Can Indian tiger overpower Chinese dragon ?

I guess this is the question the world is asking.A couple of days back i came across this article in rediff.com where some paranoid said that in the next 20 years India will overtake China.I beg to differ and honestly consider this as hogwash and worthless comments posted by some chauvinist who favours India.The ground reality is entirely different and who knows it better than we Indians ourselves.About half a million people in Mumbai daily travel to work braving the crowded local trains,disdained roads,rude bus conductors and humongous pollution levels.Some of the key factors for any country to be considered as a preferred hub for MNC settlement is a) Good infrastructure b) Well connected to the whole world c) skilled and nimble-footed manpower.As far as infrastructure is concerned 26 July has painted a honest picture about the plight of thousands of people who suffered due to the age-old infrastructure.The airports in India by no means match International Standards.I am afraid the manpower is not as great as it made out to be.

Let's face it India cannot compete with China even for the next 50 years.The government has abdicated the welfare of people living in this country for their own petty needs.We do not maintain bigotry to unprofessionalism,be it private sectors or government offices,only a handful show abhorrence to unprofessionalism that is infused in our blood.We Indians are happy with the fact that we earn enough to feed ourselves and lead a decent a lifestyle.Even if we take retrospect into consideration we have always lagged by way of technology and innovations.As our President Abdul Kalam says "When the enemy had guns,we had swords",this sums up as to how much we lag.We have never thought globally,none of our products are globally respected brands.

During 1970's India and China were are the same level (with respect to the economic growth) but back then China opened it's door to the world and embraced the European policy of economic growth while we still followed our own archaic model of economic growth.Now 20 years later when we followed the archetype that China had created,it was too late.China is blazing it's way to become a superpower(posing a threat to a US in the process) whereas India is limping.As our former Thane Comissioner T.Chandrashekar puts it "In Bangkok if a road needs to be built ,it will be built" whereas in India even if a lampost needs to be erected it won't be done without a Morcha or a Rasta-Rokho Andolan.

The only field where India leads China is IT but in the coming years maybe even that will change.According to statistics by 2018 IT will contribute to 5.2% of the Indian GDP whereas it will be 7.1% for China.

I believe that we can only overtake China only if we,the people of this country change.Just saying "Mera Bharat Mahan" will not suffice.As the famous management guru Peter Drucker says"The strength of any organisation or any country,lies in it's people".Unless and until we are thought to think globally and unless and until we actually start thinking globally TIGER CAN NEVER TRIUMPH OVER THE DRAGON.

My First Job

One of the most frequent questions asked to me during my college days was what do you plan to do after graduation(well this is a question asked to every engineering grad.) and my answer was JOB.Some or should i say most of my friends had other plans,some wanted to go to US for doing their MS,some wanted to do MBA and the rest wanted to do their MTech.I guess only a handful of us wanted to go for a job after graduation and i was one of them.Well things changed slightly when i was approaching towards my final year and then i wanted to go to US for further studies and i firmly stuck to my decision.I never knew how to put this across to my father 'coz i was never a good student i was skeptical as to whether my father would actually allow me to go to US for studying and my fears were proven just right.My father didn't allow me to go to US for studying further,this decision of his did hurt me very deeply,i was upset and angry but somehow i saw this as an oppurtunity to come out of my father's shadows.I am a son of a famous father who has excelled in his field and trust me being a son a famous father can be very annoying 'coz you are always compared with your father at each and every step.

I considered this as an god sent oppurtunity to earn a name and respect for myself without depending on my father.I was ready to take up any job(this was before the final year results were announced).I came across an ad in the newspaper from a reputed BPO firm who were willing to take engineering grads. for their technical job of troubleshooting for no.1 manufacturer of PC's in the world called DELL.I guess this is where my association with IT/ITES sector really started.I went for the interview and got selected.When i went to work on the very first day of my job i met some amazing people who soon became my friends for life.I met Melvin,Hema,Mrs.Sharma,Ellie,gorgeous Nidhi and the most sultry siren i have ever come across Savita(i beleive all the synonyms in the dictionary for the word Beautiful would still not suffice to describe her).Let me confess the very first day when i met Savita i thought of her as a big mouthed idiot,which she still is,yet the irony is,that today she is my best friend.There is no one reason as to why i consider her my best friend and we both know it for sure.
We started with the Voice And Accent(VANC) training which was fun but also gruelling for us,i was glad that 80% of our batch was filled with engineers.Some said that we are wasting our talent as engineers and as a matter of fact a job in a call center is still looked down upon.I beg to differ from this mentality 'coz what needs to be considered is that a person is employed and is working hard to earn his livelihood rather than sit at home and whine about unemployement.I respect a call center job equally as i would respect a job in software.

I guess most of my friends who ridiculed me in the beginning followed my footsteps and worked in a call center before moving ahead.One advantage of being in a BPO firm is that you get to meet people from different walks of life and that in turn expands your view of life 'coz you get acquainted to new ideas,new ideologies and so much more.During VANC melvin and i had great fun as we made everyone laugh and i had fun pulling Suraj's leg.VANC was fun though i was grilled 'coz my trainer thought that i have a South Indian Accent(god knows what made him think like that).After graduating out of VANC which in itself was a herculean task 'coz at the end of VANC a test was conducted where each one of us were asked to speak to a US personnel who would rate us depending on various parameters and if we failed then that would mean repeating the whole VANC again which is very boring.I am glad i could get through with 91 % to my credit.

After VANC it was time for Technical Training from our trainer (a attractive busty babe) to whom we all were attracted.She was disciplined and expected the same from us.After two weeks of technical training(which actually is for 4 weeks)i left and joined NIIT were faith had something other plans for me.But even after i left i was in contact with Melvin,Ellie and the most seductive beauty Savita.Melvin and Ellie now work for Hutch and Savita works for a Communication firm at Bangalore as a Testing Engineer,she earns 25k which by industry standards was the best we used to get as freshers.We all went different ways after leaving but those cherished memories will remain in my thoughts forever not just 'coz it was my first job but also 'coz i made some long lasting friends.

On The Bench

Bench doesn't literally mean what we learnt in school.In IT "On The Bench" means that you are currently not assigned to any project.It's been almost 6 months on the floor i luckily i haven't stayed on the bench for more than
5days max. After finishing my third project (a maintanence though),which is something i wouldn't write about 'coz this bank being our second client was using an outdated version of our product and trust me working on a outdated version of a product can be very tough.My boss wasn't good enough,i mean he was this double-edged sword,so i had weight my every activity very carefully before approaching him.For me this was not a very good experience 'coz my previous bosses were very humble and understanding.

Finally here i was,on the bench,chilling out,going to my friends desk,cracking jokes ,pulling people's leg,listening to music and having a great time.This was some kind of a relief to me 'coz i had worked tirelessly for my previous projects and a off like this was a welcome change.Being on the bench was exciting for me though but i am sure most of my friends wouldn't agree 'coz they have been on bench for almost 2 mnths. now and that can be annoying.Imagine sitting on a chair all day staring at your PC and waiting for the AGM to come as a Messiah who would free you from the clutches of boredom.For some of my friends this was demeaning.Today they are used to it and have accepted the fact that may be they will be sitting ideal for some more time now.

For me this was the perfect oppurtunity to learn my topic of interest "DERIVATIVES"(this is not the derivatives we learnt in school)for those people who have some experience of trade market this should be a known term.
I took notes from an MBA graduate on the floor ,who has a fair idea of derivatives, and started studying.I have always been interested in derivatives,right from the day i went to the first presentation of derivatives from one of the managers in my firm.This was the perfect time to learn derivatives which i had contrived to study right after the day i attended my first presentation.A couple of days i got a tip off that i would be joining derivatives module for a reputed bank as my next project,now this sounded exciting.

I am spending time helping my friends in coding and solving their problems,i beleive that if you want to grow then you should share knowledge.

I am enjoying my time On The Bench learning things that remained impending due to projects,and,offering technical help to people to do their job efficiently.Hopefully i shouldn't remain on the bench for long.

How Stable Is IT Field ??

1996-2000,the era that witnessed the most spetacular revolution called as Dot.Com Revolution.The revolution that took all the world in it's surge.Millionaires were born overnight.The revolution led to the amalgamation of some of the greatest minds in the world to better the human life through computers.Sensex all over the world soared new heights and IT was the next big thing to happen to Europe after Industrial Revolution.India was not far behind,need for expertise and manpower increased ceaselessly and one could find every second graduate Indian rushing to the nearest computer center,which had mushroomed all over the city, to enroll for the latest computer course and packed their bags for a job abroad.Every day i could hear people making millions at Silicon Valley,the Mecca for Dot.Com revolution.It looked like IT God was valiantly riding on five power horses(capital,man-power,expertise,government policies and zest to do better).I was vying for engineering admissions around this time,i could see parents racing up and shelling loads of money to acquire a seat in IT or Computers.It was investment they decided to make that would gaurantee rich returns.

But nobody escapes Newton's Laws which says that whatever goes up comes down and the same happened to Dot.Com revolution.The power horses lost their steam,paralysing the IT God.Investors lost their money,companies were stranded in the middle of nowhere,pink-slips were issued,Indians were asked to pack their bag and leave foreign land.The Dot.Com bosses who once ate juicy meat were now struggling for mere bones.

2000,the IT industry in India was limping back to normalcy.

2004-Countries like India started witnessing a new devepolment called as Outsourcing.It generated thousands of jobs offshore.The funda was simple what Jack in US could do for 5$ ,Ram did the same in India at $3.US was looking for green pastures to improve it's profit and the answer was India.Cheap man power,good oral communication and brilliant technical expertise.IT industry boomed again,this time the weapon is Outsourcing.

But things are not easy,we have stiff competition from China ,a couple of days back i heard that Canada is also becoming a good breeding ground for cheap and good labour.We cannot live under the constant threat of other countries that are vying to acquire our jobs.Moreover what if the Bush Administration is thrown out of power,will the newly elected President support Outsourcing ??.Eventhough Outsourcing takes away only 6% of the total jobs in US but still there is big revolt on this issue.

The BPO arm of the IT industry doesn't look bright either,things have started to slip.At this point it is necessary that we analyse as to where we need to strenghten ourselves.The major source of revenue in any country is through Core Industries, Banking to name a few.With the advent of new tax laws by the government i am not sure as to whether people would prefer putting their money in banks.This is where Mutual Funds come up which give more returns and offlate Insurance has been the buzz word.We should use the revenues generated from these industries and offer them the leverage of using technology to provide more value to their customers.

My point is that government should make policies to strenghten these Core Industries from which the revenues can be generated for the IT Industry.IT generates lakhs of jobs for skilled people in this country and the government should provide us with firm base to fall back on instead of falling flat on a rugged ground if the Outsourcing Mantra comes to a standstill one day just like the Dot.Com Revolution.

My Second Project

My first project didn't excite me but this one was meant to excite me and provide me exposure to new avenues,new terms and have me acquainted to banking domain.

It was Thursday,i was chatting with my friends in another block when my AGM,who is also a Resource Pool Manager came looking for me,when i came at my desk at 5:45 my peers informed me that AGM was looking for me,i rushed to his cabin and he introduced me to a fair looking guy who bore a school boy like smile on his face,he introduced me to him telling me that he was my new boss.My boss insisted that we start work on Friday.

It was friday and i went to him,he explained me that this international bank wanted an entire module on Loans which till now was never implemented at my firm,sounded exciting.We had initial rounds of introduction to his formal team which would help me whenever i felt stuck while doing the coding but the biggest news was yet to come.My boss is a smoker and needs a fag every 2 hrs. so he excused himself and went out to fag,there i was sitting pretty and looking around for some fammiliar faces (it was already 3 months on the floor and i knew some people up here).He came after 5mins and gave the news that swept the carpet off my feet.He said that i would be doing the entire module on my own,this was the biggest assigment given to a fresher on the floor,i was more than just HAPPY.He explained me terms that i would be using the most in the days to come.

My first week of work was horrible though,i couldn't understand the code written by some Mr.X but with some help from my seniors i managed to break the ice.Even though my boss wasn't impressed in the beginning,things were beginning to improve and the satisfaction appeared on his face as i finished the first assignment.

Then came my second assigment which got over very soon, my boss was happy and we proceeded to the next and most crucial phase which required a lot of thinking and concentration.
This assigment troubled me but it took out the best in me,in terms of physical endurance,mental alertness,concentration and patience.My boss was agitated in the beginning due to the mistakes that cropped up every now and then,i fought hard and managed to finish the assigment well,late though but my boss had no qualms,he assured me that what mattered the most was that i shouldn't panic and feel stressed.

With every passing day i kept improving and realised that i was better than i thought, my boss had showed great faith in me and kept giving me challenging work.

One of my friends was in charge of making test cases,he went on leave for a week and the job was passed on to me.I was never interested in making test cases for the client, i failed to realise it's importance in this project.I remained complacent,i skipped work until one fine day my boss called me and made me realise my responsibilty.I felt grounded after that session and started the work and gave it my utmost sincereity.

Two months had now passed and the project was nearing it's ending.It was friday when the whole module was finished and the only thing left was a final round of testing,we started the testing at 12:00 at midnight,it got over by 12:30 ,i was hungry and my boss was courteous enough to drop me at a restaurant nearby,which fortunately was open at this unearthly hour,as we say "MUMBAI NEVER SLEEPS".I stayed overnight to solve the miniscule errors that had arised that night during final round of testing and went home satisfied knowing that my boss was impressed by my work.

The benefits that arised out of this were manifold,i was appreciated by everyone and the efforts that i had put in showed some result.My friends seeked my advice for problems they faced during working,this project paved way for better things to come.........

My First Project

After finishing my training on Powerbuilder And Oracle and after much rest for about a month it was showtime now.Having moved us to the floor authorities up here didn't waste any time in giving me my first project.A new desk,PC,phone,24*7 internet access and friendly peers weaved an air of excitement for me.My first project was for a internationally renowned investment company in Middle East,this was by far the most prestigious project on the floor and my boss had promised me some roller-coaster ride for the coming months,nervous yet excited,i was ready to start work.

I was accompanied by my friend Ninad,an engineer from Karnataka University,being a Kannada myself,we struck the right cord instantaneously.The first assignment that was given to us proved to be a nightmare for us as we totally screwed up things and also wasted three days doing it,which takes 30min,today for me to complete.My senior was good enough to understand what we were going through and mistakes were bound to happen as we were very naive at that point of time.He was courteous enough to show us some shortcuts and that worked wonders for us.

We then started off with making reports ,something that i abstained from doing even when i was in training,i was reasonably good at coding but not reports.Though being a boring job
we had to complete it to the best of our skills as my grades depended on it .We commited mistakes,faced the music as an obvious consequence.

Even though the job given was not exciting enough it built a base for my future projects that i failed to foresee,i often said to Ninad that this job is boring.Moreover my boss kept on speaking about taking responsibilty whereas the chances for us to take responsibility were meagre.I must honestly confess that my views were not respected and being a junior i couldn't revolt.

Ninad was not very ambitious and was more hell bent towards marketing stream,he was a wrong guy in the wrong place.Even though Ninad was sharp but somehow his interests were different.I guess this was one of the reasons he never opposed or expressed dissatisfaction on the quality of work provided to us.

After two months the core team comprising of three Software Engineers were now ready to fly to Middle East to implement the first phase of the project.After a few days we were released and I was now waiting for another project,something that was would be exciting enough......

First Step Into The World of IT