DK Kapila The Oracle

  The news item and my story This is a splendid article by RAJESH RAMACHANDRAN in The Tribune dated 15th April 2023 and titled When Policemen go Rogue. and must be read by all those interested in the welfare of Punjab. I too have a story. Years back say around 2003 or 2004 I was at a meeting at District Central Cooperative Bank in Punjab. The District Manager, the Deputy Registrar Cooperative Societies, the Chief Agriculture Officer and the Deputy Director Animal Husbandry were all there and of course me and the senior officers of the Cooperative Bank. Suddenly a Punjab Police Inspector opened the door of the conference hall rather rudely. And shouted loudly that he was a SHO and how had the Cooperative Bank dared to issue him a letter for default of a loan. The DM was caught off guard as in any case it was not his duty to know this. First he said he would attend to it after the meeting. No way. He tried placating him as did his officers but it was of no use. He said his honour h...

  Three Virtues - Good Governance or of a Good Officer Mr Chander Shekhar , IAS (Retd) and I had a good chat yesterday. We got talking of good governance, the attitudinal issues of certain government officers, the varied cultures in States and some with a deep sense of feudalism and entitlement. It need not be just the bureaucracy as we know it but even statutory organisations or the varied departments. Some unknowingly give out their biases in meeting the poorer sections or the average person. Or just don’t reach out. Ultimately as pointed out by Mr Chander Shekar, it does boil down simply to - Availability Accessibility Credibility. You should be available consistently but not isolated. Don’t keep working through intervening layers but do reach out and speak and interact directly. Get to know people and do visit sites and projects directly but preferably without letting the paraphernalia which comes along to be a barrier. Hence the accessibility.,And your actions and follow up ha...

  Despite their reliance on mergers and acquisitions to become number one across all segments, Reliance Industries as corporate entity seems to lack the world-class innovation possessed by companies like Apple, Microsoft, Coca-Cola, DuPont, and Toyota. Rather than a company that fosters national wealth, it generally functions as a trading company. The key to true prosperity lies in cultivating and harvesting knowledge. This is something that Reliance should consider if they hope to truly succeed in the long run. This applies to many other large sized corporate entities with huge ambitions. Maybe that evolution will be initiated or would be at the take off stage in the near future. That would be the real push for knowledge based growth.

  The ISB (Indian School of Business, Mohali Campus) has a ChangeMakers League. They organised a talk cum discussion on Social Enterprises. I was the Key Note speaker along with Shri Nekram Sharma, Padam Shri 2023 (for his work on Millets in HP). My talk centred around the concept of Social Enterprises and Impact Based Entrepreneurship and the experience I have had or come across over the years and the commercial aspects of such enterprises and the main characteristics of such enterprises. The need to build up a coherent structure, knowledge of not only your own field but of finance and taxation, building a team, fund raising, risk management, building credibility and transparency and acceptability, modes of developing project and incorporating the beneficiaries, empowerment and the mode, with examples of a Dairy Unit in Bilaspur, a dry fodder blocks project in Punjab with farmers and catering to HP etc were the main inputs. Plus the legal aspects of such social enterprises and the...

  Speed Networking My experience - The lighter side. This terminology was used for a recent management function I attended. Organised by an institution. Someone asked the meaning and context. I could only relate my own experience - of course in a lighter vein., At a session of the Chandigarh Management Association, the talk was followed by networking. I was in service at that time and would attend most such functions. Each one of us was given a small card which was pinned to our coats - Name Designation and Organisation. I had a small amber liquid so to say in my hand and was sort of standing around., Two youngsters came up, handed me their visiting card and breathlessly explained a business idea connected with social work. Commercialisation and all. And the funding. It was just straight on. I had to sort of interject and honestly told them you have to have a certain experience and track record to associate. I was still speaking politely and they simply interrupted me, rather sto...

  Saris Saris and Saris at Puducherry and a couple of other views I went nuts. Just the range of it was too interesting and I went around reading up on each label. It was the Pothy’s Store. One and a half floors are purely for sake of saris. Just the number of saris would be at least ten lakhs (maybe much much more) or so considering the overflowing counters. We just don’t have this sort of a store for saris or ladies suits anywhere up North, maybe a lesson for our entrepreneurs. And the technical backbone to monitor and organise the billing is swift and efficient. I was watching the process and the speed. Gift cards are also used to keep customers loyal. Al sales are automatically logged at the warehouse. They have the range exceeding Rs 1 lakh a sari too, in fact they have the range of Rs 20000/- to Rs 35000/-, then say Rs 50000 /- and do on. So it’s a display by type and range, maintained well. Saris are there for Rs 500 /- or less even. The types of saris and related ...

  Entrepreneurs look for opportunities In Agriculture For years in HImachal Pradesh the issue of fodder and its cost was discussed as it has been a major concern. This remained a discussion point only as no alternatives or modes were explored. One day I just stated this to an individual who is a well to do Agripreneur but mainly owns orchards and farm equipment. Based in Punjab towards its South. He said is there a reasonable dairy business to work with in HP. He then discussed it with his friends including farm scientists. Ultimately they decided dry fodder blocks were the way forward and studied its potential by visiting districts of HP bordering Punjab. Till now they were exploring and tapping the market in Rajasthan but now shifted their focus this side. The setting up of machinery and deciding costs took a year or so and the initial period was consuming time. On marketing and convincing. Their main plus point was lower costs and playing on volumes. Dry fodder as such loaded on...

 Minimum Support Prices Just thoughts random Minimum support price is feasible . SS Johl himself criticised when NCF( Swaminathan Commission ) suggested over and above 50% after all costs factored in. However, we have to see the state finances also. Punjab is now a bankrupt state fiscally. Hence, a practical and feasible alternative is best solution. MP’s Bhawantar Scheme is a good blend of state and market - driven solution. The traders will be there. But you should have your own regulatory system. Give it a fair trial - do it in a few states and then conclude. There is one option - Bhawantar Scheme. It may not be the best. But it would be good if you tighten the traders which is possible unless the Govt is aligned with them for obvious reasons.  The Bhawantar Scheme of MP is a good blend of state and market - driven solution. The traders did game the system and caused problems and concerns in the Bhavantar scheme. The price points are also a concern. But the traders will be ...

  Banana Prices Six Bananas cost Rs 50/- today at our local fruit seller today. At Chandigarh. A good locality. Normally it is Rs 40/- and maybe a year back it was Rs 30/-. The fruit seller says this is a fast selling fruit and consumed by all income classes, of course it is the most affordable fruit. The apprehension of the fruit seller is if the trend of inflation goes on, it will impact consumption. He was being supplied Bananas at an average of Rs 350/- per sainkda (100 pieces), now the supply was at Rs 700/* per sainkda to Rs 750/- and on some days even Rs 800/-. Do the math at Rs 750/- per sainkda, it is Rs 90/- a dozen. Not factoring in wastage. It was Rs 60/- a dozen till not long back. At Rs 350/- a sainkda he made a reasonable margin at Rs 60/- to Rs 70/- a dozen. He tried holding on but had to ultimately enhance prices. The small size Bananas were being supplied at Rs 550/- per sainkda on an average but were not selling well. Consumers preferred the larger sized Ba...