Osama, Obama and the sage of Omaha

Finally the largest manhunt in history has come to an end. 10 years and a  few billion dollars later, the US finally managed to locate and kill Osama right from under the noses of the Pakistani Intelligence forces who were probably sheltering him. Strange that they located him by following a courier. Strange that even google earth pictures show a highly secure and unusually unique structure a few meters away from a Pakistani military facility. Strange that the Pakistani authorities had no clue as to who the resident was.Strange that the US forces did not capture him and bring him to justice. Strange that the body was disposed of in mid sea in a rush.

Osama of course had many secrets to hide, including earlier US complicity in his origins as a terrorist. He also probably had access to plans for all future terror strikes, and it seems rather foolish to silence him permanently. Obama of course is a beneficiary of this sudden development. With sagging ratings, he needed something like this to have any chance of re election. Whether he deserves any credit for re uniting Osama with his promised virgins is debatable. The fact that it took the most powerful nation with the most sophisticated technology at its command almost 10 years to locate Osama smacks of incompetence , if not a conspiracy to protect him to buy his silence. Obama will now have to use his considerably eloquence to explain what really happened.

Meanwhile the sage of Omaha is having an unusually bad time. There is something about American CEOs visiting India. I have seen it happen time and time again. From Warren Anderson of Union Carbide to now Warren Buffet, the India visit tends to become the last business trip the a CEO makes. The sage of Omaha is now in trouble for not acting sternly enough against his possible successor for insider trading. There are also stories emerging of large re insurance losses and bad derivative calls. Is the sages invincibility wearing off, like Osama's? And when is Obama's turn?

The Supreme scam

In a season of scams the Supreme Court has been left behind, but not by much. But considering that the 2 G , CWG etc have set the benchmarks, should we even consider the piddling 10 or 15 crores that the eminent justices have put together as a scam? My suggestion is that to qualify as a scam the amount involved should be a minimum 1000 crores or equivalent in US dollars. Else we will be insulting the likes of Raja and Kalamadi, and we want to be careful about doing that.

Then the Supreme court castigated the government and the Chief Vigilance Commissioner for devaluing the office of the CVC (maybe we should call it CVG , in keeping with 2G, Cwg etc).Apparently the commissioner caused a loss of 5.8 crores to the state of Gods own country, almost 20 years ago. Oh come on your lordships... 5.8 crores??? That is rounding error these days. Plus it was a loss to the state, and he did not make any money personally. Plus even after 20 years our venerable judicial system has still not had the time to deliver it's verdict on the matter, and I think that is the scam.

An Australian woman spent 33 years in a wheel chair waiting for our judicial system to pronounce judgement in a case of gross negligence by a hotel that forgot to keep it's swimming pool clean. Now I am not a lawyer,but remember reading somewhere that justice delayed is justice denied, and 33 years is a long time to establish the facts of a case. And after all that wait the poor woman got 5 crores. Come on your Lordships even the agency that did not clean the toilets in the Games village made off with more than that, and they did not even have to wait 33 days.

The Bofors case was finally put to rest almost 30 years after it rocked the nation. I think the original amount involved was 64 crores. No charges were filed and I am sure much more than 64 crores was spent of tax payees money to establish the fact that there was no crime committed and if there was, there was no perpetrator. The trail must have gone cold or the investigating agencies, in this case the CBI, realized that the amount involved was no longer worthy of being called a scam and lost all interest.

I think that the scam really is that it takes so long to investigate, so long to examine the evidence and so long to pronounce judgement. In this long period a more juicy scam has taken over our collective attention and this never ending need for more and more majestic scams will never end.
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The JPC Scam

For the last few months parliamentary democracy in India has been brought to a dead standstill by what can only be called the JPC scam. In the season of scams, this is the mother of them all.

Our honorable Parliamentarians will now waste more of the nations time on issues such as the size of the committee, who should be on it, proportional representation etc. Hopefully by the time all these serious issues are debated and compromised on, the original scams will no longer excercise the public outrage.

What makes them think that any of them have the competence, leave alone the credibility to sit in judgement on anybody?  They all had their hands in the jar at some time or the other, and now they point those soiled fingers and wave their criminal hands on prime time TV, in indignation at being left out of the current orgies.

Their solution? Start a new orgy. Call it the JPC. Which will be nothing but a legitimate forum for sharing the spoils of all previous scams, and some meaningful flogging of dead horses and horse trading of the rest. Then there will be some public hand wringing, and some insignificant scape goat will be named and life will go merrily on.

Havent we learnt anything? From our past experiences with JPC's? Do we need any further insult to our intelligence as a nation? Why cant we disqualify the entire lot of them from any public office for ever? Even if they did not partake in the feast, they were party to it, or at the very least turned a blind eye to the loot of a nation.

We dont need another JPC. Let us at least nip this scam in its bud.

CONTACT:                                                                                  RELEASE

Rhea Rakshit                                                                                                                    24 Jan 2011

Micro Housing Finance Corporation          

Email: rhea.rakshit@mhfcindia.com

http://www.mhfcindia.com

Micro Housing Finance Corporation (“MHFC”) touches 500 loans,

crosses Rs. 20 cr in sanctions

Mumbai, India – Micro Housing Finance Corporation (“MHFC”), a housing finance company that is focused on financially excluded urban lower income families, has crossed 500 loans in sanctions, aggregating Rs. 20 cr. MHFC’s customers include mostly individuals employed in the informal sector, ranging from self employed vegetable vendors and barbers to salaried employees like housemaids, drivers and security guards.

According to Madhusudhan Menon, Chairman – “20 cr in loan sanctions is a key milestone as it represents the reinforcement  of an idea which has not been tested by any financial institution till date. These numbers, and the fact that we have no past dues on our portfolio, establish a strong case for lending to this segment and that customers who have adequate but undocumented incomes are good credit risks for secured mortgage lending. Most importantly, from a social perspective, we believe that every MHFC loan has improved the quality of life of large families currently living in deplorable urban conditions.”

MHFC received its license from the National Housing Bank in February 2009 and began operations in June 2009. Its first Rs 10 cr in sanctions took a little over a year with the second Rs 10 cr being sanctioned in just over 4 months. Loan amounts are usually around Rs. 5 lakhs (not exceeding 80% of the cost of the house) for a period not exceeding 15 years, with the house serving as security for the loan. Its rate of interest is currently between 12% and 14% per annum.

MHFC has a project-led approach and ties up with developers, both public and private, who have a similar focus on urban affordable housing (as defined as being in a price range not exceeding Rs 10 lakhs). Partnerships include tie-ups with builders like Tata Housing, Poddar Developers and Usha-Breco Realty in Mumbai. MHFC also has an active presence in Pune, Ahmedabad and Kolkata, and is currently operational in over 25 low-income housing projects across the country. The company plans to expand its outreach to Chennai, Bengaluru, Meerut and the NCR over the coming year.

About MHFC

MHFC, incorporated in May 2008, aims to fill a major need - long term housing finance - for urban lower income families, particularly those who lack documentation and thus cannot access mainstream banks and housing finance companies. According to the Chairman of MHFC, Mr. Madhusudan Menon, “This underserved segment is estimated to represent more than 90% of the workforce, but has almost no financial institution catering to its housing finance needs. Microfinance has paved the way to lend to this segment in an economically sustainable way, but its focus is on short term loans. We hope that MHFC will be able to take this process further and move towards supporting longer term financing requirements, especially for an important basic need like housing.”

MHFC received its license from the regulator, the National Housing Bank (“NHB”) in Feb 2009 and started sanctioning loans in June 2009. It lends to those who want to buy a home for use as a primary residence and cannot get loans for a variety of reasons, but especially due to the lack of documentary evidence of income (e.g. vendors, tradesmen, drivers, etc who do not have salary certificates).

For more information on MHFC, please visit http://www.mhfcindia.com

Mumbai marathon

Friends,
           After a break of two years, I have decided to run the
marathon in January. And this time it is the half marathon, just to
prove that I am not yet too old. Frankly it is the opportunity to run
over the sea link that is driving me this time, apart from a desire to
maintain domestic harmony and peace by raising some money for
Childline India, with which as all of you know Kajol is deeply
involved.

           Since I have spared you of the effort to reach for your
wallets, for two years now, I am sure you will be generous this time.
You will all have the dual privilege of making me run 21 km while at
the same time contributing to a  worthwhile cause, fully subsidised
through tax exemptions by the Government of India. You cannot get a
better deal than  appearing to be socially conscious, and obliging a
friend, while getting the Government to pay for it.

          .I am attaching info on Childline and also how to go about
contributing..



CHILDLINE 1098 is the largest national, 24x7, emergency, toll-free
phone and outreach service for children in distress. Once a call is
made on 1098, a rescue team reaches a child within 60 minutes. And
because it’s free, children of all ages from the poorest situations
can pick up the phone at any corner, any time, and say, ‘Hello
Childline?’ knowing that help, if they need it will reach them within
an hour


Currently in 82 cities across 25 states of the country,  Childline has
responded to  over 18 million calls.There is a perceived need to
extend this service to every district in the country. By the end of
March 2011, Childline will be expanding to 80 more cities, and
continue to grow. To know more youcan log on to
www.childlineindia.org.in


I am using this opportunity to raise funds for the work being done by
CHILDLINE and would like to seek your support for this cause. Any
amount, big or small (preferably big) can help change lives. You will
be surprised at how little it takes to make a mammoth difference.


 Donations can be made by cheque in favour of 'Childline India
Foundation' . Please mail the cheques to the attention of:


Madhusudhan Menon, 1802, Marathon Heights, P.B. Marg, Mumbai 400013.

................................

Alternatively, you may give online through my iGive page -




http://www.unitedwaymumbai.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=146&popup=1&template_id=280


 All donations by check directly to 'Childline India Foundation' are
eligible for 100% Tax exemption under 35AC of the IT Act.



Make sure you donate generously.



madhu

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Forward

grab grab grab

There used to be a time when people got in to public life, both politics and administration to provide public service. I remember my dad who used to proudly call himself a Government servant.Public service was considered the highest possible career option, and I still recollect spending months learning European history, so I too could become an IAS officer. Thank God I did not make the cut.

The politicians used to be outstanding examples of public probity, and were poorly paid but richly respected for the sacrifices they made to be of service to the people.

In less than 20 years how things have changed.

Politicians are now grabbing everything they can get, and the most passionately debated subject in parliament revolves round their own salaries and perquisites. Their cost to the exchequer is now well over 100 times our per capita income. And this does not include the much larger rewards in terms of bribes and other unmentionable fringe benefits. And they want more..All the time.

The so called Government servants are now masters of the universe, and command and get privileges that the common man can only dream about. Little does the common man know that he is paying for all of this. Whether it is bending the rules on coastal construction, Floor space Index, security, you name it, they have bent it like Beckham, either for money or to acccomodate themselves in sylvan surroundings. The Adarsh controversy in Mumbai, and the latest proposal to allot the CWG flats to themselves are but tips of the iceberg of corruption, which we all tolerate.

And shamelessly they grab more for themselves.And helplessly we watch this pillaging and looting of our country.

microfinance muddle

A few weeks ago they were saviours of the poor, reaching where no bank had reached before, providing credit to the unbankable and changing the rules of the game. Today they are reverse Robin Hoods who steal from the poor to incredibly enrich themselves. All it took was a successful IPO, a CEOs sacking, a scorned wife and a few probably unrelated suicides to reverse public opinion about Indias micro finance industry so dramatically.

Everything that went before, 70 million customers, almost 5 billion dollars in loans to the poor, high profitability, near zero debt defaults and of course 100% + growth rates, attracted a huge amount of professional institutional capital to this industry. The management which was initially fired by the social impact they could make, got carried away by commercial motivations and what we now have is a real threat of a regulatory response which can kill the industry.

It is useful to understand that the Government of India and various State Governments (notably in Andhra Pradesh, which is considered the micro finance capital of India) have been attempting various versions of microfinance with very limited success for many years. In fact the earliest attempts at financial inclusion for the poor in India predates even Prof. Mohammed Yunus's efforts with Grameen Bank in Bangladesh. Sadly, as is the case with most well meaning but poorly executed policies of the State, they failed to make any significant impact anywhere.
It took the private sector micro finance industry less than 10 years to grow to its present size and in the process help millions of poor families out of abject poverty.

How did that happen? State sloth is squarely responsible for its inability to capitalize on the opportunity that the private micro finance industry has successfully demonstrated in a few years. Early social sensitivity, access to serious capital and talent all helped the industry to grow the way it did. They developed relatively sophisticated systems and implemented a vision with a passion that the State can never muster.

And now the same State which failed miserably, despite a three decade head start, continues to be a competitor, but is now taking on the role of judge, jury and executioner. With the press fishing in muddy waters, the muddle can kill the industry and simultaneously kill the hopes of millions of the urban and rural poor to find a route out of poverty.

The intention here is not to make a case for apathy towards the sensitive issue of financial inclusion. Market practices will evolve, and competition will ensure that the weak and expensive players will be acquired by stronger players or eliminated by customer choice. But for the State to presume it knows best, especially when they blew their own chance at doing what the micro finance industry did, is questionable if not downright dangerous.