Reflections of Rajaram Bojji

My mind started roaming, on hearing about MR's announcement in the Parliament. Insurmountable problems of different kind arise for bureaucracy to deliver now... Usually, it would take three months for the budget orders to be issued. Then generally the GMs of railways will have to call for offer of rates from the Konkan Railway or the Railway Board may fix a kind of rate contract like DGS & D rate contract type with Konkan Railway. Being a PSU, Ministry has the power and precedent to place such orders particullalry when the product is covered by patent rights and is a proprietary item. Even for construction works Raliway Ministry places single cost plus orders for projects worth Rs 5000 cr on IRCON. The J&K case is one. The idea is the PSU will follow similar processes as the government and is subject to CAG check. Mind you it is cost plus contract! But it is normal practice to help quick decisions and project progress. But in this case the unit rates get fixed before hand t...

A case for TERA- Technology Evaluation & Rating Agency to allow intellectual capital to improve efficiency of our capital investments in logistics infrastructure . B.Rajaram FIE., FNAE Abstract: Mckenzie estimates $500 b as the funding needed for logistic infrastructure of India in next decade. Our PM mentions a figure of $ 1 trillion. The space of opportunity to innovate is huge. But surprisingly Mckenzie envisages the age old systems and solutions in use by other developed countries. When those countries created their infrastructure it was not from debt, but from capital free of any attached cost. Today we need debt to create. Old generation solutions remained mainly product centric and not based on totality of service. The modal splits and transfers queer the pitch. Individually each of the proucts like metro rail or high speed network, deliver well, but for the user the total point to point quick transit gets more often than not, denied. The intellectual capital and innovati...

I totally agree and this reminds me of a paper I submitted long time back for a 5 year cycle of technology up gradation while I was in RDSO. But, a few more years down the line and experience with ACD technology and Skybus, I have some reservations too. The technical and mental gaps develop rather too fast in services leading to in home technology getting outdated, with fixation for tenders, audit and vigilance. The excellent persons who enter the service, get too many knocks and the they end up as conditioned zombies, too scared to cross the lines to show any courage. Herd mentality takes over. Infosys like infrastructure will result in mere training to stick to the same herd mentality only and reinforces the rut in which we keep running. More importantly a need to be competitive with rewards for manging the inherent risks of innovation and remaining at the cutting edge, causing zeal to deliver and the excitement of working at the leading edge of technology development in own field o...

Nilekani's thoughts are typical all of us who got their education in India, opportunity to serve either through Corporate structure or Government sector like me, sticking to ethical standards both in private and public life. Yes I too feel fulfilled with my 35 years in Indian Railway Service of Engineers my patents/ service as MD Konkan Railway very satisfying with unavoidable internal fights with bosses with different agendas- a normal occurrence in any society. But the price we pay for self interest of quite a few highly placed individuals is too steep. In government sponsored or controlled projects invariably our technology though superior to imported options, get marginalised, with procurers prevailing the decision and policy making corridors of power. Whereas our country could have become wealthier and provide the same riches which the rulers aspire for, but in longer time frame, with making India number one in technology leadership in the world, the third world mentality prev...