver in such a manner that the information is understood by the receiver. Any attempt at discussing the process of communication has to focus on the sender of the communication, the transmission of information itself and the receiver of the message being transmitted. The barriers to effective communication and the mode of feedback also need to be discussed in any analysis of the process of communication. It would be quite appropriate to state at the outset that the communication function is the means to bring about a ...