ECONOMIC ENDOCRINES & DIASPORA APPROACHES

There seems to be a wave of 'feel-good' factors feeding on one another in India. This  was palpably evident at the two major conferences held earlier this month in Hyderabad and New Delhi respectively. Refreshingly, leading Indian commentators adopted a 'sobering' approach, asking the country's leadership in industry and politics, to refrain from prematurely patting themselves upon their backs, but to sustain the growth with good governance. The Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Mr. Chandrababa Naidu, succinctly stated that 'good economics is good politics'. There is a major  transformation brewing on the horizon in India. Foreign exchange reserves that are rising well above US$ 100 billion, have enabled the country to liberalize imports, permit overseas investments by Indian corporations and sterilize expensive or 'hot' money inflows. No longer does India need to sweeten the NRIs' palate!  That may be a bit of disappointment for some NRIs that constantly hanker after sops and subsidies. Similarly, the appreciating Indian Rupee is hurting the exporters but their lobbies are not complaining too loudly. 

The two conferences themselves, were exercises to reinforce relationships across the globe but aimed at varying audience. The Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) Partnership Summit in Hyderabad i.e. CII is renowned for its organizational efficiency, the quality of its programmes and its speakers at such summits. Its platform harnesses the wisdom of global leadership. In that sense, the event is not therefore, NRI-centric. This year's event was somewhat less spectacular in terms of the sweep of its speakers, particularly of the political variety. For instance, there were no Tony Blairs  and Bill Clintons or any of the galaxy of global statesmen that otherwise make a beeline to CII summits. It was therefore, left to lesser luminaries to take centre-stage. But some terrific speakers; such as the two Union Cabinet ministers (Mr. Arun Jaitely and Mr. Arun Shourie) were highly captivating. While Arun Shourie was low key, pragmatic and had a very balanced blend of good advice and healthy exhortations to the audience, 

Arun Jaitley's was a 'no-holds barred' quasi-political speech. Jaitley is an erstwhile lawyer, but the journalist in Arun Shourie makes him a good foil for the other Arun; in terms of the panache and positive energy that such fine legal and literary minds bring to bear on any and all subjects on which they speak.  Other outstanding intellectual minds included that of Mr. Shashi Tharoor, who had obviously,  prepared his speech painstakingly and couched it in such beautiful language that only an author of such eminence and experience, could hold forth so eloquently.  Mr. Anand Mahindra, the President of the CII, conducted the plenary sessions superbly, investing them with ready wit and repartee and more importantly, with some crisp and deft touches.  Mr. Chandrababu Naidu was present on many occasions during the few days. There was a moving finale on AIDS. Congresswoman, Barbara Lee (who had championed this cause so admirably within the Congress in the U.S.) as well as her former Senator-mentor, Louis W. Sullivan of the Morehouse School of Medicine, gave emotive addresses that contained some illustrations and statistics that actually moved to stoke up one's sensitivities.

There were several Congressmen and Senators including two who made passionate pleas for India to play a dominant role in regional geo-politics. They also agreed, in response to a comment from me, to support India's application for a permanent U.N. Security Council seat; thus helping to bring some democracy at the highest altar of this United Nations body - a concept that the U.S. is so  strenuously imposing on all and sundry in the rest of the world.

All in all, the CII Summit had some superb quality and the audience naturally included the 'who's who' and the captains of industry and commerce.

The FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry) event, on the other hand, had some heavy-weight sponsorship in terms of the Government of India, and its entire battery of powerhouse; from the President, Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister downwards wishing to and be seen as mingling and celebrating the  togetherness of the Indian Diaspora i.e. Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs). Like all jamborees, this one too appeared  to have turned out into a mixed bag.

There were some complaints that those who got the awards last year, including Mr. Amartya Sen, Mr. V.S. Naipul and others, chose to 'desert' it this time.  Mr. Shashi Tharoor preferred to go to Mumbai to launch his book, rather than attend the New Delhi bash. In a sense, the Pravasi Bharitiya Divas tends to be 'one size fits all' and 'all things to all people' and such lofty aims cannot contain the ambitions of the high and mighty in the diaspora!

The NRIs are a disparate lot per se. They differ starkly within the GCC, where some 3 million of them live. Demographically, many of them are skilled and semi-skilled workers, whose aspirations and requirements are completely at odds with those of the top-end bulge (literally) bracket, who are businessmen and wealthy individuals and who over the years, have been transient and tend to be highly commercial at best of times. In the middle, there is a very large professional class, who have made some outstanding contribution, and have the intellectual calibre and qualities, to be on par with the best software brains that have made good in the West. If you add to this, persons of Indian origin (PIOs) from Fiji, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, the U.K. and the U.S. and then top it up (similar to the icing on the cake) with the great, the good and the gifted as well as the rich and the famous, the end result is a heady mix and a potent cocktail. The problems then develop as each of these segments have too many leaders and too few Indians! They all have a bagful of requests and lorry loads of advice to the authorities.
A dissatisfied (indeed less easily satisfiable) lot among this massive gathering of NRIs and PIOs, meant that many special interests groups and self-proclaimed leaders had to be constantly wooed and fawned upon, and only then after repeated ego massages, did they grudgingly accept their station in life!

Going forward, the format of this FICCI-managed event, certainly needs to change.  It does not help to merely have a global diaspora club or a congregation, unless it is merely meant to celebrate collectiveness or togetherness. In such cases, simply a cultural festival or feast, aimed at this vast audience, would more than suffice. They share, perhaps, more of  cultural affinity than economic or financial characteristics.

A few sops were deliberately thrown at them, including reservation of seats in educational institutions, but once the gravy train chugs down the NRI land, there is a risk that like truant children, they will keep asking for more and more.

To sum up, if the FICCI event is mass retail, then the CII Meet was for the intelligentsia, the elite and some might even say, the exclusive. These also perhaps reflect both these organizations' strengths and focus areas. While the CII has always been representative of the best in industry and the professional service segments as well as leaders in the financial sector, FICCI has been more dominated by traders in the commercial and retail businesses of high quality. Of course, these are generalizations, but CII has been decidedly more international just as FICCI is more domestic and is enlarging its constituency among the NRIs. In its more recent attempt by signing MOUs as if they were going out of fashion, FICCI may lull NRIs. Action will have to begin rather than end, when the ink dries up on the documents!

All in all, FICCI and CII are endeavouring to offer good but  two different approaches to the global diaspora. Gradually, and after the initial celebrations and the distribution of awards galore, the Pravasi Bharitiya Divas will have to be more definitive and more focused. I would even suggest a week-long celebration, where the mornings are devoted on each day, say from Monday to Friday, to specific NRI and PIO subjects and for specific audiences. The evenings can have cultural and social milieu for smaller and targeted groups. This way, there can be a wider participation and yet, without everyone getting involved helter-skelter and trampling upon each other, as happens in such melas. This year, the audience was smaller than in 2002;  despite all the sops and offers on the platter. On the other hand, the CII bash in Hyderabad had a much better glow and feel-good factors, and relatively fewer bickerings.  Clearly the Middle Eastern panel discussion (in which I spoke) over lunch, on the first day, was an improvement.  But this region (where NRIs predominate) does have significant potential to be tapped. There will always be some misgivings over the step-motherly treatment meted out to the GCC delegations. Reciprocally, what is needed from the visitors from the Middle East, is to address the economic issues seriously and speak out with sensitivity, clarity and wisdom. Ultimately, you cannot expect to receive prominence on the national and international scene,  unless and until you have earned it through performance and impact.  This is where some regional participants cling to visions of self-grandeur, king-size egos and yet can boast of few tangible, demonstrable and outstanding achievements.  As Churchill said that they have "much to be modest about"!

The author is General Manager of Emirates Bank.  However, the views expressed in this article are not necessarily shared by the Bank.

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