HONOURING EXCELLENCE

HONOURING EXCELLENCE

The new year is a good time to look back and consciously identify those who through their qualities of head and heart made a difference to the country. Hence a slew of awards that are announced in almost every field of work. The recently announced CNN-IBN awards were one such award which struck me as noteworthy since these awards went beyond the headlines to seek out those whom the public may not know about and may not be ‘ popular’ in the sense in which a film star or cricketer or business magnate may be.

The Public service award to Shri Shreedharan for his contribution to the transport system is one such award. Some people make you proud to be an Indian and Shri Shreedhran is one such Indian. Against all predictions of doom, against the usual cry of environmentalists , and in the face of political indifference and bureaucratic impediments Mr. Shreedharan has inspired his team to give us the Konkan Railway and the New Delhi metro.

The Chairman of the State Bank of India Shri O.P. Bhatt deservedly got the award for excellence in Business, again a story of working against many debilitating factors endemic to the public sector-even as these awards are being announced his officers have gone on a strike to protest the merging of bank branches, a strategy that any outsider will consider necessary to make their operations viable.

What is important in these two awards is something that the public needs to know but the media may not highlight.

The financial press publishes every year a list of the 500 highest income earners in the country. For the last few years I have scanned this list and found something painful—NOT ONE EXECUTIVE FROM THE PUBLIC SECTOR FIGURES IN THE LIST OF 500 TOP EARNERS !

Readers may not know that the Chairman of the State Bank of India earns less than a management trainee in a small bank whose operations and capitalization may be lesser than that of ONE BRANCH OF STATE BANK OF INDIA!

It takes over three decades of tough assignments and risky work to reach the top position in State Bank, yet that person earns a measly amount which even a call centre employee may scoff at.

This applies also to Mr. Sreedharan.

The lesson—some people can work their heart out and deliver excellence despite being poorly paid.

I believe the time has come to bring public sector salaries in line with the private sector.

The warning signals are already evident—bright youngsters are not joining the public sector or the civil services.

K.R.RAVI

USA