UNIVERSITY OF LIFE: THEIR SCHOOL OF THOUGHT IS BASED ON MUTUAL RESPECT
To have a vision is one, but to have a partner supporting you in that is another. SP Sampathy and his wife Aararthy had their tasks cut out right from the start, 1960s to be precise. They set up Siva Sivani Public School in Telangana in 1961. “My father w
Sailesh’s parents had the passion for imparting quality education at an affordable cost and their passion was evident in the phenomenal growth of the institution - from just 6 students initially to thousands now in a span of 60 years. The founder of this institute, Sampathy, had approached a school in Secunderabad seeking admission for his friend’s son. The Principal of that school turned out to be the teacher, who taught him when he was young. However, Sampathy wasn’t treated with any respect. “My father was both hurt and angry then. It is often said that decisions should not be made on an impulse. But not this time. He instantly resolved to start a school, run it in a manner much more efficient where people - visitors or parents or employees or students - would be given due respect,” said Sailesh. The school, initially, was home to just a handful of students, who were fed by my parents so they could stay there for days at a stretch and prepare for examinations. “We have all worked and lived like an extended family,” said the VP.
Sailesh has been a student of the Siva Sivani Public School for 15 years. “In January, 1992, my father woke me up and said, ‘get ready, we are going to your new office in an hour’. I was puzzled but I followed his instructions. A couple of hours later, I was taken to a building at Road No 14, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad, where my father informed me that he was starting a new branch of the school in that building and wanted me to help him in setting it up and running it,” said Sailesh.
There was no looking back. Eventually, Siva Sivani Institute of Management (SSIM) was set up in December, 1992, with approval from the AICTE as the first B-School in the then undivided state of Andhra Pradesh. Seminars and workshops conducted by stalwarts aided Sailesh in setting up world class paperless classrooms at SSIM more than two decades ago. Apart from his father, Sailesh owes his success to his father’s colleague Prof M Kamalakar. SSIM doesn’t just guide students in matters relating to academics. “There is a mentor available to support them in matters beyond academics as well.” Students are engaged in a number of social activities including adoption of a few government schools - where they conduct competitions for those children, distribute essential items and teach them too.
In a decade’s time SSIM has spread its wings across the globe, through the Centre for International Studies (CIS). This wing boasts of different types of collaborations namely student exchange programs, certification programs, immersion programs, dual degree, MBA via credit transfer programs, etc. “Our International partners are Harvard Business School Online, Herzing University, USA, Synergy University, Moscow, Alliant International University, California, USA, University of Highlands and Islands, Scotland, Lincoln University College, Malaysia,” added Sailesh.
COVID may have led to the closure of public and private institutions, leaving a very huge vacuum between existing and required infrastructure to support and sustain education. “At SSIM, students were given access to a lot of facilities like the library, simulation games, training for placements, and virtual workshops. We started conducting Viva-Voces online, with each panel having external, internal experts and students connected virtually. Our end term examinations are proctored, dissuading malpractice,” said Sailesh.
SSIM prides itself in getting approval from the AICTE for a Fellowship Program with 20 students despite the deadly virus proving to be an impediment in the education sector.
THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF PRIVATISATION OF TWO PUBLIC SECTOR BANKS IS CONSISTENT WITH THE NEW ENTERPRISE POLICY OF THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA. THE PROCESS, WHEN TAKEN TO ITS LOGICAL CONCLUSION, WILL ENABLE BETTER ACCESS TO CAPITAL AND, THEREBY, HELP PRIVATE INVESTMENT
competencies via transfer of cutting-edge technologies, create economies of scale, enhance exports and make India an integral part of the global supply chain. Similarly, technological infrastructure such as the India Stack, UPI and the JAM trinity are helping in fostering a better use of the economy’s resources.
As shown in the MER May 2021, evidence of the positive effects of public capex are already being witnessed. The ratio of Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF) to GDP reached 34.3 per cent in Q4, FY21, among the highest in over 26 quarters. This created positive effects on construction, which grew at 14.5 per cent, private consumption that grew at 2.7 per cent after falling for three consecutive quarters and contact-intensive sectors that contracted by only 2.3 per cent after large declines in previous quarters. CEIC’s seasonally adjusted indicator for investment reached a 20-year high in January 2021 while the Purchasing Managers’ Index for Manufacturing had continually been in expansionary zone from September 2020 to May 2021. All these point to the start of the virtuous cycle with private investment leading the way.
3.3. REFORMS TO ALLEVIATE SUPPLY-SIDE FRICTIONS
The government post Covid has also implemented policies to alleviate several supply-side frictions that inhibit the acceleration of the virtuous cycle. These include financial sector reforms to enhance access to capital, labour market reforms to reduce the frictions due to stringent and complex labour laws, farm bills to enhance access to markets and investment in the agriculture sector and expanding the definition of small and medium enterprises to avoid dwarfism stemming from the nature of taxpayer incentives provided to small firms.
As the public sector banks represent the bellwether of the socialist era, the announcement of privatisation of two public sector banks is consistent with the new enterprise policy of the government of India. The process, when taken to its logical conclusion, will enable better access to capital and, thereby, help private investment; see Economic Survey 2020 chapter on Golden Jubilee of Bank Nationalisation for details. The creation of development financial institutions (DFIs) to fund infrastructure will significantly complement the infrastructure-driven growth push. The creation of a bad bank for clean-up of the banking sector heralds an important step in eliminating the overhang created by disastrous crony lending in the banking sector.
At the same time, these reforms are all focussed on bolstering the manufacturing sector, which is critical to create organised sector jobs and thereby increase aggregate demand in the economy. Logistics and power costs matter the most for manufacturing firms if they have to compete in the global markets. The infrastructure push in roads and railways is intended to reduce logistics costs. Similarly, infrastructure investment and reforms in the power sector are critical to reduce power costs for manufacturing firms. This focus on aggregate demand through job creation in the organised sector will help accelerate the virtuous cycle as the second-round effects embedded in the virtuous cycle require increase in consumption to spur further private investment.
4. IN SUM
The transformative change in India’s economic thinking will provide an impetus to inclusive economic growth via job creation in the organised sectors. As economic growth stems from the combination of rate of investment in the economy (as measured by the ratio of GFCF to GDP) and productivity (as measured by the incremental capitaloutput ratio), the three-pronged approach will enhance both investment and productivity in the economy. The twin effects would lead to real growth of 6.5-7 per cent in FY23 and acceleration towards 8 per cent in the years ahead as the lagged effects on investment and productivity manifest fully. As the growth push is done by increasing both aggregate demand and aggregate supply in the economy, this growth should be accompanied by the reduction of supply-side frictions and thereby not accompanied by high inflation. In sum, this decade will be India’s decade of inclusive growth.