Are we doing our bit for community of eX Indian Security Forces?

It has been three months, since terrorist attacks in Mumbai. But Mumbai was just one of the instances of such brutal attacks. India has been witnessing many such unfortunate incidents every year.

Do we give few minutes of our busy schedule to think about the soldiers who keep us safe? While we, the citizens of India, enjoy cup of coffee in our home, the soldiers spend their sleepless nights in extreme conditions at the border. Indian Security Forces (Indian Armed forces, National Security Guards etc.) are the ones who come forward to help us in natural calamities too.

Few days back, I was talking to Lieutenant Colonel Navinder Narang, who has 19 years of diverse experience with Indian Army. He is in core team of XISF, the community of eX Indian Security Forces. XISF aims to provide a robust framework for the members of the ex Indian Security Forces community, to interact with each other in three key areas of civil life - Placements, Business and Socializing. XISF comprises of all ranks from the Indian Army, Navy, Air Force.

I have seen that in many cases the families of ex-Servicemen do not even receive the benefits from Government. we also have political leaders who are not ready to respect tremendous contribution of our security forces. Looking at the situation like this, XISF is a great effort for helping ex-Servicemen and their families, for them to find their ways after forces.

The video below explains more about the motive behind XISF.



While Government is doing it's portion of support for Indian soldiers and their families (though much of that may be due to pressure from citizens and media), it is our equal responsibility to support the community of ex Indian Security Forces. Few days back I read a news article about BJP promising help to ex-Servicemen, but as we all know these are not more than political promises. If you feel that you should contribute for this noble cause in some way (time, ideas or others), then you can get in touch with Lieutenant Colonel Navinder Narang.

I salute the effort and sacrifice of Indian Security Forces. Let's join our hands together to actually contribute for this noble cause.

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Is recession really closing doors for us?

It is official now, with Obama saying that it will take years to recover from recession. The problem of recession started with subprime crisis in year 2007, but a recession was declared much later and what followed after that, everyone knows.

Few days back, I read an article by Professor Jagdish Bhagwati, international economist and Professor in Economics Department at Columbia University, USA. He argued that the provision to restrict hiring of H1-B visaholders would deprive the US of the best global talent which comes in the form of highly trained and talented people. To quote his words: "In terms of broader considerations like the people who are coming in on H1-B visas - they're frequently highly trained and talented people and a lot of our progress and prosperity depend on having such people". He stressed that it is not appropriate to blame H1-B workers, as many of them eventually settle down in US, form new IT companies and provide job opportunities to American nationals as well.

I agree with thoughts of Prof. Bhagwati to a some extent. At the same time, I feel bad about millions of people loosing their jobs or business globally. I also understand that it is right of every country to protect it's own benefits first. Even Canada is gearing up for reducing immigration to reduce the impact of financial crisis. After having spent twenty one months in America by now, I can say that Americans have provided a great environment for growth and that's why individuals from all over the world see it as right place to work and grow.

In past few weeks, I read many news articles about increasing problems for H1-B workers in USA. With US stimulus bill in place, the US Congress has barred firms receiving government bailout from hiring Indians and other foreign workers through the skilled US visa worker visa (H1-B) programme, if they are replacing American workers. As a result, H1-B workers will have some impact, and that will impact Indian nationals too. Why I am saying "some" here is because of two reasons. First one is that the stimulus bill bars companies from hiring H1-B workers, but does not seem to stop companies from having H1-B contractors (not employees). Second reason is that not all the companies have opted for bailout package. Since it is global recession now, the overall business scenario of companies in US and across the globe is getting worse everyday. Whether we are in US, India or any other country, there will be impact on many of us. We all can see that everyone is sticking to their current job somehow. Attrition rate in companies has gone down.

I can write much more about the recession and the impact, but here is another way of looking at it too. We all have seen India growing at a very fast pace in last few years, yet there is lot more to transform things at grass root level. May be that this recession has brought some hidden light for us, or has given us a way to re-think about our priorities. Today, with almost every country having dependency on other countries, it is nearly impossible for a country to be isolated from impact of global meltdown. However, India still holds a good financial position comparatively. A lot can be done in India, whether it be in professional career, or for the growth of unprivileged society. Why not we realize our power within and take a step ahead to projects/ideas, to take the nation forward? Let's not be afraid of failures on the way. Failure is one of the very powerful ways to learn. In today's world, it does not matter where you are located. What matters is your thought and actions to make a difference. Many professionals like us have already starting working on related projects. You can find information on such projects in my earlier posts. Let's join our hands together to make India a better place for everyone.

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Leadership - The Thinking and Actions

I have been thinking about what is "Leadership", for quite some time. You will find are various definitions available for the word "Leader", which convey the message that a leader is a person who guides or inspires others.

I would like to present my view about Leadership and also mention about Sangeeth Varghese, famous Leadership Expert.

Who is a leader? Leadership starts with the idea of taking actions for change and once you are able to take decisions in need, you become a leader. You do not need to be CEO of a company, or hold a political position, for becoming a leader. At work life everyday, we come across words like initiative, leadership, innovation etc. and many times we find it difficult to deal with these. Sometimes, we feel that we do not have time. But, let's ask ourselves if that is really the reason for the difficult situations? Or, is it rather the fear of taking challenge, or the unexpected environment? If yes, then We have to overcome this fear and the key to do that is to have positive attitude. I always feel that attitude makes big difference in life. "Think Big" is something which will enable you to have long term vision and will keep you driving to take committed actions.

I attended web meet for "India Leadership Network" yesterday. I found it interesting and saw that each one of the participants was ready to change something for transformation of India. The discussion was about connecting all villages of India with Internet and work with various agencies to make it happen. Though at first look it may look impossible to implement, but it is actually possible. Ask one simple question to yourself. Had you thought ten years back that mobile phone will be so easily available in India? But today it is a reality. I still remember that we had to call telephone operator to make phone calls about fifteen years back. The thought and actions for making a change can make the impossible happen.

I would like to mention about Sangeeth Varghese, a leadership expert. He studied at London School of Economics and is founder of LeadCap, a movement with a vision to build India as a nation of leaders. Sangeeth is a mentor for several CEOs and start-up organizations. He was a columnist for Businessworld, the largest business magazine in India and also writes for Forbes, the largest in the world. He is the author of the bestseller 'Decide to Lead – Eight decisions that can make you a leader'. I came to know about Sangeeth few days back and was highly impressed by his definition of leadership. He asks each one of us to do start everyday things differently and contribute in goal of having many leaders in India. Sangeeth has inspired lives of many people. Even you can volunteer in one of his leadership projects. Below is the YouTube video, showing message from Sangeeth.



You will rarely find someone, who is a born leader. Leadership starts from thinking and can be demonstrated by the actions taken.
As Barack Obama said "Change we need" during election campaign, I believe it is time for us to work on "Change we need".

We are fortunate enough to get excellent education and work experience. Let's make best use of it. To make India really grow at grass root level, each one of us needs to emerge as leader. And, the time to act is now. Each one of us has a leader within self. We need to take decision for transforming India and come out of problems like poverty, corruption and infrastructure inadequacy. Remember, the change needs to start from you and it is possible.

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