DK Kapila The Oracle

  A Look at Two Successful FPOs – A Tough Area – Hill State Himachal Pradesh – District Chamba – An Aspiration District Dinesh K Kapila Himachal Pradesh   is a tough state to undertake developmental initiatives, in terms of logistics specially. Scattered population, small hamlets, distance magnified by the winding roads and hence costs, sensitisation takes time as the population is scattered, weather conditions specially in the upper reaches by way   of heavy snow and in the lower reaches a prolonged monsoon are other aspects. The advantage is the commitment of the administration as compared to many other states, an educated and aware populace, a real hunger for progress, a committed set of volunteers and social institutions. However a lack of entrepreneurship is a major barrier though this is improving now. Besides, a limited population imposes limits on demand even if production scales up.       Chamba is a comparatively backward district and real...

  KCCs and Banks and Fintech - Clarifications Dinesh K Kapila I had received a few months ago some research and views on Crop Loans and the mode and the fixation off limits. The basic point was farmers had to pay out high charges for KCCs from Banks   and hence fintech companies in tie up with banks would be better. Some informal costs were also stated which I have ignored. After some base work of my own, I had responded as follows - . The Projects are good. KCCs plus reaching out to Farmers undertaking Organic Farming and primarily engaged in farming / agriculture for exports is a sound conceptual idea. My loud thoughts are as follows – 1.       2 lakh plus   farmers over 2.00 lakh hectares over 20 states. This is a huge spread. Logistics is the key as it cannot be monitored digitally only. There have to be physical touch points and this huge spread would enhance costs. Farmers do not normally accept a purely digital mode and have to be...

  Turkiye / Turkey – A Lovely Place and First Copy and All That. Dinesh K Kapila Turkey, a transcontinental nation, located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in Southeast Europe, is a must see. A reasonably good climate, a good sense of history, quite prosperous by our standards and yet not expensive, a very good example of what moderate Islam can be and certainly and oh yes, oh yes, good looking ladies ! It’s a heady combination and coupled with the sense of culture and civilisation is very engrossing.   We were lucky to have with us Ounr Gemic, our Guide and go to person all through the extensive tour. Well qualified from Greece and Turkey, his sense of history and tracing its roots while remaining true to his innate Turkish identity was a most educative experience. I personally, rather we, (wifey, the lawyered up son and I) found it a fascinating ride into history and then all the way to Rumi and present day...

  Flying Abroad – Fly by a Low Cost Airline – For some it’s a Party !! Dinesh K Kapila We flew to a most enjoyable eleven or twelve days holiday at Turkey around a month back. Our travel agent booked us on a low cost airline from Delhi to Istanbul, saying this was the only option. Friends said we would regret it. It started with a regret. The airline (Indigo) had an 11 am flight which it just merged with a 530 am flight without even caring about our reserved seats and well were we apprehensive.   Anyway we managed seats on the emergency section and got around it. But I can say its all in the mind, the lack of screens or entertainment or paying for your meals or having seats without footrests. It’s a party for some. And the airhostesses are ever so friendly and always ready to serve up whatever catches your fancy. Groggy like hell, we got in for the nearly seven hours flight. Two guys caught my attention, just in my row, across the aisle. One was tall, lanky with a handle...

    Crypto is Dead – Views as collected The Crypto is Dead Article by Chetan Bhagat today - posted earlier - has set off a demographic divide with youngsters feeling he failed to grasp the essentials. I asked some sound seasoned investment experts - sorry no names - about their views. Let the debate begin. This is super harsh and shows he doesn’t really understand crypto Nor does he understand why the crash happened say young people.   Personally, I agree with his views. Crypto is not an asset class. It has no underlying value. It has all the characteristics of a bubble & basically plays on 'FOMO' & 'Greater Fool Theory'   We have always recommended all our investors not to venture into crypto & if they have a strong urge, they should only invest their play money, ie money they are willing to lose or casino money. My humble take on Crypto. What I never understood is … how was the value of a crypto arrived … it was always a blin...

  A Short Story - Just like that - Let's Have a Sutta (puff) - Maybe a lesson somewhere ! Dinesh Kumar Kapila This story has it's origins in a small office of NABARD, from nearly three decades ago, it was what is called a Sub Office. A small complement of staff and dependent upon the larger regional office located in the plains for the core work. then suddenly it found itself upgraded to a full fledged office but with no addition of staff. That would follow in bits and pieces. Meanwhile the former mother office delinked itself with alacrity and the officers at the newly upgraded office found themselves firefighting to just keep up with the correspondence. it was but natural bickering and frustration was there. Now the head of the newly upgraded office was a cool, calm and a rather unflappable guy. He one day advised the officers, they were hardly six or seven of them, to stay on at a nearby hotel for drinks. There, once they were settled in, he gently told them to manage th...

  Topic: Chandigarh at the Crossroads! Will we avoid the Bangalore like mess? Loud disjointed thoughts by a member (Dinesh K Kapila) laid low by viral fever !!   The context here seems to be the problems being faced by Bengaluru in terms of traffic, mobility, the inability of civic services to cope up, the failure of urban planning to decide appropriate land use etc. This actually confronts most urban settlements. In Chandigarh the challenge seems to be within and then outward too. The within is the conflict between those who would preserve the essential character of the city as conceived and those who say that appropriate changes to cater to evolving demands, services and the growth in population need to be factored in. This is best exemplified by the Metro issue, while the traditional lobby may be right in saying it’s not in consonance with the character of the city but the fact remains the city requires an alternative viable transportation system which could be tram...

  Agriculture / Rural Sector   -Credit Flow -   Where   are we headed in the next twenty five years. Dinesh K Kapila, Chief General Manager (Retd), NABARD.     The perspective for the next twenty five years for any State in India presents a major challenge as the scenario which would evolve in terms of technology, economic changes, demographic profile, changing consumer trends and the consequent impact on production, changes in the financial eco system and climate change are imponderables. For example a scenario could evolve that in a hill   state   short term credit could be more in demand By FPOs and other such aggregators rather than limited to individual farmers for crop loans. Fintech evolving in rural areas are also a gray area in terms of evolution, growth and credit planning. However a vision has to be evolved and a broad array of goals drawn up. Then we can disaggregate and draw up a plan for the next five years and thereafter pro...