Why is Ratan Tata protesting about privacy?

Ratan Tata, the Chairman of the Tata Group is, reportedly, planning to move the Supreme Court against publishing intercepts of his conversation with Niira Radia. The stated reason - private conversation not connected with the 2G scam should remain private.

In principle, there cannot be a disagreement with the argument. On the other hand, unless there is something in the conversation that would be of interest to the world at large, it can be assumed that it will not attract attention, even if made public - after all, there is voluminous data that is threatening to come out in Wikileaks, that is likely to attract a lot more public attention over the next few days. So what can be a reason?

Perhaps it lies in a report published many months ago in a little know hindi website. This report, which purports to be a confidential letter written by a taxman investigating the 2G case has some interesting comments. The relevant excerpts are in points 2 and 3 above.
 Some interesting links to the original site are :

http://www.bhadas4media.com/tv/5036-barkha-vir.html
http://www.bhadas4media.com/tv/5071-barkha-vir.html
http://www.bhadas4media.com/vividh/5065-barkha-vir.html
http://www.bhadas4media.com/tv/5036-barkha-vir.html

The role of key media personalities is also revealing.

Draw your own conclusions.

Insurance and IP - an academic view

For years, I have held the view that IP (intellectual property) is no more than a trade barrier imposed by rich countries on poorer ones. I also maintain that once countries like India develop enough to generate their own IP, these very same developed countries will start questioning the need for IP.

Another issue I have long felt that India is going the wrong way on, is patent protection for medicines. Given the large population in India requiring cheap medicines, the model of insurance-led health care is completely flawed. Our negotiators at the WTO have sold India down the path of disaster by conceding to patent protection for pharma products in India, and by allowing private sector companies to offer health insurance - both steps that will take the price of medication out of reach of the common man.

A recent article I read in the TOI from a nobel prize winning economist provides some support to my arguments.  The operating parts from a discussion with Joseph Stiglitz, are :

On Insurance - "Rather than provide better healthcare at lower costs, insurance companies innovate at finding better ways of discrimination. They are inefficient because they are trying to figure out how to insure people who don't need the cover and keep out people who need it......India would be in a terrible mess, given the size of its population, if it went down the wrong route (of private companies for health insurance). They should learn from the mess that the US has got into."


On IP - "...the benefits of IP have been exaggerated and the costs underestimated. IP creates monopolies. And it does interfere with economic efficiency by interfering with the flow of knowledge and the use of knowledge, particularly for developing countries....The question is whether IP promotes innovation. Increasingly, the evidence is that it may actually impede innovation. It is leading to infinite negotiations around patents. More money is being spent on lawyers than on research. The legal cost of using the system takes up more resources than the benefits from the system."


Now that, from a Professor of Columbia University, and a former Chief Economist of the world bank - may carry more weight than my own arguments - but I'm happy that atleast a part of the academic world is taking a sensible stance. I wonder if the bureaucrats in the Indian government that make up these policies are listening!

A Visit to the USA - The Good, the Bad, the Ugly

I just returned from an 18 day vacation to the USA. This time around, my understanding of the issues affecting the country was certainly better than ever in the past. Some thoughts.

The Good

Nature has been kind to the USA, and the citizens have used nature well. Large open spaces (outside the metro cities – and large parks in most metros), clean air and reasonable infrastructure in most parts make the country extremely livable. I envy the houses and community infrastructure most places enjoy – something India may take a long time to achieve, if at all.

Obama’s policy of funding infrastructure is clearly visible, with roads being built in most places I visited. Perhaps more so than in India!

Local government representatives seem responsive to needs of their electorate. I heard stories of people reaching out to their senators to get issues sorted out, and the senators responding! India seems to have the same population per MP. Some lessons to learn here.

The Bad

Bureaucracy is abundant. JFK immigration took 90 minutes to clear – with immigration officers either absent from their stations, or busy sipping coffee and chatting among themselves – oblivious to the mile long line of travelers waiting to have their passports checked. Reminded me of Calcutta of the late ’70 when communists were at their peak!

Compared to that, Indian immigration is now a breeze – at 3:30 at night, it takes less than 10 mins to clear two plane load of travelers.

Socialism exists in various forms – housing taxes come bundled with school fees – clearly detrimental to those who have no children, but have to pay. This forces ghetto of a different kind – communities are generally homogenous with age and social strata determining housing – because of the taxes involved. The argument that the same level of education is available to all levels of income earners is fallacious – you can only stay in a community if you can afford to pay the house taxes of that area!

The Ugly

The healthcare system is a rip-off. Hospitals charge fees that have no connection to the value of service provided – George Washington University Hospital charged me a $1000 for a clinical examination of my daughter – no tests, no ambulance, no admission. I was advised (later on) that these fees are best “negotiated”! Wow!

The pharmacies are even more of a rip-off. A medicine that was supplied by Sun Pharma (which would, I assume, be making about 20 paise per tablet) was charged at $6 per tablet! Further, the pharmacy keeps the prescription – so that more than the prescribed medication is not made available to the patient. In a country where guns can be purchased in the department stores (almost), and where freedom to harm yourself is protected as a fundamental right (almost), the need to “protect” the patient against medication, (increasing the cost of drug delivery by several times what it needs to be – by eliminating competition in distribution) is criminal.

Overall, the country remains seriously uncompetitive in most matters. Most businesses make money through cartelization (finance), or through regulations (patent protection, visa controls, minimum wages) creating entry barriers. The basic education system stresses more on games and less on studies – a football coach at a college will likely earn 5x-10x what the math teacher makes. The country has some serious challenges to face as it comes to terms with a world where other countries offer greater opportunities for growth.