Opinion-Here’s Why India Doesn’t Have Her Own ‘Whatsapp’!

(image source: www.india.com)

Disclaimer: This is an opinion. It is not an analytical article. It is just a rant. So feel free to disagree, criticize and importantly, ‘rant’ in the comments below.

$19 billion. This is undeniably the figure of the week. With Facebook acquiring the 50-odd employees strong Whatsapp, the question in my mind is not why Facebook paid so much for a messaging app when it has its own social networking website. The question that is in my mind is this, “Will there ever be a time when a small Indian company with a great idea can hope to be regarded to be worth so much?” Forget an instant messaging application, even with our huge army of world renowned software professionals, why haven’t we been able to develop even a single Operating System that is used worldwide. Let us take a look at some of the reasons why India doesn’t have her own ‘Whatsapp’.

“Acha, business karega tu? Kitna kama lega?” – This is the first question that every wannabe entrepreneur has to answer in India. The strangely interesting thing to note here is that it is not only your immediate family which can ask you this question. That unknown uncle who lives in ‘you don’t know which floor of your building’ can ask the same question and that too with more authority than your own father. Yeah, agreed that you should not really care about the un-inspiring but what this does is that in the back of your mind, you will start worrying about how your business will get you revenues and your unique idea/product will die a silent death. If the Whatsapp founders had concentrated on revenue generation and not followed the ‘No Games, No Ads, No Gimmicks’ policy, I am pretty sure the product would not have been the same. Varun Agarwal, the founder of Alma Mater, in his novel, ‘How I Braved Anu Aunty and Co-Founded A Million Dollar Company’, describes how he overcame this problem by not talking about his idea to any of his family members or relatives.

A lot of business ideas are nipped in the bud in the above stage only. For those who overcome the above barrier, the way ahead is filled with red-tape in dealing with various governmental rules and regulations. It’s not that there are no rules and regulations or red tape in the United States of America. But the difference lies in one crucial aspect. There, the government realizes the importance of these great ideas. Why do you think most startups are concentrated around the Silicon Valley region? It is because Silicon Valley offers the entrepreneurs a supportive environment full of technologists and scientists and most importantly, people who will finance your idea. Not everyone who has a great idea can code or program. Not everyone with a great product can finance his own venture. What is necessary is collaboration between people, for which there must be someone in between who can bring them together.

Lastly, apart from the societal and procedural barriers, there is a fundamental reason why India doesn’t have her own ‘Whatsapp’. Let me explain my argument with the help of a related example. Just take the case of whatsapp. What is it? I am sure if this question was asked by Prof. Viru Sahastrabuddhe (aka Virus – 3 Idiots fame) then he would be expecting an answer like “It is an application that runs in a smart phone that utilizes the internet to send and deliver messages between users who have the application installed.” But the more important answer is a simple one – “Whatsapp is an idea. An idea of connecting people and helping them communicate without having to pay for SMS.”

It is here that we are missing the bus (not by a few minutes or hours but unfortunately by many years). There is no dearth of people in India who can build applications (be it android, iOS or Windows Phone). There are numerous colleges and courses which teach us how to build apps. The problem is that we are not made aware about the problem-solving capabilities of these apps. India will have her own ‘Whatsapp’ when school and college students are not only taught ‘how to do things’ but also given an insight into ‘how to solve the problems of the world’ using the knowledge of ‘how to do things’.

P.S – Facebook hasn’t made it easy for our posts to reach all those who have liked our page. So, please share this if you found it worthy enough. And if you are of the email kind, do subscribe to our posts using the box below. I guess it’s enough for today. See you next week. B+.

Opinion-5 Reasons Why You Should Watch Hasee Toh Phasee!

(image source: www.desimartini.com)

Disclaimer: Firstly, you can read this review irrespective of whether you have seen the movie or not. Secondly, in contrast to our previous posts, this one is an opinion. So if you disagree, go ahead and drop a comment below. We love feedback (both positive and negative).

‘Hasee Toh Phasee’ is like no Karan Johar movie. Yeah, it is a “Boy meets girl and falls in love” movie with a “big fat Indian wedding” and the all-important “airport sequence”, without which a love story cannot end but all of this has been shown with a twist. Here are 5 reasons why you should watch ‘Hasee Toh Phasee’:

1.       The girl runs away from a wedding but…

After ‘Shuddh Desi Romance’, Parineeti Chopra can claim to have a lot of experience in running away from a wedding. She does it again in this movie, though not from her own wedding but her sister’s. The twist here is that this is probably the first time that a lead actress is running away from her house not to avoid a marriage or to run away with her boyfriend but after stealing money from her father in order to fund her research project. Yeah, we are talking about Parineeti. She is a scientist in the movie and a mad one at that (More on this later).

2.       “Boy meets girl” but they talk about…

As Parineeti is running away from the wedding, she meets the hero, Siddharth Malhotra. And here is the twist – they talk about cricket. Yeah you heard it right. Both have “innovative” insights into how the game can be played better. He feels that there should be flying fielders in the first 15 overs of the game while she feels that the cricket field should be a revolving one. Realizing that they have gone too far in their imagination, he tells her, “Tum dheel acha deti ho.” She immediately quips, “Tum lappet te bhi toh acha ho. Socho main idea hoti aur tum technology. Hamari patang kya mast udti na?”

3.       There is the “Big Fat Indian Wedding” but…

Have you ever witnessed an Indian wedding where the outstation guests come just to attend the functions? I guess (a very proven guess at that) not. But a movie hardly goes beyond the “naach-gaana” and the fights between the aunties. This one, however, does. It not only shows the travel enthusiast relative who tries to find the white lotus in Juhu beach, but also highlights the omnipresent uncle who goes about asking every young guy in the wedding, “Aur Baki?” so that he can know you better and decide whether you are “marriage material” or not.

4.       The Upcoming hero…

When you have someone like Parineeti in a movie, it’s difficult to look beyond her. But the actor, Siddharth Malhotra’s performance is worth a mention. In fact, he is not just one of those tall, dark and handsome guys. He doesn’t have a straight face like Imran Khan (Sorry, ladies). He can act naturally and also dance well. He has the flamboyance of a hero and it would be no surprise if he goes on to make a mark in Bollywood.

NOW, last but certainly not the least:

5.       Parineeti’s madness...

Parineeti is known to be the “blabber mouth” and fans expect her to be the same in every movie. In fact, she disappointed some of her fans (me included) by keeping herself toned down in ‘Shuddh Desi Romance’. But here, she doesn’t speak much. It is her actions and expressions that keep you laughing. Be it eating toothpaste or rolling her eyes and making faces – you just can’t help but laugh. She maintains her “raw spirits” in the movie (she orders two half-butter chickens in a restaurant because the quantity is more when you order two half than if you order one full).

Final verdict – You can’t afford to miss it if you are a Parineeti Chopra fan. Even if you are not, you have to see it if you are of the present generation. It is a refreshing watch which doesn’t focus on clichés.

This post was also published on Youth Ki Awaaz.

P.S- This is the first time that I have attempted a movie review. Do share the post if you reached this far and more importantly, liked it :)

What Did Narendra Modi Say? - Part 1

(Image source: news.oneindia.in)

Narendra Modi, the Prime Ministerial candidate of the NDA (National Democratic Alliance – the coalition headed by the Bharatiya Janata Party) was in Kolkata on the 5^th of February, 2014. He addressed a rally in the Brigade Parade Grounds in the heart of the city. This week, we bring to you our first post in the series, “What Did Narendra Modi Say?” We say ‘first’  because it is certain that he will address a lot of rallies in the run-up to the elections and many of them will go on to become the week’s biggest news/headline.

Mr. Modi’s speech was a combination of political statements, facts and his vision for the future of the state. We take up some of the highlights of his address here. In case of political statements and facts, a counter from the other parties or a background regarding the issue, if available, is included.

The Bong Connection

In his trademark style of using the local language first, Mr. Modi started his speech in Bengali, saying that the crowd that he witnessed made his heart say, “Amar sonar Bangla. Aami tomay bhalobashi.” (Bengali for: "My golden Bengal. I love you.”)

He went on to explain the connection between Bengal and Gujarat (he is currently the Chief Minister of Gujarat) using life incidents of historical personalities like Rabindranath Tagore, Swami Vivekananda and Subhash Chandra Bose.

Political Statements

#1 Third Front is third class in governance!

Modi: Highlighting the crowd in his rally, he exhorted the Third front leaders to come to Kolkata and see for themselves which way the wind is blowing. In the latter part of his speech, he said that the third front parties had ruled most of eastern India and they had done a third class job in governance and hence, they should be banished from the political landscape of India.

Background: Third Front is nothing but a collection of political parties who are strong in their respective states. Like, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in Odisha, AIADMK in Tamil Nadu and so on. These parties say they want to give the country a non-Congress and non-BJP alternative. Interestingly, just on the day of Mr. Modi’s rally, leaders from 11 such parties met in Delhi to discuss their combined strategy in this session of Parliament.

#2 Congress didn’t make Pranab Mukherjee Prime Minister!

Modi: Mr. Modi invoked history to prove a point against the Congress. He said that there were two occasions when Pranab Mukherjee (Presently, the President of India, and formerly, a Union Minister and a senior Congress leader from West Bengal.) could have been the PM. Firstly, when Mrs. Indira Gandhi was assassinated and he was the senior most member of the Cabinet. But Rajiv Gandhi went on to become the PM. Secondly, he said that if in 2004, Sonia Gandhi (the President of the INC) didn’t want to become the PM, then why did she overlook Pranab Mukherjee and make Dr. Manmohan Singh the PM.

Counter: The Congress accused Mr. Modi of playing to the gallery by invoking the Bengal leader.

Fact: a) On both the occasions mentioned by him, Mr. Pranab Mukherjee could have become the PM.

          b) However, in the July of 2012, when the Presidential elections had taken place and the INC had fielded Mr. Pranab Mukherjee as their candidate, the BJP had chosen to oppose his candidature.

#3 Mamata in Kolkata, Modi in Delhi, Pranab on top!

Mr. Modi first congratulated the people of Bengal for ushering in a revolution by defeating the Left. But then asked the crowd that did they get the “poriborton (Bengali for change)” they were promised by the Mamata Banerjee led All India Trinamool Congress (AITC).

He asked the people of Bengal to vote for the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections and elect all the BJP candidates on the 42 seats in the state. (Fact Check: BJP has just one MP in Bengal from Darjeeling, and that too was won because of the support they got from the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha in return for their promise to create a separate state called Gorkhaland if they came to power)

He said, “Ensure a win for BJP in these Lok Sabha polls - why? Let me explain - here you have the Trinamool government - who has promised action, work on ground - they will do something - ask them about their achievements - about their promises and by voting for BJP you come and ask me Modi ji what have you done? What is your balance sheet? Let us have a friendly competition - let Mamata ji's government work for the betterment of the people of West Bengal and in 2014 when the BJP govt comes to power in Delhi - let them too work for you - who will benefit? If we have this friendly competition who will benefit? Ask for their balance sheet in the state and ask me of the balance sheet at Delhi - it will be the best of both worlds for you. If you elect someone else how shall you ask us of our balance sheet? We believe in democracy - we shall come and explain ourselves anyways but the work of the West Bengal government will not be enough to turn the luck for its people - there must be a sympathetic government at Delhi too - and I am before you today to take up that responsibility.”

Facts

#1 Electricity in villages!

Modi: Modi contended that in spite of being close to coal reserves, Bengal faced a shortage of electricity. He also highlighted the achievements of Gujarat in this sphere.

#2 Toilets and electricity in primary schools!

Modi: He went on to say, “Brothers and sisters there are schools here that are revered, recognized across India - despite that why is the primary education system in tatters? West Bengal is known for its tradition of honoring mothers - females - yet only a small percentage of schools have toilets for girls. What change are you bringing? Only 35 per cent schools in West Bengal are electrified. How will you grasp modern technologies without electricity how will you ensure real education?”

Counter: "The honorable Chief Minister of Gujarat made a few statements which were factually incorrect," said a post in Trinamool Congress' website.

“98 per cent schools in West Bengal have toilets while most primary, upper primary, secondary and higher secondary schools have uninterrupted power supply," the statement said. It pointed out that West Bengal is the only state in India to have a power bank.

"As of December 2013, West Bengal achieved 60 per cent rural electrification (up from 10 per cent during the Left Front rule)," the Trinamool Congress said.

 Vision

In the end, Modi said, “How should India be - how should we sum up our vision? To say in Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore's words - My Idea of India - (in Bengali)

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high
Where knowledge is free
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments
By narrow domestic walls
Where words come out from the depth of truth
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way
Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit
Where the mind is led forward by thee
Into ever-widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.”

He then went on to ride on the crowd’s love for the slogan, “Cholbe na” (Bengali for not acceptable) by asking them to repeat the words after statements like, “goonda raj and political violence - corrupt governance - daily strikes - power cuts - industrial exodus - insecurity to women - unemployment”. The crowd responded with “Cholche Na, Cholbe Na.” (Bengali for Not acceptable now, won’t be acceptable in the future) to each of these statements. 

The Arun Jaitley Interview: One That Didn’t Make the Headlines!

(image source: www.moneycontrol.com)

Rahul Gandhi (Vice-President of the Indian National Congress-INC) and Arnab Goswami (the Editor-in-Chief of Times Now) grabbed all the attention this past week with what was being touted as the biggest political interview of the year. This ensured that Arun Jaitley’s interview to CNBC TV18’s Shereen Bhan went unnoticed. This week, we try and make sense of what he said.

Why is this interview important?

Arun Jaitley is a senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). At present, he holds the post of the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha (the Upper House of Indian Parliament). In the past, he has been a Cabinet Minister when the BJP-led government was in power at Centre in the early 2000’s.

There are two reasons why what he says is of extreme importance. Firstly, he is a member of the Parliamentary Board of the BJP, which is the main decision making body of the party. Secondly, he is considered to be very close to Mr. Narendra Modi. Thus, knowing what Mr. Jaitley says can help us understand the policies of the BJP.

Let us now get into what Mr. Jaitley said on various issues and compare the BJP’s views with those of the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) government.

On the Banking Transaction Tax

Background: In our post, What did Baba Ramdev say? , we told you about how the BJP is seriously considering the proposal to replace the present taxation system with a single Banking Transaction Tax and how Mr. Jaitley had reservations over the issue. In this interview, he re-iterates his point.

UPA: The UPA government, led by the INC, is working on the Direct Taxes Code (DTC) bill which will reform the present Income Tax Act. It is not considering the proposal of the introduction of BTT.

BJP: In the interview, Mr. Jaitley clarifies that the BJP has not completely accepted the proposal of BTT. He says that he agrees that the proposal is a popular and attractive one but he is also aware of the difficulties in the implementation of such a proposal and hence a lot of debate is required with regard to the proposal.

On Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)

Background: Just a couple of days ago, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Delhi announced that it disagreed with the previous Delhi government and hence was withdrawing the decision of allowing FDI in multi-brand retail trade in Delhi.

UPA: The Union Cabinet in September, 2012 had approved 51% FDI in multi brand retail trade in India. But due to opposition from the BJP and many other parties, it decided to let the individual states take the final call on whether they would allow it in their respective states.

BJP: Mr. Jaitley says, “I have absolutely no problem with FDI in several areas. I have no difficulty as far as FDI in infrastructure and defense is concerned but it is FDI sector wise in some areas that we are concerned with and certainly FDI in retail is one of those areas.”

He goes on to give an explanation, “As far as retail is concerned don’t forget that you have a very large number of people – 4 crore traders in this country, you are looking at almost 20 crore people which is broadly one fifth of one sixth of India's population, the largest employer after agriculture. Therefore if that is a section which is uncomfortable about a particular policy, we have opposed it as far as day one is concerned.”

On Goods and Services Tax (GST)

Background: The Goods and Services Tax is another big taxation proposal that seeks to reform the present system of indirect taxes. In fact, it’s importance can be gauged by the fact that if GST becomes a reality, then just by that decision alone, India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will grow by an extra 1-2%.

UPA: Finance Minister P. Chidambaram is very keen to pass the GST bill but it is stuck due to opposition from various states ruled by the BJP and other political parties. The states have reservations regarding their revenues (income) because if the GST is introduced, then the taxes collecting power would shift to the Centre and states would get the money from the centre as per an agreed formula. In fact, in this year’s budget, Mr. Chidambaram set aside 9000 crores of rupees to show his commitment to compensating the states for their loss of revenue in the initial years.

BJP: Mr. Jaitley says, “The GST is not a BJP versus Congress issue. I personally am quite convinced about the virtues of the GST. There are some states which are lesser consuming states which certainly had concerns as far as the UPA government is concerned and its fairness to implement the GST as far as the states are concerned. Now in Madhya Pradesh there is a problem, there were BJP and NDA governments which supported the GST proposal, there were NDA governments which opposed the GST proposals.”

When he was asked a direct question whether GST would be a part of BJP’s manifesto, he avoided a direct reply by saying that if and when GST is to be implemented in the country then that will require a consensus as far as states are concerned.

On Fuel Subsidies

The present situation is such that the diesel prices are increasing every month. This is because all this while we have been paying a subsidized price. Now, the government has decided to slowly move to market determined prices. Every time a diesel price hike is affected, there is a demand from the BJP to withdraw it.

In this interview, however, Mr. Jaitley takes what might be called a slightly unpopular stand. He says that the BJP understands the importance of maintaining the fiscal balance. (Fiscal deficit, in simple terms, means the difference between the income and expenditure of the government. If subsidies are provided, it increases the expenditure). What this means is that if and when the BJP comes to power, they may not reduce the prices of diesel. However, Mr. Jaitley also said that these subsidies had to be targeted towards the poor as they could not afford these high prices.

These were some of the major issues discussed in the interview. Apart from these, Mr. Jaitley also stressed upon how the BJP intended to make India a manufacturing hub. He also said that the coal blocks that were allocated by the UPA should be looked at afresh.

The full interview can be read and seen here.