Author: Amrita

No Silver – Serve on a Silver Platter Kaju Katli, a treasured Indian sweet, is more than just a delicious dessert – it embodies a rich journey, cultural heritage, and unique nourishment. Made from cashew, this sweet treat reflects a story of resilience and tradition that stretches across continents. From the Jungles to India: The Cashew’s Remarkable Journey The cashew’s journey began in the remote forests along the Brazil-Venezuela border. This “perpetual seed” traveled across oceans to the coast of India, where it found a new life. Unlike most foods, the cashew cannot be eaten straight from the tree. It needs to be roasted over fire – twice! Thus it earned its reputation as a “hard nut to crack.” In just a century, this nut has transformed into a staple for millions, now enjoyed by crores of people across the world. No Silver – Serve on a Silver Platter In India, Kaju Katli is often served on silver plates, a symbol of its elevated status. Though the sweet itself contains no silver, the tradition of serving it this way highlights the respect and celebration associated with it. Each piece of Kaju Katli reflects more than flavor. It is a treat that carries significance, served with reverence and enjoyed with gratitude. A Sweet for Strength and Well-Being Cashew is uniquely suited for human nourishment, integrating fully with the body without waste. This special quality makes Kaju Katli a symbol of “aayuh” (longevity) and “bala” (strength). As it reaches people worldwide, the cashew has become a gift from nature, multiplied and made accessible for the well-being of all. Gratitude for the Producers Behind each bite of Kaju Katli is the dedication of cashew producers. It is them who bring this unique nut to life, making it available for celebrations, traditions, and health. Their work has turned this simple seed into a global symbol of nourishment and joy. So, the next time you savour a piece of Kaju Katli, remember it’s not just a sweet. It’s the legacy of a nut that crossed continents, transformed by fire and tradition – to bring strength, joy, and gratitude to every celebration. == “It’s Diwali season and I’m trying popular Diwali sweets to see which ones spike my blood sugar the most. Today I’m trying 4 pieces of Kaju Katli, about how much I would normally have. 50 grams in total, 225 calories. Let’s see what happens. Last piece. Let’s see what my glucose monitor says 38 mg increase. Just 4 tiny pieces of Kaju Katli leading to this type of increase is not less. But on the bright side, it is lesser compared to when I had 2 Gulab Jamuns which had increased my blood sugar levels by 46 mg. But you know one thing I’ve noticed, whenever I have fruits with simple sugars, they tend to increase my blood sugar levels by similar amounts. For example, 1 plate of watermelon, 48 mg. 2 apples, 40 mg increase.” ==

Management Education in India – A Path Forward India’s management education is evolving to meet the demands of modern business. MBA programs must broaden their scope beyond traditional subjects like finance and marketing to prepare future leaders for a dynamic world. The landscape of Management education in India is undergoing a significant transformation. As industry demands grow, management education must progress and reform. The All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has developed an MBA curriculum with standards that apply nationwide. While this effort is commendable in bringing uniformity to management education, it is becoming evident that the current framework needs to evolve to match the dynamic needs of the industry. Management as an Art At its core, management is an art. It’s not just a technical or scientific discipline but a skillset centered around dealing with people, both within and outside an organization. Managing effectively has much in common with administration, whether in the government, its agencies, or other institutions. There is a need for more focus on administration in management education. Overemphasizing leadership alone can be limiting. As Swami Vivekananda wisely noted, “Leaders need followers,” which resonates with the idea that institutions also need dedicated individuals, or “foot soldiers,” for their smooth operation. Managers today need to adapt to a wide variety of fields, including Public Policy, Public Management, Public Finance, Administrative Law, and Urban and Regional Planning. Daily interactions in these areas also require an understanding of Ethics in Public Administration and International Relations. Currently, the three primary pillars of management education include Finance, Human Resources, and Marketing. While these fields remain crucial for producing competent managers, the increasing complexity of modern business environments demands a broader curriculum. The Need for New Specializations Management education in India needs to expand into emerging areas of specialization to stay relevant. Some key areas that require attention include: – Turnaround Management in Institutions: This field focuses on managing change and transforming organizations effectively. To make these advancements, several strategic steps are necessary: – AICTE should freeze approvals for new MBA colleges and focus on managing existing approvals to ensure that only well-managed institutions thrive, while underperforming ones are phase out through structured exit routes. The bottom 20 percent of institutions could benefit from partnerships with more competent managers to turn around their performance. – Voluntary exit from AICTE: MBA institutions should transition out of AICTE’s purview voluntarily. However, those remaining under AICTE should strive to improve from mediocrity toward excellence. – Focus on National Excellence: AICTE should continue to pursue national excellence in Engineering, while allowing management education to grow steadily toward higher standards. – Adoption and Collaboration: Existing MBA colleges owned by public trusts could be adopted, adapted, or managed by institutions such as the Reserve Bank of India, National Institute of Bank Management Pune, and the Competition Commission of India, among others. – Examinations and Training on Campus: MBA campuses should serve as hubs for RBI officer examinations and interviews. With campuses spanning around 12,000 square meters, they could host branches of commercial banks and serve as training grounds for future managers. – Merger of Training Institutions: Over time, all state-owned bank training institutions could merge with these AICTE-approved MBA colleges, reinforcing key values like credit, character, and capability. These institutions would also handle aspects of public administration, with a particular focus on ethics. The Role of Public Administration in Management Education Public administration will play a significant role in shaping the future of management education. Retired and serving public servants can lead courses, ensuring that students learn the values of effective governance and administration. These institutions can also play a role in improving governance by processing public opinion, analyzing submissions from citizens, and shaping them into actionable insights for legislators. By the time the drafts enter Parliament, they will be more thoroughly debated and implemented. Addressing Managerial Shortfalls The Reserve Bank of India has expressed concern over the managerial shortfalls in commercial banks. Safeguarding the trust of citizens in state-owned banks is a collective responsibility of the government. By addressing these gaps in managerial competence, the future of India’s banking sector can be secured. Conclusion As the transformation of management education in India continues, the hope is that these changes will put an end to the era of “coaching shops” and foster an era of excellence in administration and management education. The path forward lies in expanding specializations, improving institutional performance, and integrating public administration into management education. These steps will ensure that India produces not only capable managers but also ethical leaders.

The Ministry of Commerce can leverage the import of gold into sound channels to prevent smuggling. The cost of smuggling is around 4% of the value of gold, and it creates a very unhealthy and unsound mechanism where any purchaser in India has to resort to smuggled gold.  The sole objective of any exercise for orderly governance is not to encourage any unsound practices in trade by any action or inaction of the central government. The liberalization program has worked well, and India imports 700 metric tons legitimately. The first action of the Ministry of Commerce should be to outsource the data of the last five years of the actual handling of gold to a single agency so that all aspects of data and information can be reprocessed and made available to the ministry and to the people of India.  This is affordable and should be an official government program to handle the importation of gold through quasi-canalization, which blends the power of the government with making available all precious metals—gold, silver, platinum, and equivalents—in an organized manner. It should also permit the rapid recycling of gold within India under official domain. It is suggested that, as a government entity, Kolar Goldfields Limited can be engaged by the government for “custodial services” for up to 100 metric tons with the following sequence of security: 1. The President’s Bodyguard   2. The CISF   3. The Railway Protection Force   4. The regional police under the Ministry of Home of respective state governments This mechanism, effective for 100 metric tons, will then pave the way for India to have, by notification from the Director General of Foreign Trade and approval by the Cabinet, that only mined gold of prime quality with Indian markings and identifiable should be imported directly from the mining companies into India.  In this case, the sole carrier as a national carrier should primarily be Air India, but later, when the occasion arises under strict conditions, other wholly-owned Indian entities can be permitted. This can also include the Indian Post Office, which could act as the official carrier of gold to all districts of India. The custodial aspect of the primary gold can be with the General Post Office and handed over to the commercial banks under their custody. The commercial banks of India should offer custodial services for this gold at 1,200 locations under the same category of supervision in their owned premises, and this should be in visible format. The President of India shall be the custodian of the gold reserves of India in Rashtrapati Bhavan to the extent that the Cabinet permits. This shall be in public view, and visitors will be charged for visiting to understand the qualities of the precious metals that, as a sovereign, are held by the Reserve Bank of India as gold reserves, which means a fourth tier of official reserves.  The Reserve Bank of India, along with customs and other regulatory organizations, will hold it in primary form within Rashtrapati Bhavan, and this shall be in the public domain. This should be managed in such a way that there would be 100% transparency in how the gold price is determined by partly cryptic means and partly transparent means.  Therefore, Financial Benchmarks India Limited shall be the sole authorized benchmark price provider eight times a day -from 7:00 AM to 9:00 PM – which the people of India will recognize the rupee value of gold as a Reference Price.  The reference price shall be partly cryptic, with the President’s Bodyguard as the custodian of how the prices are worked out, and partly manual, based on visible transactions that occur in the world. Therefore, the price will always be mentioned in rupees per gram and not in any other currency, and this reference price will be respected by officials as well as all transactions operated in India. To give designation to the profession, all gold and precious metal employees in India shall be registered under all categories, including Aadhaar card, and also under an amended ESI situation.  Any performer within the precious metals industry shall be compulsorily a member of the ESI, as well as holding two accounts: a Public Provident Fund account in the Post Office and an account governed under the Provident Fund Act when employed.  This method of registration will then address the question of approved precious metal handlers, and wherever they are, they shall be treated with dignity. The custodians of primary gold will be responsible for making this primary gold available to all jewellery gold exporters. The visibility of gold should be such that all gold exporters shall be provided facilities at all international airports. Therefore, the first custody of any imported gold shall be visibly handled at the importation centres.  The Airports Authority of India Limited shall be the designated agency ensuring that every aspect of this is ecological and adheres to green standards.  Therefore, the Airports Authority of India Limited can raise ₹10,000 crores as bonds and create facilities for handling all precious metals. These facilities will include electric cars, visibility standards, and carriage standards for precious metals, both in visible and concealed forms, with the approval of the Home Ministry.  The carriage of precious metals within India should be regulated. The visible aspect of this needs to be that all orders processed for gold upon importation, when arriving from mining companies, should ensure that 25% of the gold value is paid in the home country’s currency, as approved by the Ministry of Commerce, the Reserve Bank of India, the Cabinet, and the Finance Ministry. For instance, when primary gold is imported from Australia, 25% of the payment will be in Australian dollars, and the balance would be paid in Indian rupees, which can be instantly converted into any other currency of the world in a designated Indian bank or a partly Indian-owned bank in that respective nation.  For example, if gold is imported from Russia, a rouble payment would be better than one in an international currency.  However, if a Rupee-Ruble arrangement is reached, rupees can be paid by a Russian bank to the Russian company.  In this form, rupees will get converted into gold, and gold into rupees, at any point in the nation or the world, only in customs-bonded zones.  This mechanism will create a gold and precious metals merchandise-related sheet on a real-time basis, updated every 24 hours, which will be made available by FBIL and the Commerce Ministry websites, managed by a single agency, 100% government-owned or partly government-owned.  This will ensure that India’s precious metal imports and exports are not measured as merchandise imports and exports, but rather recognized as capital. The public of India holds enough gold. Therefore, an examination is needed to determine whether the Reserve Bank of India should have the gold reserves or whether gold should be a form of convertibility.  All commercial banks in India or any financial entity should have fungibility, where they will examine global factors and Indian conditions. The availability of data in the public domain will add value.  Therefore, it is recommended that all precious metal imports and exports be removed from the trade statistics of general merchandise and that a specialized format be provided on a real-time basis. It should be understood that all underground transactions or gold held by evasion of taxes will be handled separately by the Central Board of Direct Taxes. Any form of precious metals that has been acquired with tax-paid money will not be dealt with in a negative fashion. The people of India must be informed that if there is a situation where gold needs to be held, it should be from tax-paid money. Therefore, transparency in this regard should also include constitutional education on various aspects, as the term “market” comes under the state list.  Any form of regulation should ensure continuity in the education on the rupee and the world. Therefore, as India is a dominant importer of merchandise, the value of Indian goods needs to be communicated to the world.  Every Indian should understand that any merchandise imported, when passing through customs, should be instantly processed at the value it has entered the Indian Union, and therefore the influence of India on world markets and world markets’ influence on India will be in the larger public domain. What is important is that the legitimate demand of exporters of jewellery needs to be provided seamlessly by delivery of prime gold when paid for at international prices of the moment. They should also get the benefits of value addition in India and compensated wisely for the difficulty of doing business in India, till obstacles are removed. What Ministry of Commerce can do in National Interest within its domain will have a great influence in shaping international trade and its effects.