My Unforgettable Moments

 

My Unforgettable moments

B. Yerram Raju

The year was 1979. I was Project Monitoring & Evaluation Officer in the Department of Agricultural Finance and Rural Development at the Local Head Office of the SBI. I was having regular interface with the then faculty and Dean of the Andhra Pradesh Agricultural University -APAU (now Prof. Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University – PJTSAU). One evening in July 1979, I received a call from A. Appa Rao, then Dean and later Vice Chancellor of the APAU to join a meeting being held at the local Horticulture Department of the University at Khairtabad, the next morning at 11 a.m., as the topic for discussion was on Agricultural Credit under the joint auspices of the APAU and the Society of Scientists for Advancement of Agriculture (SSAA).

After the discussions, they invited me to be a Life member of the SSAA. I did not hesitate  a moment as it would give me the association of several leading agricultural scientists that periodically holds conferences, discussions, deliberations on key issues affecting the farm sectors and farmers in general. J. Raghotham Reddy, the only farmer Vice Chancellor of an Agricultural University to which he donated his family property  of 200 acres. His memoirs have been published in a book form latter by the Farm and Rural Science Foundation (FRSF), which was a Trust formed by the family members of Raghotham Reddy garu. Almost a year later, I was requested to be a member of the Board of SSAA. I was on the Board for a decade.

There used to be field visits and training of farmers and frequent interactions with the scientists, agricultural economists in which I had a unique opportunity to learn. Under the auspices of this platform, it was decided to give Awards to the best farmers in agriculture, animal husbandry, agri-technology, agricultural journalism in first and second categories. It was an experience to select the Awardees as part of the jury. Those progressive farmers and their achievements have always been moments of great learning and interactive experience.

My six-year stint as Senior Faculty and Vice Principal ( for a few months) during 1984-90 at the Stte Bank Institute of Rural Development (SBIRD), this association and learning experience made me different from others both academically and administratively. After leaving SBI in 1994, thanks to such association and learning experience, I was taken as Senior Professor and Area Chairman, Agriculture and Rural Development at the Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI). It also helped me to interact with persons like Pascal Lama, the first President of World Trade Organisation.

In the year 2000, when AP Government formulated Vision document, sectoral vision aspects were discussed at a Roundtable conference in MANAGE under the auspices of the then Vice Chancellor and Ganaga Prasada Rao, a very eminent farm scientist and former Vice Chancellor of Pantnagar Agricultural University. This was brought out as a Conference Publication under the joint authorship of Ganga Prasada Rao and me. This was uploaded to academia.edu and this continues to get readership of high value. APAU published the vernacular version of the book that was released by the then Minister for Agriculture, Government of AP, Vadde Sobhanadreeswara Rao.

In one of those precious years, all the members also visited Marathwada Agricultural University and held intense discussions.

I was entrusted with organising the first Memorial Lecture in memory of the Founder J. Raghotham Reddy garu and the SSAA took the lead. This Address was given by R. Radhakrishna (popularly known as RR), an eminent agricultural economist in his capacity as the then Vice Chancellor of Andhra University. Since both SSAA and FRSF were housed in the building donated by Acharya JRR, and since both the organisations were performing similar functions, it was decided to merge both as FRSF. From that day, I had been member of the Board of Trustees of FRSF and biannually we have been conducting the Annual Award and Memorial Lecture Function. As I have decided to bid goodbye to my 45 years of association with the FRSF, it would be a worthy recall and hence this blog. A period of great association and learning when I interacted with great savants in farm science like late M.S. Swaminathan, K. V. Raman (NAARM fame) Ganga Prasada Rao, E. A. Siddique, Yella Reddy (Extension Specialist), A. Appa Rao, V. Praveen Rao ( Vice Chancellor of PJTSAU where he retired last year), Dr. Padma Rao, Anil Epur and many others is an unforgettable journey in my life.

I salute to all of them in all humility.

Character & Competence

 

I am tempted to republish this article in this blogpost as the nation needs to rethink, reinvigorate and move forward to reach its visionary goal of becoming a developed nation. 

Character and Competence  

 

 

B Yerram Raju 

 

Economist and Founder-Director, Telangana Industrial Health Clinic Ltd. Co-Author of the book ‘A Saint in the Board Room’ (2011)

 

Global Inequality Report 2022 mentioned that top 10 percent earn as much as the bottom 64 percent. India’s policy reforms during the last two decades saw high growth and high inequality levels intermittently. Quite often we also witness confrontation between the legislatures and Courts. We have also come across persons of acknowledged high competence landing in jail. Why?   

 

Sustainable and inclusive growth demands both competence and character. In order to define competence and character, and seeing the paths of their convergence, some storytelling becomes necessary.

 

The McKinsey Global Institute’s latest research on human development in Mapusa, a small town along a historic trade route in Goa, and in Porto, the second largest city in Portugal, unfolds “the story of both places that had virtually the same GDP per capita of $33,000 in 2019. At the country level, they are worlds apart: India’s GDP per capita was $6,700 (Purchasing Power Parity) or US$1941.82 in 2019, compared to $34,900 in Portugal—overall more than five times less.” 

 

Nevertheless, we are witnessing a few reputed leaders of self-aggrandisement and self-esteem directing the nation into the debris of material prosperity while a few others are wedded to the development of society. Hence, there is a strong need for recalling the basic principles of living that our inherent culture taught us emphasising competence with character.

 

S Radhakrishnan, the philosopher-statesman of India, said: “The ideal man of India is not the magnanimous man of Greece or the valiant warrior of medieval Europe but the free man of spirit who has attained insight into the universal source by rigid discipline and the practice of the disinterested virtues. He has freed himself from the prejudices of his time and place.” Indian heritage lies in humanism and universality. This sets the tone for redefining character and competence as traits of individuals and corporates. 

 

Wheels within Wheels

Meta, Amazon, Google, Wipro, Microsoft etc, are in no mood to keep their roasters intact. Jobs are removed in tens of thousands. NINJA (no income no job, no asset) had set in again. Banks and housing, and real estate companies are scared of their recoveries. Rising interest rates, lowering consumption sentiments, volatile markets, and untamed inflation are at the beginning of a new end. 

 

India, for the moment, seems to make a difference, raking in higher than expected revenues in GST and GDP growth forecast from the CRISIL placing it at 6 percent and Nomura at 5 percent in ‘23-‘24. When winter sets in, can spring be far behind?

 

Pure economics defies answers to many problems confronting society, while behavioural economics does offer solutions if character and competence move like two wheels of the forgotten bullock cart. 

 

If persons of character are afraid of their shadow and fail to take decisions keeping in mind the three ‘angel-robed demons – Central Vigilance Commission, Central Bureau of Investigation and Comptroller-cum-Auditor General’, competence in them takes a backseat. Autonomy, transparency, and timeliness in taking decisions never mean ignoring rules and regulations.

 

Lack of character is different from failure of character. Lack of character is unpardonable while failures are remediable. People who fail should be given an opportunity to correct and they should be made clear about the boundaries and consequences of the failure.

In Chapter 13 of Bhagavad Gita, (Kshetra, Kshetragjna Vibhaga Yogam), Lord Krishna defines the character: ‘Amanitvamadambhitvam, Ahimsaakshantirarjavam, Acharyopasanam, Saucham, Sthyryamatmavinigrahah’. The substance of the sloka is that a person with character should be devoid of pride and disrespect; should be humble, patient, and steady; should be able to have control over his self; be clean and clear in thinking and have restraint. We are at a point where we know what is right but are hesitant to adopt it. The Supreme Court had to pull up a plaintiff over the penalty sought on YouTube for airing what he preferred to see. 

 

High Character, Low Competence

How do we handle people on our leadership team who evidence the highest character, and the best motives, but are incapable of doing effective work? In a matrix of competence and character, fixing such people would be difficult. Organisations also skip them while mapping coaching and mentoring persons for results and sustainable growth. The loss is to the organisation and not to that person.

 

If we can draw a matrix of high character with high competence, high character with low competence, low character with high competence, low character with low competence in a Board of Governors, we will be able to establish the reasons for the failure of many a corporate who got the best ratings but ended up as disasters. 

 

The high character – high competence scenario will automatically lead to a high corporate governance (CG) scenario. But one without the other will not lead to a good CG scenario. It is said, “Economics without ethics is empty, and ethics devoid of economics is limp”.

 

We did not learn our lessons after the 2008 recession. The proverbial Vijay Mallyas proliferated and none of the cases of misgovernance and colossal bank losses got resolution. Over a decade of arguments in the highest courts of jurisprudence, involving malfeasance, misappropriation, corporate failures, and bad governance still defy resolution. On top of it, even the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code gives the longest rope for resolution and those resolved, benefitted the errand.  

 

It is hard to disagree with EV Ramasamy Naicker, a Tamil philosopher of the 20th century, who said, “When I used to carry heavy bags during my younger days, my back would bend due to the weight, but not due to shame. Being straightforward and having less food is far better than diluting our character and taking lots of rich and quality food.”

 

The history of today’s wealthiest nation tells us about what happened between 1923 and 1948:

-        President of the largest steel company, Charles Schwab, lived on borrowed capital for five years before he died bankrupt.

-        President of the largest gas company, Howard Hudson, went insane.

-        One of the greatest commodity traders, Arthur Catton, died insolvent.

-        President of the New York Stock Exchange, Richard Whitney, was sent to jail.

-        A member of the President’s Cabinet, Albert Fall, was pardoned from jail to go home and die in peace.

-        The greatest ‘bear’ on Wall Street, Jessie Livermore committed suicide.

-        President of the world’s greatest monopoly, Ivar Krueger committed suicide.

-        President of the Bank of International Settlement, Leon Fraser committed suicide.

It was the pursuit of money to the exclusion of other goals that caused them their downfall.

 

Market behaviour largely depends on individual investor behaviour like buying-high-selling-low or buying-low-selling-high. Behaviour here largely is related to the character and not pockets. This character is typically borne of greed and not need. It is more like a honeybee that flits from one flower to another, sucking honey as it flies. But when it perches on its hive, it stops humming. 

 

Man is made by his own beliefs. ‘As he believes, so is he.’ (Bhagavat Gita). Henry David Thoreau may have told in different words, the same thing: ‘What a man thinks of himself: that is what determines, or rather indicates his fate.’

  

We need resilient boards of companies that can build teams of executives with foresight, virtuous and timely response, and adaptation capabilities.

 

India is at the cusp of change and the dream of India 2050 has to be realised by a generation that is seeing the garbage at the foot of the hill. They should be directed to reach the top of a mountain and every step counts. It is competence with character that should enable a crowning future. 

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