A journey to Badoli(Gujrat) - Part 2

Part 1

Day 2:

As we were tired of yesterday’s journey, we decided to wake up a little late. But we had forgot one thing. We were sleeping in a room in Dooth Mandli. By 6 am, there was a big queue infront of our building, all waiting to give their milk to Society. Mahendra Bhai, a worker in cooperative society gave a class to us on how the price of milk is decided. Price of milk is decided according to the fat content in milk. In cowmilk it will vary from 4 -7 where as for buffaloes it is between 6 -10. If fat content is 10, farmers will get Rs. 45 per litre. Mahendrabhai was doing the test to check the fat content and price was decided accordingly.After watching the process for some time, we went back to our room.

By 8.30 am, we got ready and went to R H Jani Semi government Higher Secondary school in Badoli. It is the main Higher Secondary School in village. We asked them about the educational facilities about village and was very happy to know that the village is blessed with an L P school, a UP School and a Higher Secondary School and no child in village can ‘escape’ without going to school!!!The school had a strength of 1158 students including 501 girls.

From R H Jani School, we went to village dispensary and enquired about the health situation of villagers.Though there was no hospital there, the doctor said that it was not an issue for them as they have 2-3 hospitals within a distance of 10 kilometers.From there we went to police station, but to our surprise, no one was there in that building!!! I guess the crime rates in Gujrat is very less that they don’t even need police!!! After waiting their for 20 minutes , we came back,without gathering any info about crime rates there. All we could see in the police station was an auto which had one tyre missing. 

 

Government Dispensary

While coming back, we went to Primary School 1 , which is under the control of Government. All the fund was provided by government . The school had a computer lab with 8 computers, a science lab, a library and special provision for teaching disabled students.I was very happy to hear this , as people here know the value of education and was trying to provide it to all irrespective of their physical capabilities. Even in highly educated states like Kerala, we cannot see much schools with this facilities. Another surprise for us was Vishlesha Madam, who is a teacher in the school. She is the only person that I met in the village who knew English. But the sad part is , she is blind!But she was not ready to give up . She fought against her disabilities , took graduation , listened to audios and learned English and now she is working in a government School!! A Lady , that everyone should respect. Hats off .

Aravalli mountain range

From Primary School, we went to Village office. The officer was very happy to see us and he gave all the data we need !!! No, I am not kidding. This is what happened in the office. How many of us can say the same will happen in village offices in our state.According to 2001 sensus ,Badoli has a population of around 6000.(lost the data sheet he provided. So I have to approximate values. I am sorry). The village has 99% literacy rate. But from the village office only we came to know about the other half of the story. Even after the education, people are not changing their jobs. A Patel will continue agriculture, Brahmin will remain as priest and a Harijan will be a labourer. Education never helped much to improve their income.

Idar Fort

In the evening (around 4pm) we went to see Idar Fort.Idar Fort is a very small fort build on the top of a mountain in Aravalli ranges. We took an auto to go to top of mountain as ‘trekking’ was not permitted by IRMA  and we do not want to disobey rules ;). The auto driver’s name was Samir Pathan. In the journey, we got a chance to listen to Muslim version of the ‘developments’ in the villages in Gujrat.

A plant in Jain temple

Fort was a very small construction, which was not maitained for years. I felt bad impression about the government for the first time after seeing the fort. It seems no one is interested in the fort, though it could be developed into a beautiful tourist spot, as it is on the top of mountain.As of now, all we can see in the building is the ‘scripts’ of some guys who had came there before and some gossips like ‘Salman loves Aishwarya’ .I really wish government will take some action to protect this fort. There is a Hindu temple , a Jain temple and a Mosque near the fort.We entered the Jain temple first . Thus I got a chance to visit a Jain temple for the first time in my life.


From Idar Fort , we can see a small building on the top of a huge rock.  It was very difficult to reach there. It was constructed by queen of Idar , when she got angry with the King! It is heard that she lived there for rest of her life as a revenge.It might have been a bad time for servants who lived at that time as it will take atleast 5-6 km walk from the top of that rock to come down to collect some water. ( We can't expect queen to come down and collect water, right? ) .

By 6.30 pm we came back to Badoli . Then we went to Raju Bhai’s home and then to mineral water plant. There is an auditorium near the plant. It is the auditorium made by Patels for their community marriage. By that time, Parimal ji also reached there and from there everything was an exact copy of day 1. This time Shailesh and me gave treat to them , same hotel, different menu. Then went to same the same shop where we sat last day. But this time we came back early. We slept around 1 am.

A snap taken on my way to Idar Fort


 

to be continued...

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A journey to Badoli(Gujrat)

 It is easy plan a hundred ideas, but very difficult to implement atleast one . I dedicate this blog to Dr. Varghese Kurien, who had changed the life of thousands of people in Gujrat. He was the REAL MAN OF TWENTIETH CENTURY... 

Our journey to Sabarkantha district started on 18th june 2013.There were 14 people in our group,who were further sub divided into 7 groups and would be send to various villages in Sabarkantha. My teammate was Shailesh Kumar Tiwary from Gorakhpur. Though I had met him on last day, we never got much chance to talk or plan about the journey.We all were supposed to leave by 6 am from college ,then to reach the Sabar diary by noon.But as we all know , a college is a college and we proved that in terms of punctuality. All participants reached near vehicle by 7.15 am and our journey began. We were going in 3 vehicles, 5 each including faculty(Asmita Vyas Madam).The beginning of a great trip…

 The journey to Sabar Diary was a short, sweet one.Sidhardh from Odisa , Sanjay from Gujrat, Shailesh from Uttar Pradesh , Amit from Bihar and I, from Kerala. So a perfect mix was set in our vehicle to have a great discussion on various customs and beliefs of people in various parts of our country.We started discussions with ‘NaMo’ wave in Gujrat to Communist party in Kerala, Odisha to Malayalam,various beliefs across different states etc. We reached Sabar diary by 10 am. 

Sabar diary is one of the biggest diaries of AMUL with an average collection of 12.2 lakh litres of milk per day. On last february it had shown a record of 16.07 lakh litres. One thing that influenced me in the diary is the prayer before work. Everyone stood up and sang prayer before the work. In a nation, where culture is degrading , the Sabar Diary office stands different. I think, all co operative diaries in Gujrat starts work with prayer and this give them power to reach greater heights. The officers in the plant first took a session on how the co operative society works, how they collect milk from various units, CSR work of co operative units and so on. After this , we were taken to processing  centre where the milk collected from farmers is processed to various products like packet milk for sales,  ghee, milk powder etc. It was really amazing to see 8 huge tanks standing one after other , each having a capacity of 1 lakh litres to collect milk. It was a totally different experience for me, as I have seen only one industry in my life  - the IT Industry.

Harvesting Machine

After having lunch from Sabar diary, we started our journey to Badoli, which is a village in North Gujrat, around hundred kilometres away from Rajasthan. After dropping Santhosh and Siddharth at Narsipura ( a village in Sabarkantha district , 7 km from Badoli) and Amith and Sanjay at Godhamji, we all reached at Badoli around 5.30 pm. I think, our Madam, Asmita Vyas was very doubtful whether Shailesh and me,  will stay patiently in a village for 3 days.So, before leaving she reminded us the same thing that she said before the journey began. "You are not supposed to leave village before 21st June." Our stay was arranged in Doodh Mandli (Milk Co operative Diary) in Badoli.

 After the vehicles left to drop other participants in other villages, the first thing I did was, I checked whether we have toilets. (there was a reason behind this search as we had some wrong idea about some villages here). I was surprized to see a brand new toilet. It was so new, that they have not even fitted tap!!!!! In the mean time, Shailesh had gone to check the hotel where our food had been arranged for next 3 days. After a few minutes a person came to check the facilites for us . I had tried to explain them the facilities that we needed to stay. It was then, I realized that truth.None of the villagers knew English. It was my mistake that I thought there will be atleast someone who might know English. But to be honest that turned out to be a bliss for me, as at the end on 4th day, muje sirf hindi hi nahi gujrathi bhi aati di!!!  I just managed to tell him what all we need for stay. I must say that villagers are really efficient. Within 15 minutes we got 2 beds, 2 buckets and a tap, which was fitted in toilet!!! We got the room where the Vetnary doctor used to sit in Cooperative society. So he was not able to sit there and perform his normal duties till Friday. ( I hope, all cows and buffaloes in village will not be angry on us) . By 6.30pm , two people in the village, Raju Bhai and Kalpesh Patel came to meet the two outsiders at dooth mandli.

The real story will begin from here!!!

Raju Bhai and Kalpesh Patel in Chilly field

Kalpesh bhai had taken degree in Rural Management .He was very happy to know that we came there to study their village. Kalpesh and Raju Bhai have some agricultural land in village. I felt like they were send by god at correct time to help us. We, Shailesh and I, went to their land on their bikes. Kalpesh bhai told us that they are really lucky people as they get ground water around 140-150 feet depth. I was really surprised to hear those words , as people in kerala are always sad if we didn’t find water at a depth of 25-30 feet.If we have no water at 30 feet, it is the end of world for us!!! They took a class to us on drip irrigation, how it had helped them to reduce wastage of water and how it helped to increase profit. They had planted groundnut ,guar and chilly in their fields now, which will be replaced by wheat and bajra by the end of monsoon.As monsoon had came a little earlier their production had decreased, but still they were happy as they know this will ultimately help to increase production on next season.

Goshaala

  




After spending almost one and half hours in field, they took us to a cattle farm – Goshaala . It was a big farm with more than 15 cows ,two oxen and around 7 calves. Those who owned agriculture land had cattle farm also as they complemented each other. The plants in field after cultivation will be given to cattle as their food. So they usually do not have to spend much money for cattle food. And the cow dung was put in the field as fertilizer for next round of cultivation. So they can reduce the money they spend on purchasing chemical fertilizers. (What an idea sirji!!!). By 8.30 pm we reached back . 

Thus , by the end of first day evening , we had had an idea about the cultivation and cattle farming at Badoli.If we had not met Kalpesh bhai and Raju bhai, we can’t imagine how our days in Badoli would  be. But the story didn’t end here. By evening Kalpesh bhai’s brother, parimal Patel also came to see us. He is a teacher in government school in nearby village. They took us to Idar City , and we had a dinner party there!! While rest of my friends in other villages were worrying about food, we had Jeera Rice, Roti and Paneer butter masala!!! 

While having the dinner, they gave us an idea about the social structure of village there. Patel community are the common farmers in the village. All of them own medium to large area of land and have cattle farm also . A few years back , when there was drought , it was difficult to get profit from agriculture. Then, they had started cooperative tile factory!! All patel families have 1-2% share in factory. A total of 20 factories were made and they have a turnover of above 100 crores!!! They also own a cooperative mineral water plant which was made by all members of patel community. But people from all communities can purchase water from the plant.

After dinner , they took us to a small shop in the village where  all of them usually sit and talk till midnight. We too sat there till midnight and then we went to co operative to sleep. 

to be continued ......

click here to read part 2 

3 in 1

Scene 1




First Street



He walked through the streets of road , but no one cared him.He was wearing a piece of cloth, which might not have even seen water for last two years.He requested everyone to help, “Sir, I am hungry. please give me one rupee.”. But no one cared him. He is known as ‘beggar’.



(Same time, another corner of the same street. A centralized ac building)



A person who is wearing executive clothes was requesting a person sitting infront of him, “sir, we are in a very difficult situation, we are way short of target. Can you please help us by giving an F D of ten lakh? Please sir.” But he is not a beggar. He is popularly known as bank employee.





Scene 2



Second Street .



‘Sir, We have a vast variety of various gold ornaments. You can select the best from it sir’ – he is known as salesman in jewellery.



(Same time, another corner of the same street. A centralized ac building)



“Sir, we have 24 carat gold coins. It would be great if you take one piece of gold weighing 50 grams. It would be a great investment option for you.” – But this person is not a salesman. He is known as bank employee.



Scene 3



Third Street



“”Sir, we have various schemes that are well suited for your needs. We assure you high returns along with the policy benefits that you are going to receive. Please check this brochure sir, I will explain each plan in detail….”

And the person sitting infront replied “ I am bored of hearing these policy plans. Will you please get lost!!!” Policy agent walked out with a sad face.



Same time,another place.

“Sir, there are a few good investment options for you,which ensures higher returns and at the same time provide you insurance for your life.”



As you expected,this person is also a bank employee.  :)

The journey of an Infoscion Part 2 - preparations for joining Infosys

click here to know about my interview for Infosys placement

Once we got a campus placement situations started to change.  I felt like I was getting some confidence about my future, after all I would be an Infoscion soon after my college life. But that confidence lasted only for three to four months. A word ,which I had never heard in my life before, hit the whole world at that time. No, it was not about Tsunami, which happened on 2004. This new phenomenon was called ‘Recession’. Situations started to change. Rumors were like Infosys would cancel appointments of everyone, No one would be able to join till 2011/12 etc. So I put my dreams about Infosys in a small chamber inside my heart and locked from outside. It came out only when I got the official mail regarding the joining date on Infosys. I would be joining there on 11^th January 2010!!!


 It was followed by another mail, which explained  about the heaven which was waiting for me at Mysore. The Gymnasium, Multiplex, Swimming Pool, AC accomodation, GEC 1,2 etc etc... After reading the mail, I felt like " If there is a heaven in this world, It is at Mysore, it is at Mysore, it is at Mysore" . It is the only fact which I still agree about my Infy life.Mysore Campus is a heaven. But there is a hell inside that heaven!!!! (will be explained on following parts)

 

The mail also included the list of things which I needed to do before joining there. It included many things but now I remember only a few. It included 

1.       Passport

2.       Medical test – chest X Ray, Sugar and Pressure checking, Elisa test.hepatitis vaccination, chicken pox vaccination etc

 

Till now I don’t know what was the need for both things.

 When they told to take passport, I thought like it would be to send me to some places outside India, which I have seen only on world map and in some channels like National Geographic Channel. But they had never asked about my passport after my joining date. It is now taking rest inside my table for last 2 years. May its soul rest in peace!!!

Regarding the medical test, I really don’t know what to say. Infosys had given a list of hospitals and we were supposed to do test only in any of those hospitals. I did those tests on Cochin Hospital. After spending almost Rs .1500 for the tests,  they said that I was not fit for the job!!! They invented that my pressure is 130/ 90 and so they could not give a fitness certificate. I would have killed the doctor at that moment if I had a gun or knife in my hand. However, I realized that in case my health had problem, I needed to make it correct. I took ECG and all other things from other hospital , only  to realize that everything is normal for me. But the doctor in Cochin hospital was not convinced!! Finally I met another doctor in same hospital, who took my pressure and said everything is normal. By that time, I had spent almost Rs.3000. 

In between, my classes had got over and results came. I became an engineer!! (But, till now I never got a chance to use anything that I had learned from my college. I really don’t know why there is a branch called electronics and communication in colleges in India. Lot of Engineers, but no job!! ) Date of joining was becoming closer; I really started to feel the pressure- A pressure of excitement. 

Shopping: that was the most important thing that I had to do before joining. And to be honest that the only thing that I hate the most!! I bought seven sets of dress and two ties. Then 2 pairs of shoes and a trolley to carry all those things mentioned above to Mysore. I had bought 2 ties. But the most funny thing was I didn’t know how to wear it. I would explain ‘how to wear a tie’  or ‘ how I had wore it during my Infy days ‘ on next part.

We had a community in Orkut in which everyone who were joining Infosys on January 11,2010 were members. (I really don’t know whether that community is alive now. I haven’t checked orkut for last 1.5 years). Thus GauriKarthik BalaSundaram, Sandeep Devdas, Sivakumar Kailasam, Sridhar Kandasamy Ramasamy, Anuja Lakayil, Deepika Srivasthava ( she passed away in a bus accident at pune on 2011. We miss you Deepika(Gunjan) ) and Raksha Srivasthava.    (If I have missed any names and incase those people happen to read this,  please pardon me.)

Finally , on January 9,2010 Kanyakumari – Mumbai Island Express left Ernakulam Railway station with a set of people, who were so excited to be Infoscions. Arabind Ajayghosh, Arun Bose, Sandeep Devdas and I were a few in that. (I think at least thirty people in the train were actually going to Bangalore and then to Mysore to join Infosys, as I saw a few of them at Mysore campus on next day).

The next morning , we reached Bangalore and caught a bus to  Mysore. Around 11 am we reached Mysore Bus stand. Kiran,Sherin,Ajin,Anish joined us from Mysore bus stand, and by 1 p.m we reached Infront of GATE 1, where we had to report. We all would become Infoscions in another 5 minutes!!!

to be continued...

The journey of an Infoscion - Part 1 : The Interview

2008 ,JAN 29

 I woke up from my bed, checking the clock. It showed 6 am. I think it was first time in last 2.5 years of college life that I woke up before 7 a.m. That too without alarm!!!  What might be the reason? No, it was not because Infosys was coming to college for recruitment, but was because I had a nightmare. (Please note that Infosys is not a synonym for nightmare and vice versa.)Fortunately or unfortunately I had that dream on the same day that Infosys Technologies Limited came to my college for campus recruitment.

 I woke up from the bed, got ready , read a few common questions that interviewer might ask in case it I clear aptitude test, and read answers also for the same. Of course, the interviewer knows that these would be the answers when they ask the questions. Thousands of candidates might have given the same answers for those questions.  They why shouldn’t I try some different answers? But then another question came to my mind. Why are they asking the same questions to all, even though they knew everyone had an answer with them for those questions. Interview is an act of asking some expected questions and expecting same answers which may suit to the situation. How you present the answer would make the difference. The better, you are (in acting), the higher the chance of clearing the interview.

           I went to college to attend the presentation made by Infosys recruiters. All my friends, who usually woke up at 7.30 or 8 when they were at hostel had already reported there by 8 am!! I guess they too had the same dream last night.  Presentation started. They played a video , which I had seen a hundred times after that day and before joining Infosys, as that video had always inspired thousands of Engineers who wanted to get into some job in IT. The video is – THIS IS MY INFYYYYYYYYYY…  (Those who has never seen the video can watch it in YouTube) . It was followed by a speech, which made us feel like we were really lucky to at least sit for Infosys recruitment. Presentation lasted for 30 minutes.

     At exact 10.30 a.m, first round for recruitment, commonly known as aptitude test, started. I forgot the number of questions in it, but I do remember one thing. There was no negative marking! So I just decided to do my ‘best’ in the test. I attempted all the questions well before time (except verbal section, which always looks like  vampire for me. So I attempted very few questions only.).   After the test, we were given break and were told to report at the hall by 1.30 p.m. We all went to our rooms, had lunch from our hostel mess and came back.

Some of us went to library to read a book called ‘Electronics For You’. I had never read it before.But I just wanted to read it , as I didn’t want to tell any lies. In case if I clear the test, and if the interviewer ask me whether I keep updating my electronics knowledge, I could reply as “I do update by reading Electronics for you.”  And I was not telling a lie!! (Please note that it was my first interview in life  I wanted to be honest at that time)  We all read a paragraph each and closed it as everyone started to feel sleepy after reading it. We reported at 1.30 but those recruiters came by 2 only. They had a list of names who were selected for interview.

They started to read the names. I was patiently waiting to hear my name, though I was not sure whether I would clear the test.  Suddenly they called a name, which made me laugh. It was not my name, but the name of one of my friends, who said he learned Electronics to work in Electronics field and not to work in IT. Last day we had a fight, in which I said like I don’t mind working in IT field if the company is a great one like TCS, Infosys or CTS. And he replied he would never compromise on job. He would go only to Electronics field. (Today , I got bored of hectic work schedules and quit Infosys, and sitting at home and he is working as Senior Systems Engineer at Infosys. What an Irony!! Or rather destiny!! )

They called almost 30 names. The list would get over soon. The pessimist in me started to laugh and he said to me like I would not get the job. It was then the recruiter announced a name ‘SHUMANTH’.. Everyone looked eachother , but no one stood up. There was no Shumanth in my batch. He looked to list and read it again. This time he read it correctly. ‘Sumodh’. Finally I heard my name!!! I kicked out the pessimist in me and walked to the other room from where people would be called for interview.

They shortlisted 52 candidates for the interview and the process started by 2.30. My slot was between 3 and 3.30.Around 3, they called my name and took me to the front door of the interview room and interview started in 5 minutes. They asked all the questions which I expected , including Electronics Update!! I told about some topics which I saw in the book two hours back and explained them in one or two sentences as if I am a master in Electronics. Fortunately the lady, who interviewed me had no idea about any of them and so I escaped. Readymade questions!! Readymade answers!! Interview Over!!! Infact it was the easiest interview that I had attempted in my life so far.

After interview, I went back to room where everyone was patiently waiting for the final list. We had to sit till 8 p.m to get the final list. To our surprise, all the 52 candidates were selected!!! We all were going to become INFOSCIONS!!! I really don’t know how to express that moment in my life. It was one of the happiest moments in my life. Everyone started to call their parents , normal friends and ‘special’ friends to tell the happy news that they would become Infoscions soon.  That night was a special one for us in hostel. We were treated like warriors who had won a battle against enemies. Juniors looked at us in envy!!! Yes , that was the beginning of Sumodh, the Infoscion….

FDI IN RETAIL

  After three years of so called economic ‘policy paralysis’, United Progressive Alliance(UPA) has finally started to take some ‘bold’ decisions, which began with FDI in retail and aviation sector, followed by increasing FDI in insurance and pension funds. As usual, opposition and  Bengal Chief minister Mamta Banarjee have opposed the move and congress and other parties which supports the government applauded. Our honourable Prime minister, who usually open his mouth only to bat for petrol price hike, also explained on media the ‘need for FDI’. 

Let us take a few points mentioned by the government and analyse them.As per the government explanation, the advantages of FDI in retail are 

1 : Farmers will get a higher  price for their products,as FDI will squeeze out middlemen between the retailers and farmers.It will also help to reduce the cost of items.

2: It will help to make investments in cold storage, which will help to reduce wastage of products.

3: Employment to more than forty million people. 

4: 30% of products from small and medium enterprises mandatory, which helps Indian industry and farmers.

NO MIDDLEMEN AFTER FDI and BETTER PRICE FOR FARMERS

  It is one of the most beautiful concepts as far as common people are considered. Farmers will get more profit and customers will get products at lower price. But is this really going to happen? Consider the countries where the retail chains are developed. We can see that middlemen are existing and they are the group of people who get a large portion of profits. Names have changed. But they still exist. In US some studies have shown that the net income of farmers has come down from 70% in early 20^th century to less than  four percent in 2005.

Another important point to be noted is that United States is spending 20 billion dollars per year to farmers in direct subsidies as "farm income stabilization”. Isn’t it strange that  in a country where the FDI is developed to its best still need the help of government to do farming? Also, European Union spent 57 billion Euros for supporting farmers. This simply means, the argument that farmers will get better price once FDI comes is nothing but a fallacy. But our government is saying that when the companies like Wal-Mart, Carrefour and Tesco come to India, it will help our farmers. How can we expect, companies which doesn’t even serve farmers in their country well, that they will help our farmers?

FDI IN RETAIL HELPS FOR INVESTMENT IN COLD STORAGE 

Another argument put forward by the government is that, FDI in retail will help for investments in cold storage which will help to reduce wastage. This is just another myth put forward by government. How many of us know that 100% FDI is already allowed in cold storage , but till now no large investment is happened  in India!!! 100% FDI is already allowed in cold storage from 2011 itself. But till now, not much farmers got any help because of that. And now it is really childish to say that FDI in retail will bring huge changes.

 FORTY MILLION JOBS!!!

When government announced FDI policy, one major advantage they explained was the creation of job opportunities in India. Indian retail market is estimated to be around four hundred billion dollars  investment, which will create job to forty million people, with at least ten million getting job in less than five years. At first, it might sound good. But the truth is that forty million job opportunities is nothing but just a gossip or hype created by government to make people support FDI. 

Consider world’s biggest retail chain, Wal-Mart. The annual turnover of Wal-Mart is around 100 billion US dollars ,but they have only 2.1 million people. So how did the government make a statistics that FDI in retail can create more than forty million jobs for 400 billion investment.

30% FROM SMALL AND MEDIUM SCALE ENTERPRISES

 Another tricky point which was put forward by government was that retail chains will have to buy 30% of products from small and medium scale enterprises , which is being put forward as an advantage for Indian enterprises. But what government hid tactically was that , there is no rule that retail chains  should buy it from India. Is there any guarantee that they will buy from farmers in India and not from Vietnam or Indonesia? The answer is NO. All that we can do is that we can pray to god to make them buy from Indian market.

   Now let us consider the case of Argentina, where FDI in retail was implemented in the last decade of 20^th century. A study was conducted by Daniel Chudnovsky and Andres Lopez regarding the impact of FDI in Argentina. In the report they mention some important points –

 

·         FDI impacts depend to a large extent on the capabilities of domestic firms in host countries. Hence, it is a priority to improve the competitiveness of local firms (especially SMEs) in Argentina.

·         policy efforts in the FDI area must focus not only on the quantity of FDI received but also on its quality.

·         There are very few cases of successful TNC-led development strategies (e.g., Singapore, Ireland), and those examples took place under very unusual conditions. Argentina’s large conglomerates shrank as a group in the last ten years.

    We have a live experience already in India.Consider the case of Television Industry and Telecom Industry in India. Today there is no Indian company in television industry which has atleast 10% market share. Japanese companies like Sony, Samsung, L.G etc dominate the section. Now consider telecom Industry. Indian companies are competing well against foreign companies like vodafone.This is because of the technological strength of Indian companies. But in the case of television, they were not able to compete with technology of foreign companies and hence they died out(though a few are still surviving).  When we open retail sector without making our domestic section ready to compete, the result will be same as that of the television Industry.

There was a time, we had FDI in India. But at that time it was not known as FDI, but as colony. Britain had direct Investment in India for more than 200 years. They cultivated tea, coffee, cotton, ginger, pepper, cardamom etc in India and took it at the price that they like. And we had to pay much higher amount to purchase the same back from them. (Isn’t that the same thing that is going to happen in India again in the name of FDI? )Finally a person named Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, who was practicing as a lawyer in South Africa, had to come to India to tell “QUIT INDIA” to them. Now we roll out red carpet again to them. Of course time has changed and today kings are not ruling our country. But is situation really changed? At that time king supported them, common men opposed. And we know what happened in the end. Today it is happening in a new way. Is this a right move by the Indian Government?

References :
Wikipedia
Editorials in Hindu(Devinder Sharma and Rajiv Kumar)