The Power of Connection

Those who went to India for education in 1950s/1960s may have vivid picture of what it was like then. The communication connections were nonexistent and foot/bus/train travels arduous. If a message had to be delivered you hike all the way, find someone to walk for you and give a message or hand-delivered a written note, if you ever went to a school. No modern communication networks existed, not even post offices. I remember sending initially letters to my parents from my school in Kalimpong (India) addressed as:

Dhanbir Tamang

Damphu, Chirang, Bhutan

P/O: Kokrajhar

(P/O for post office)

District: Goalpara (Assam)

We could never tell if the letter had reached home.  I did not know until winter break when my father would take out his well-preserved smoke-stained paper that his son had sent him months back.  My brother tells me that my father, when he received the letter, would say often "pheri padtiuley jyojyo la chitti" (read again your elder brother's letter). There was no other way of connecting with higher education except through physical travel to schools in India. The travel from Tsirang (Chirang then) to school took us full four days: two days of trek on the horse-trail (track formed due to frequent animal passage) from Tsirang to Sarpang (Sarbhang then), bus/truck ride on a dirt road to Kokrajhar (Assam) next day, night train journey from Kokrajhar to Siliguri (West Bengal), and then a seat on dilapidated dodge bus from Siliguri on the fourth day took us to Kalimpong. It really felt other end of the world, and the power of connection as weak as that.

The travel had its own tailspin. When you are dead tired walking whole day, you look forward to most is an even ground to sit and let your two feet lie flat on ground. That felt relaxed. Just before nightfall (no light at night except firewood flame rays), dinner of rice with “gundruk” (fermented and dried green vegetable) curry was a delight. The sleep under a tree or in an “orar” (more like a small cave) was so deep that deadwood would have stared us with amusement. After two-day trek, travel by vehicle was more like “pay fare, but where you sit is your problem.” Clinging on luggage rack on the roof of bus or on top of lumber loaded on the truck was not uncommon. The night steam-engine-powered train journey gave us a black coal-dust facelift and bird’s nest hairdo next day. Many did not eat after the train ride fearing car sickness on a narrow winding hill road along Teesta river. Finally we crawled half-dead to the hostel. The youthful energy revived as soon as we saw our other friends, and everything was a distant past. The school education connection was certainly not as easy!

The first “cycle rickshaw” (3-wheeled bicycle for transport with covered seat for passenger behind driver) ride from Hijli rail station to Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IITKGP) for my civil engineering degree was as wet as Indian monsoon. The open spaces between the blocks of Rajendra Prasad Hall of Residence (RP Hall, the hostel of IIT) had turned into ponds, and half-naked boys were playing soccer while four-storied building corridors of both the blocks were packed with pretty wild spectators making fun of soccer players. Turned out that the soccer players were the “freshers” (newcomers) and the spectators the “seniors” (2nd-5th year students), and latest addition to “freshers” had just arrived on a “rickshaw” to join wet-soccer game. No sooner a ground floor room next to toilet (considered worst room of the block, the room gets better as you move to higher years) was allotted, there were two choices: join the half-naked soccer game or be dragged into it. Being alone in a strange place made the situation worst but was no excuse. When there is no connection to the rest of the world; you are powerless. So anger, frustration and/or homesickness have no place in you. Face ragging (rude interactions of seniors with newcomers) or leave the campus like a loser.

Once the “mass ragging” (final ragging) was over, life got back to normal. The tough seniors gave “freshers” canteen treats of “muglai paratha” (Indian flatbread with meat in-between) with tea and there was no need to “sir” them thereafter. Fair enough. Next it is your turn for “freshers” to “sir” you and ridicule them when they show their swim strokes on a concrete floor. Different time cycle, and unconnected college campus world that was.

The IIT Kharagpur was our world for five years, except for occasional glance on newspapers and “Doordarshan” (distant view literally) TV in common room, and once in a while quick jaunt to Calcutta (Kolkata now) to buy bell-bottomed pants and Beatles records from New Market, and eat Nizam’s beef roll. IITKGP admits smart students. Time and sleep were precious. The teachers lectured presuming students pre-read lessons. Those who hadn’t, went blank and could not participate in class. Teachers pronounced them dumb and ridiculed as intellectually unfit to be IITKGPians. All complex engineering calculation were done on slide rule (a ruler with a sliding central strip, marked with logarithmic scales and used for making rapid calculations including for functions such as roots, logarithms and trigonometry). Not even calculators existed. So engineering education revolved around teachers, books, labs and slide rules. Any other opening and/or education connection were beyond imagination.

Fast-forward 45 years, wonderful development progress has been made. Who will believe my obsolete story now? Certainly, not my granddaughter who teaches me how to use smartphone more smartly and googles anything that is new to her. Anyone can send videos, photos and texts real-time and make a voice/video call to anyone in the other corner of the world (distribution). And this blog is shared with everyone in the world through a connected central stage called google blogspot (concentration). The system is so connected now that the power is defined by such concentration and distribution. The new innovations on the concentration and distribution systems which are connected by countless devices and people add-up at unmeasurably quick pace. The learning apps (like BYJU) that can be downloaded on phone offer learning programs for students of all classes and for competitive exams. The students who are not given the intellectual space, freedom, or support to fulfil their educational potential and desire for learning can join virtual classroom in Piazza that connects students and professors from around the world. And there are Facebooks, Tweeters, eBays, Amazons, Alibabas, Agodas, Ubers, Didi Chuxings, Airbnbs, PayTMs and so on and on....

While the connected world gives ample opportunities to be part of power and influence through centralization and distribution, it is also true that the world leaves behind those who do not realize the value and power of connection to be dominated by those who do, at the pace much faster than the speed of connection innovations I just tried to depict from my school days till now. The connected system of profound concentration and massive distribution cannot be understood in simple either/or terms. Therefore we need to be able to understand and tap the advantages of network power. The world is moving fast, the pace of which I doubt if anyone can make even a rough guess!

Mainstreaming the Economy

1.         The economic growth these days cross-cuts every other field even ideology, not the other way round. If economic policies, planning and growth get subdued priority, overall development stagnates. The programs and projects will have minimum impacts on the lives of the people. In our situation, we need far-reaching economic foresight and robust policies, strong institutional measures, and mainstreaming thereof. The key to this will be a strong government organization/agency to act as the driver of economic policies (maybe my impression of the Planning Commission of early 1980s is still fresh). We are at very critical juncture, the reason why economic mainstreaming now is so very crucial. That is why change is necessary or inevitable to put it more frankly. The change is never easy and quick. What is at stake, I believe, is bigger than transformation that we may think is tough for mainstreaming the economy. The future is not to be feared, but embraced and to be made stronger if we have to leave better a place for our children/grandchildren.

2.          The economy seems directionless (para. 5 below) and highly government-centric. So private sector/NGO at this stage has capacity to neither complement change initiatives nor leverage any move to influence proper economic directional adjustment. Private sector is partner not subordinate. Without sound private sector and strong system of checks and balances, government (with low capacity) managing the economy (finance in specific) is always unstable and exposed to high risk for misuse, mismanagement, fraud, corruption etc. The change may need government to devolve powers, the reason why the changes/reforms are resisted. The resistance will increase once revenue flow increases substantially. Before that if the economy is in right direction set with courageous policy and institutional measures, all that is needed is "keep on walking". 

3.              The IMF has cautioned that “Risks are linked mainly to the high public external debt and the need to manage projected large hydropower-related revenues. If not properly managed, the large pickup in hydropower exports and the projected increase in export earnings and budget revenues could undermine macroeconomic stability and the competitiveness of the economy, resulting in overheating and external imbalances akin to those seen during 2012-13. In addition, Bhutan’s growth could be adversely affected by a growth slowdown in India triggered by delays in structural reforms.” I wonder if we can afford to remain status quo!

4.         “The fiscal incentives rendered to the business establishments through the Economic Development Policy (EDP) did not benefit the cottage and small industries but 39 high-end hotels and nearly 80 percent of business entities availing tax holidays located in Thimphu, Paro and Bumthang.” “After 20-months of operations, the Business Opportunity and Information Centre (BOiC) has closed shop and passed its mandate to the Rural Enterprise Development Corporation Ltd (REDCL), which was launched on May 21.” “Most activities executed under the Gewog Development Grant (GDG) in the last two fiscal years (2013-14 and 2014-15) are of no economic value to the local economy, the Royal Audit Authority (RAA) has found.” These words are from daily news, not mine. Obviously all these programs have been shallow for any in-depth impact on the economy.  Also the Guaranteed Employment Program is only good as numbers (take a look at MOLHR's Employment Agreement Form). These programs have failed to vitalize economic activities, and may have even acted counter-productive to initializing stabilization required which IMF is cautioning us about. The lack of accountabilty is appaling!

5.               It is time we be clear about the type of economic system we want to put in place that will best suit us taking into account our overall situation, heavy hydropower investments and externalities including globalization trend. Every country has potential to do well. The potential is lost if its citizens’ days do not take definite direction and are spread thin. The country’s ability to deliver requires combined efforts and core structural strength, individual as well as institutional, to perform, more specifically, in this digital age, ability to perform with creativity and innovation to a common goal.

6.            Once a firm decision on the economic system is taken, step by step transition to the new system with proper institutional measures is key to economic success. It will take time but taking a direction will make us move forward rather than every person/entity/organization circling around the hotch-potch of traditional, command, market and mixed economies based on their own (mis)interpretation/(mis)perception. For instance, the recent flash floods in southern Bhutan call for a strong capacity for river training and flood protection. It is highly specialized area that requires years of study, research, data analysis and implementation capacity. And the need for an institutional structure to take stock of and manage the country’s water resources and watersheds cannot be overlooked. Water is the most import resource of the world.

7.            The transition will call for high political willpower, commitment and foresight. The short-sightedness now will impair the longer-term perspective. It is going to be politically tough but will be good for the nation longer term. Take the case of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, & Nepal (BBIN) transport agreement. We need to see longer-term interest of the consumers, not short-term benefits to transporters. Let the transporters be slowly exposed to competition and come out strong. It will be good for consumers and also eventually for transporters. I cannot believe people seem to think there is alternative. The notion that the days of keeping economy closed, with unending flow of external assistance, will never end is simply mistaken. And so is the argument that bigger transporters from the region will overflow and dominate us. What matters is how smart we are, not how big we are because globalization knocks on every door and gives only two options: embrace or face force-entry!

9.    The change, in my view, is more inevitable than our misperception of its need. The approaches on how best to manage the change may differ. Ideas may flow in, some solid others sugar-coated hollow. Only open contest of bright ideas will drive the nation much ahead. 

10.    Late Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore said, "Well, we are pragmatists.  If in order to survive, we have to open up a sector, we open it up. Because the best test - the yardstick is, is this necessary for survival and progress? If it is, let's do it. We are ideology-free. What would make the place work, let's do it." Very True,  for small nations particularly!

Safety First!

We are in the midst of rainy season and very heavy at that, this year. There are reports and photos showing road formations and bridges damaged, villages destroyed, Sarpang market washed-out, traffic interrupted, people stranded and supply of essential items disrupted.  It is a natural calamity. People are panicking, worried and some even depressed. This is no time to put our heads down. Let us all keep our heads on our shoulders, keep spirit high and move on using our mind, belief, dedication and commitment.

In times like this I have seen in many places, time becomes very critical factor. Everyone will have their own account of losses because of disruption created by the natural calamity. Pressures to connect roads, rebuild bridges, resettle villagers, and relocate markets quickly build up. The authorities like to display their efficiency in handling emergency situation. This is no time to panic and make mistakes. The decisions should not be made making only time as the critical factor. We should prioritize safety above time. Let us not put lives at high risk to get things back on track haphazardly. So I say, SAFETY FIRST.

The critical areas where safety measures need to be implemented from beginning are roads and bridges. On roads and highways safety has to be ensured in two ways: (i) through technical measures; and (ii) traffic management & control.

(i)         Technical Measures

(a)  Ensure all structures are technically safe before opening the road to traffic.

(b)  Stability of bridge abutments is critical if temporary bridges are being launched.

(c)  Fresh cut areas need adequate formation widths and set back slopes;

(d)  Ensure water is drained out from the area as quickly as possible.

(e)  No unstable hanging rocks should be kept above the road.

(f)  After opening the road to traffic, constantly monitor the area by competent technical person for unusual soil and structural movements/behaviours.

(g)  The installation/construction  of road/bridge structures should be planned in such a way that (i) construction of permanent roads/bridges could continue without hindrances; and (ii) road workers are not put to high safety risk.

 (ii)  Traffic Management and Control (more critical where traffic volume is high)

(a)  To avoid traffic bottlenecks, traffic management & control plan should be prepared for controlling traffic from two points on both sides. The first point should be about 5 km before reaching the critical area, and second at the entry point of critical area.

(b)  Two way traffic should not be allowed on fresh cuts or on temporary bridges.

(c)  Bridge should take one vehicle at a time. Two or more vehicles should not be permitted on the bridge.

(d)  The traffic management & control plan should be widely circulated to public.

(e)  Vehicles should not be allowed to ply on critical areas during heavy rain.

Let us move ahead in one direction with much sense, not in multi-direction on panic-mode!

(These are not my off-the-cuff remarks and suggestions, but have come out of my experiences of handling disaster of national proportion in other countries as staff of the Asian Development Bank.)

Why do you think Jaigaon is booming?

The Bhutanese border town of Phuentsholing, our main commercial hub, and adjacent Indian town, Jaigaon, are separated by the main gate, few pedestrian entry/exit points, and the fenced partition. In 1980s when I looked down from Kharbandi hill-top, Phuntsholing was a vibrant town and Jaigaon just a strip at the tip of connecting Hasimara-Phuntsholing road. Since then Phuntsholing has now turned into Phuentsholing, and Jaigaon is a booming town, more like no. 3 city in West Bengal after Kolkata and Siliguri. Except for an additional ‘e’ and some Jaigaon-influenced growth, Phuentsholing has failed to serve effectively the rest of the nation. Jaigaon supports us with most goods and services, at heavy costs obviously. Why? Everyone’s perception is because it is so near to us that’s why. Wrong. Nearness is a factor but a lame reasoning why Jaigaon has become so important to us.

There are other important aspects along with proximity that puts Jaigaon at higher business echelon for its commercial boom. Proximity is a phenomenon, not an event or process, that happens due to strategic and other advantages (and our weaknesses?), not otherwise. The bad news is we may never be able to catch-up with Jaigaon (who says compete?). India is on its way to carry out structural reforms including introduction of new tax regimes such as goods & services tax (GST), bad bank loans clean-up and lure credible investors including FDIs, and also train its young population (65% of population is in less than 35 years age group) with an aim to supply to the world the productive Indian workforce, whereas we have nothing of the sort in plan, and not even looking forward to be on an economic dance floor. The contemporary examples below will give you some idea why sluggish Bhutanese private sector is dormant, and therefore Bhutanese entrepreneurs (will) find so very hard to catch-up with Jaigaon.

The reality is we have to import goods and services from India. Have we focused on framing smart policies, regulations and procedures centered around this reality to help make Bhutanese private sector vibrant for developing our economy? I believe, no, not at all. Without policy reforms focused on strengthening our own workforce and systems for economic development, parroting private sector as engine of growth is going to get us nowhere. And, we should not be big fan of miracles.

Broadly Jaigaon does business with Bhutanese in four ways, as: (i) an end-use seller, (ii) business to business (B2B) supplier, (iii) government proxy supplier through Bhutanese business to government (B2G) linkages, and (iii) service provider. They buy from other parts of India and sell direct to end-users and/or Bhutanese business enterprises in B2B set-up or through B2G links, and also provide services to both Bhutanese individuals and businesses.

Jaigaon is attractive to end-users as well as to businesses. The Bhutanese consumers find it beneficial for purchase from Jaigaon. The fact is consumer nondurable goods, motor parts, construction materials, electrical and electronic items and others are easily available and much cheaper in Jaigaon than in Phuentsholing. The Bhutanese are very price sensitive (not quality conscious as much) consumers. Therefore why shouldn’t one go there and buy? Let us take a look why it is advantageous through the angle of  the so called “ease of doing business” there and here.

Jaigaon has strong traditional-type supply chain: local, regional, national and even international (if rumours are to be believed). I have heard neither Bhutanese business houses nor the Government ever making solid efforts towards improving/strengthening Indian supply chain to benefit Bhutanese consumers. Naturally the Bhutanese business supply chains revolve around Jaigaon and its networks. They need Jaigaon help rather than being able to contend with it. So even B2B operations cannot bypass Jaigaon, except for some direct dealership of manufacturers.

For any import of goods from India, we need 7 invoices, yes seven. First, we need Proforma Invoice, based on which money is sent to supplier through Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) or bank draft. Upon receipt of the amount, goods are supplied that require 6 invoices: 1 for Indian customs, 1 Bhutan customs, 1 buyer, 1 for bank through which RTGS was sent, 1 more for Bhutan customs to process exemption certificate, and 1 copy goes back to supplier with buyer’s acknowledgment of goods. How many invoices will Jaigaon buyers require when they buy goods from other parts of India? Just two, one each for seller and buyer.

The payment to supplier through Real Time Gross Settlement or RTGS involves filling 2 forms, submitting an undertaking with a copy of citizenship ID and issuing a cheque. The “real time” transfer of fund from any Bhutanese bank to seller account in India takes 2 to 6 days depending on interest and efficiency of bank staff here and there. Sometimes it takes weeks. The Jaigaon trader can walk to the bank and deposit cash in supplier’s account real time.

The cost is the other important factor where two issues come into play: taxation and quality. Indian suppliers sell to Bhutanese on maximum retail price (MRP), with/without discounts (seller’s discretion). MRP includes Indian taxes, including value added taxes (VATs). Bhutanese import goods at MRP (minus small discount if any) and pay Bhutan sales tax (BST). Upon payment of BST, Bhutanese buyers apply for Indian tax Exemption Certificates that enable return to the Bhutanese buyers normally an amount of 14.5% of invoice value. Most of the Jaigaon suppliers do not accept Exemption Certificates issued by Department of Revenue & Customs (see below for the reason). Therefore Bhutanese consumers bear both Indian VAT (to the tune of 14.5%) plus BST.

The Bhutanese government bureaucracy is rusted and relaxed. It cannot make effort to see beyond imposing numerous (some outdated) rules and regulations. The Indian entrepreneurs are becoming innovative and globalized. They get goods manufactured all over the world and sell in India, after payment of applicable Indian import duty, as an Indian item with Indian rupee MRP but with label “ Made in (country of manufacture)”, e.g. “Made in Korea” for Hyundai spare parts. The Bhutanese have to pay import duty because of the label, even if it is imported from India. The fact that Bhutanese consumers have to pay double, Indian and Bhutanese, import duties and/or bear double taxation (Indian VAT+BST) are of no concern to our bureaucracy, because these are “as per the rules”. And, Bhutanese consumers do not come in the picture as far as government to government excise refund is concerned.

On quality, Jaigaon finds itself in a heavenly abode to supply spurious goods to Bhutanese. Jindal is an ISO 2001-2008 certified Indian company. Jindal corrugated galvanized iron (CGI) sheets (with its trade mark and ISI stamp) bought from Jaigaon corrodes in less than two years. Jaigaon suppliers know that Bhutanese cannot go back to take them to task for poor quality supply. They sell Jindal imitation at Jindal genuine MRP with discount (Jaigaon is expert in discount psychology), and do not accept Exemption Certificates because goods traded under shadow economy are not reflected in their books of account. Jindal is an example but you name it and they may have it. The GST (fingers crossed) may make such parallel economy disappear (hopefully).

The only area that has slight edge over Jaigaon is direct dealership of goods, the manufacturers/suppliers of which accept Indian tax Exemption Certificates issued by Bhutanese customs authorities, because of small tax advantage (14.5% in India against 5-10% in Bhutan), but not in any other terms. If the dealership is of product associated with after-sales-service, the advantage gets neutralized because of hi-fi sales with poor after-sales-services here.

How can any Bhutanese private sector possibly be price and quality competitive, play positive role and pass benefits onto Bhutanese consumers? And on top of all banks charge 14% interest (may be offsetting bad loans) on business loans compared with about 13% (which may come down significantly after bad loans clean-up) in India on working capital & term loans of Rs 25 lacs or less. Then...

There is no system of BST for services. Anyone can go to Jaigaon, and avail the services. I do not know anyone can or just doing it. The fact is Jaigaon fully encashes on poor quality of Bhutanese workforce and their low productivity, and our regressive imported labour policy. I believe there is no difference of opinion on workforce. The imported labour policy requires that all border towns employ non-nationals as day workers only, meaning they stay across the border and commute everyday to Bhutan for work. Let the institutional commitment, work ownership, organizational discipline, team work, labour control and management of Bhutanese enterprises be thrown out of the window. The workers commute everyday from Jaigaon for few years and then open their own businesses there that obviously has helped expand Jaigaon market. Jaigaon started with such people and Dadgiri (opposite Gelephu) is fast moving towards the capitalization (while we play around with our notion of one-half km land strip as national security buffer) which, for all you know, may accelerate after 19 May 2016. People go for services where good worker is, not where there is just a service. 

The rules do not apply when low calibre non-national skill-workers come into Bhutan under  work-permits and work as “thikedars” (proxy contractors). Jaigaon and its associates supply those “thikedars”. They need neither licences nor to pay taxes because they do not sign contracts. The immigration rule restricting the person to work in specific project for which the person has been recruited is mostly bypassed for the reasons known to regulators. The “thikedars” carryout multiple electrical, plumbing, painting, aluminium window or marble work contracts dictating their costs and terms to Bhutanese. They undertake such contract works under everyone’s nose. Can we not regularise award of such contracts to non-nationals making them follow country's rules and regulations and pay taxes if Bhutanese are not available or capable? I do not need to tell you which rule regulators apply -- "We have hundreds of electricians, plumbers and other skilled workers passed out from TTIs, and should get the works carried out by Bhutanese. Also award of contract to non-nationals are not permitted as per the rule.” The same illusionary lines that are repeated for years while the construction sector is exploited by unscrupulous elements. Everyone knows what the ground reality is! Why would anyone make an effort to regularize/systematize such award of electrical/plumbing contracts to non-nationals when people benefit from not doing it? As easy and simple as this!

The system is too loose and leakages far too many. The conservative imported labour policy refuses to trust Bhutanese entrepreneurs/investors on any account as far as non-national workforce is concerned. I still do not understand why the employers cannot be allowed to recruit non-national workforce as required and be made fully accountable with regard to their management, service utilization, and safe and secure habitation following the rules and regulations. The fact that it is the optimized blend of national and non-national workforce that stimulate economic activities and generate jobs, and also upgrades local skills is beyond comprehension of pseudo-regulators, and therefore not permitted "as per the policies/rules". What good is a policy/regulation/rule that revolves around comfort and convenience of regulators but is regressive to our own development, and therefore fails to serve Tsa-Wa-Sum (King, Country & People).

As long as standard of living is better on our side, the Jaigaon growth is imperceptible (is it also camuflaged?) or even if noticed it is not so much of an issue for most on this side. I wonder what would be the situation when the balance tilts on that side (may happen sooner than later). We may perhaps look back and say we knew North Korea, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, and New Guinea were east Asia's failed states, but not anymore because they now trade and interact with the world. It may, by then, be too late to ratify the Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal (BBIN) Motor Vehicle Agreement (MVA) and participate in BBIN economic zone, or to do anything of substance except watch Jaigaon pass by the window. The entrepreneurial spirit need solid support and encouragement. As of now I do not see any policy support forthcoming may be because as Upton Sinclair rightly said, ”it is difficult to get a man to understand something when his job depends on not understanding it.”

What I told young TVET participants

 Good afternoon young friends:

It is so nice to be here this afternoon in this beautiful campus of Technical Training Institute (TTI), Dekiling, talking to you, the young Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) participants. Let us be very informal and exchange views: feel free to ask me any questions, relating to my presentation or otherwise, any time during the deliberations.

Let me briefly introduce myself. My name is Sangpa Tamang and I run my private business in Gelephu. I finished my college education in civil engineering from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur, the prestigious institution now popularly referred as college from where Sunder Pichai (Chief Executive Officer of Google) graduated. After graduation I worked in Public Works Department (PWD) for 17 years. In 1990 I got a job offer from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and worked there 20 years. I have worked in most of the Asian countries including 5 years in China.

I thank the organizers for inviting me to guest lecture TVET participants today. All of you are young and you have your beautiful life in front of you. I will try to be as simple as possible so that you can understand whatever I am trying to tell you today. I am not used to lecturing school students. I want you to carry with you THREE simple thoughts that may help you succeed in life. If you did not understand ask me follow-on questions.

FIRST, purse your dreams in the areas of your interest. Think hard,  make your brain work and find what interest you the most. I am not talking here about casual interest. I am talking about field or area which you are very passionate and day-dream about. It can be anything but your thoughts should mostly revolve around it all the time and you can keep your focus on it no matter what externalities you face in life.

By now I have interviewed around 40 young candidates.  The first question I ask is, “what is your aim in life or what do you want to become in life.” I have yet to receive very captivating answer. Most of the answers were ”it is up to you, sir.” I feel sad to hear such answer. The mind is blurred, and probably the brain has never been put to hard work.  What else can I say?

And, What can I say when I see young people sitting on road culvert at 5:30 in cold winter morning without even realizing where they are and what they are doing there? I can only say they are ruining their lives even before taking some shape. You tell me what kind of an impression I should carry with me about today’s youth when I see these in front my eyes. I am not trying to project unnecessary bad image of your seniors. You may go and ask any private business person what they think of today’s youth in terms of their mental agility, intellectual sharpness, and work interest and productivity.

I am sorry to say that the private sector impression about the youths is not positive. You have a big responsibility to change that impression. You have to come out with the razor-sharp brain and put us, the private entrepreneurs, on the edge. We will love that. We will be proud of you.  And for this you have to be the best in your field. We want the best, not average, not mediocre. To be the best you must work hard in the area that interest you the most. There is no shortcut to hard work.

When we are born everyone has same brain. If you make it work, your brain becomes sharp and if not it becomes dull. You make it work and think hard about your field of interest. There is no small or big job. Success largely depends on the level of your interest, passion and commitment to the profession. Even best of the colleges in the world cannot go against your passion and interest. So pursue your dream in the area that interests you most.

SECOND, having made yourself sure about the area of your interest value add to your knowledge and capability. You may not understand what value addition is at this stage. I want to explain you with an example. You must have open and fertile brain to add value.

Let us take an example of a manual worker who works day and night carrying bricks, stones, sand and doing other physical works. An open minded worker while carrying bricks, cement, sand will see how the mason is working. In few months he starts to lay bricks and make a simple wall, and in a year or so he will learn how to plaster the walls. With his enthusiasm and interest in the work the person will learn in few years more delicate works of laying tiles and marbles on floor. In 10 years or so he may become a civil works contractor with his thorough knowledge on the job. This is how you go on adding value to your profession.

For you, the participants, attending this TVET program is also an opportunity for adding value to your knowledge base. You will have so many opportunities to add value but you cannot go on a haphazard fashion in the name of value addition. You must add value in the area of your interest so that you become the best person in the field. You are then confident to compete in open market of not only Bhutan but outside as well.

THIRD, respect and value knowledge because those who do not have respect for the knowledge will have no basis for gaining knowledge. There is no harm in saying you do not know, no matter how simple an issue may be. How can a person know everything? If the other person knows more than you, respect the person’s knowledge. This will keep your mind in positive frame and you become receptive to more knowledge inputs.

I want to tell you a story about valuing knowledge. There was a huge industrial enterprise having machineries worth millions of dollars. An old technician was in-charge of running and maintenance of the machineries.  Old man retired. New technician was recruited. After a while one of their machineries broke down. The new technician could not repair it. Even after hiring mechanical engineers, the problem could not be rectified.

So they called retired technician to come and take a look if he could repair it. He came and inspected and marked “X” on particular part of machinery with a chalk. A component of the machinery where he had marked “X” was replaced and it started running. The old man was asked about his fee for his service. He said it was $50,000. People were shocked. Just for marking “X” with the chalk he was charging $50,000. He was asked to give detail breakdown. He put his billing as: (i) Chalk = $1 and (ii) Knowing where to put “X” = $49,999. And at the bottom of the bill was a note in small script: "Most valuable knowledge is gained through experience. Learn to value and pay for it." This is knowledge and its value. Without the chalk mark, the multimillion dollar machinery would have been lying idle.

So, remember the THREE points I told you today. These will help you succeed in life. Do not waste your time and life. These are too precious to be wasted casually. The skills gap right now between skills required by private sector and those that graduates have acquired is huge. I sincerely hope that the program like TVET will bring awareness in closing the skills gap. And you, all the TVET participants, will try your best in closing that gap. The jobs are there but only for those who can do the jobs!

At the end I want to leave you  with following question that was asked in one of the job interviews. You think it over and over and try to find correct answer to it. If you cannot, do not worry about it. It is a simple but tough one.

There are three boxes, one contains only apples, one contains only oranges, and one contains both apples and oranges. The boxes have been incorrectly labeled such that no label identifies the actual contents of the box it labels. Opening just one box, and without looking in the box, you take out one piece of fruit. By looking at the fruit, how can you immediately label all of the boxes correctly?

Now I am ready to answer your questions if you have any.

Q: Why did you decide to invest in workshop?

Ans: It is an auto center providing more comprehensive auto services. Our objective is to provide quality products and services and also show an example for other private sector investors to invest in service sector.

Q: How do you manage your work and family well?

Ans: My children are grown-up and independent. Our grandchildren are looked after by their parents on day-to-day basis. We only see that our grandchildren do not cross certain boundaries. My wife is mostly involved in religious affairs. So my family management is fairly simple. And, I do not consider my business as work. It is my interest.

Q: What kind of problem you face in your business?

Our problem mainly is relating to quality of manpower. We are not able to optimize our national vis-a-vis imported manpower mix for better productivity mainly because of the conservative non-national labour policy.

Q: How do you overcome labour dispute in your business?

Ans: In any organization if you make a conducive work environment then labour disputes are minimized. We try to see the interest of our workers and are working on our internal service rules in a fair manner. We are small with 26/27 workers and do not see any major labour disputes arising in future having made the working environment more conducive and secure.

Q: Tell us about the difference in your experiences of working in government, international organization and private.

Ans: In the government, there are responsibilities, powers and accountabilities. In my time we constructed Tsirang-Dagana road and also fixed alignment of Wandi-Tsirang road. We used to sleep in jungles for months to connect the road to Dagana on time so that first National Day in Dagana could be held. In international organization, you have to be above the rest in knowledge otherwise you cannot advise the governments on the subject matter. It is a very prestigious job. Everyone looks up to you for knowledge. You cannot let them down. In private I am down on ground. People call me jinda/ malik/uncle/achho/daju/sir. I have no problem whatsoever. Our customers range from taxi drivers to contractors to government organizations. We treat them all equal, as our valued customers that matter us most.