Author Archives: Hari

What I learnt at a Football Game?

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Today, for the first time, had an opportunity to see the KC Chief’s in action live at an almost packed stadium playing the Indianapolis Colts. It was electrifying. The open stadium is filled with Red (the official colour of KC Chiefs) beating odds of a mild snowfall too. I loved the passion in each of the supporters. I cannot really compare to the crowds of a Cricket Match in India, but still, the passion was electrifying and i was so very impressed. I did learn few things from today’s game.

KC Chief’s has had a very good track this season, winning 11 Games out of the 16 games they played. The KC Arrowhead Stadium recorded to be the loudest stadium in the world on 13 October 2013 recording a sound level of 137.5 dB and I was looking to hear it. Unfortunately, the Chief’s did not fare well today and hence it was not that loud.

Now, what did I learn by being there?

The Passion

We see passion every day in many ways, but the way each of the audience were passionate about their game was electrifying. For all the 60 minutes, each one was so engrossed in the game that they did not even bother the chilly weather around them.

Learning – No matter what the situation is, be passionate of what you do. Results will definitely follow.

Pre-Game

When my friend Jeff, who was kind enough to invite me told me that he would pick me at 8:30 AM in the morning, I thought the game begins earlier only to understand they they get together, set up tent’s, cook, have a beer and then head to the game which starts at noon. It has been snowing for the last 24 hours (mild showers though), but even then, I saw families (adults and kids) by the time we reached there around 9 AM who have set up tents, heaters and grills to cook and have fun. Trust me, I would have given it a pass, but thanks to the opportunity, I wanted to see it. I heard these stories earlier, but experiencing in person is so different.

Learning – When you have a passion, you beat the odds. Have passion in you always so that it takes you places and gives you the confidence that you can do what other’s can’t. When I reached there and saw the parking lot, all my laziness was gone and I was part of the crowd.

Beating the odds

I said it earlier, the whole aspect of living is to beat the odds. Defying the weather, taking time out on a Sunday to be at the Stadium to cheer their home team was so awesome. I knew America took pride in their game’s and teams, but this is completely different for me.

Persistence 

In the first Quarter, Chief’s made 7 and as usual, the energy was filled in the whole stadium. However, they could not get pass that mark in remaining quarters. No one in the crowd even thought of leaving till the last minute of the game just waiting to watch if things could turn around.

Learning – This is persistence for me. Wait till the end to ensure you support your passion and don’t bother of the result.

When the World is against you

I put myself in the opponent’s place for a moment. The stadium is packed with Red Colour, it is not their home ground, the first Quarter was bad with no point on the scoreboard. Technically, I could not hear any one voice supporting them, however, they played their best and went on to take over the game.

Learning – When you are following your passion to win, the whole world is not with you. Even then, standing there believing in yourself takes you places.

 

KC Chief’s play the Chargers on the 29 December in San Diego. I wish nothing but the best for them. KC Chief’s have not won a Super Bowl since 1969 and I really hope and wish this Christmas, they realise the dream and go on to with the World Championship title.

Go Chief’s….

Arrowhead 1 Arrowhead 2 Arrowhead 3 Arrowhead 4 Arrowhead 5 Arrowhead 6 Arrowhead 7

 

Gadget Review: Bose SoundLink Mini

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No matter what music does – Motivation / Relaxation / Rejuvenation, it is all in the way you listen to it. Musicians take their lives out to create the best they can to ensure we live our dreams.

The key component of music is the notes, the notes which create the vibrations required to touch your senses and instigate you with the best of your thoughts.

Music does the same to me. Makes me romantic / inspires me and helps stimulate the best of the vibrations in me. I am sure it is the same for most of us.

When i chose to buy my home music player, I chose the speakers which gave the best sound out-put, which means all components of the music should be given equal importance and all notes are to be played they way they were recorded. The amplifier is the key, but what if the amp does its best and speakers don’t deliver as expected? 🙂

I decided to upgrade and buy a Bluetooth Speaker to get more out of my music. There are good number of options available today, however, as we all have our economical and environmental influences, we tend to reduce or settle for something less just to keep our hearts content.

Considering the ease to carry, size and cost, I shortlisted the Logitech UE Mini Boom and the Bose SoundLink Mini.

The Logitech UE Mini Boom is a very handy, portable and light speaker which can fit in a corner of your bag and come along without adding a lot of weight. It also has a iOS app which can help you with a little configuration and also if you choose to “double” up the Mini’s, you can use the app to control the output.

The Mini Boom is Lightweight, comes in various colours and has a Battery life is around 8 Hours (in medium volume).
The output of the music is not to its best. It gives priority to the Bass and hence you feel that you are listening to your music having your ear on the wall/table. It gives you that vibrational effect which might kill the essence to the kind of music you are listening.

The Mini Boom costs $99 and you can double it up without much additions to the output. However, when you double up, the distribution between the two is good.

The second option I considered is the Bose SoundLink Mini. The one word I can use to best describe this piece is Value for your Money. It does what it needs to do – deliver the best music quality in its class. It is not too heavy (heavier than UE Mini Boom though), a little bigger in size, but can definitely get into your backpack.

The bass is good and it differentiates the notes without mixing up the tunes. I listen to Rock, Indian Classical and Carnatic music and for these, the note differentiation makes all the impact. The bose delivers good sound output too.

When you add the SoundLink Mini to your iPad and watch a movie, you can definitely have a better output than your TV. I really enjoyed watching an action packed movie with the speaker.

There is an optional Speaker case which you can buy on Amazon which can organize your bag and speaker components.

In summary, considering where the Bluetooth technology today is, Bose has made the best use to give it’s best. Go for it and be Inspired..

Does India Need an EMR?

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When we look at understanding how we can address the major gaps in providing Quality HealthCare, the one point which comes to mind is why we are not utilizing the power of Technology to bridge this gap.

Let me start with a story – Few years ago, I had to take my Dad to a Doctor for cough. We went to a Speciality Hospital near to a home (a Major Brand, do not want to use the name here though). This hospital had two facilities in the City. When we went there, the first thing which happened in the Registration. A Plastic Card (dimensions of a Credit Card) was printed with a picture and basic details – DOB, MRN and Place of Issue were printed.

After the initial check up, the Doctor wanted a test to be done which was not available in this facility and hence we were requested to go to the other one. After going there, I provided the card to bring out the details of the test ordered. The front office person informed me that they do not have connectivity with the other Branch and hence I had to pay the registration fees (Rs.100) and post that, looking at the Hard Copy of the Prescription, entered the details. Then I had to go to another Doctor (since the consolidated list of Doctors in the Hospital is not available and the prescription had to be cross checked) to re-confirm the test and then we proceeded for the test.

This hospital has made major investments in using Technology in their Hospitals. Staff are trained and the charges of this Hospital is also definitely not nominal.

What does this story illustrate? A simple aspect of integrating two facilities has not been taken seriously. Why? Is it because they lack the technological infrastructure? Or, is it because they can make more money (Double registration fees)? Or, is it unwillingness to invest further on the technology required to integrate? There are many questions which arise, however, for me, it is just the fact of lack of “Ownership” from the management side.

In a country like India where the demographics play an important role, there are many multi-national Hospital Chain’s and single facilities which have setup shop across the country over the last decade and continue to do so with huge investments coming up in the next decade.

The Government, with due respects has its own, things to do and hence am not even considering the fact that they should take ownership to force Hospitals to implement any automation to their care facilities.

With the vastness of the Country dynamics and considering the fact that the system works in a silo, is it easy to consider implementing basic EMR across all Hospitals and Clinics across the country? I do not think so.

Even though technology has become affordable, the socio-economic factors like affordability of Care facilities with-in a 10 KM radius across the country makes it difficult to even imagine implementing EMR across the country.

Continued – Part 2

Indian HealthCare Education – How is it distributed?

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India ranks 112 in the World Health Organisation (WHO) Ranking of The World’s Health Systems. When it comes to per-capita spending on Health Care, India spends a little over 6% of GDP on HealthCare.

These are the common statistics which we see every day. What I wish to share are the other aspects of Indian HealthCare system which provide a strong support.

Imagine this, India is the World’s Second Largest Populated country and it is projected that we will overtake China by 2050 and the reality of data according to WHO is that India has about 0.49 Doctors and 0.80 Beds for every 1,000 Population in the country. When you hear/see these numbers, it does sound alarming! How are we going to put up with the Population Growth, provide basic HealthCare and create an Ecosystem for building robust Health Services across the country?

If the situation is bad when compared to other developed economies, then how is our Average Life Expectancy has been steadily increasing over the years? In 1947, when India got Independent, Life Expectancy was 47 Years and today, after 65 Years of Independence, we are at 65 Years. By 2025, it is projected that Life Expectancy would be 72 Years.

All the Health data which we see is primarily considering the English Medicine System or Allopathy. India and also other countries offer alternatives to the English Medicine. What we will look into here is how the HealthCare is structured and Health Education along with fundamental understanding on how Government spends its 6% on HealthCare along with what reaches the population living Below the Poverty Line (BPL).

HealthCare Systems in India

India has the most number of HealthCare systems when compared to any country in the world. Below are the five most known systems.

  • Allopathy (English Medicine)
  • Homeopathy
  • Ayurveda (Traditional Indian)
  • Unani
  • Naturopathy & Herbal Medicine

Formal Education for Doctors

India offers education in Allopathy, Homeopathy, Ayurveda, Unani and Naturopathy & Herbal Medicine. All education is recognised and Doctors who pass out of colleges are given license to practice any where in the country.

The below graph shows the admission trend to Graduate Allopathic Medicine Course over the last 20 Years. If we carefully observe, there has been a decline in admissions in the last two years when compared to earlier. Interesting.

MBBS Admissions

 

The Dental Education has quite picked up in the mean time. However, it is a poor state where the enrolments to Post Graduate Programs has been less than 10% of the actual Graduates. There are certain strong reasons as to why this happens and we will look at it later.

BDS/MDS Admissions 1991 – 2011

 

Now, let us have a look at how the Medical Education System is structured in India.

Medical College Distributions

 

Allopathy accounts to only 39%, which is around 314 Medical Colleges. in the remaining 71%, Ayurveda has 31% (249 Colleges), Homeopathy has 23% (186 Colleges) and Unani has 39 Colleges, Siddha has 8 Colleges and Naturopathy has 10 Colleges.

 

 

List of Incubation Center’s in India 2012

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In 2007, I posted a list of Incubation Center’s in India. However, in the last 5 Years, things have changed and there more and more center’s being added to the list. Below is an updated list and am sure am missing quite a few. If you know any center I am missing, please feel free to add as a comment and I will update the list.

NS Raghavan Center for Entrepreneurship and Learning (NSRCEL), IIM Bangalore
Technology Business Incubator BITS Pilan
Center for Innovation, Incubation and Entrepreneurship IIM Ahmedabad
Entrepreneurship Cell IIT Kharagpur
Center for Entrepreneurship SP Jain, Mumbai
C-TIDES IIT Chennai
TeNeT IIT Chennai
Society for Innovation & Entrepreneurship IIT Mumbai
Nirma LabsSIDBI Innovation & Entrepreneurship Center IIT Kanpur
Entrepreneurship Development Center IIT Guwahati
Foundation for Technology and Innovation Transfer (FITT) IIT Delhi
Abhiyan IIM Lucknow
E-Cell IIM Kozikode
Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship IIM Kolkata
Entrepreneurship Development Institute Ahmedabad
ICFAI Center for Entrepreneurship Development Hyderabad
MICA Entrepreneurship Development Center Ahmedabad
Wadhwani Center for Entrepreneurship Development ISB Hyderabad
TIME-IS DST, Government of India
JSS Academy Science & Technology Entrepreneur Park Noida
National Institute of Industrial Engineering Mumbai
Entrepreneurship Center IIT Rorkee
Ekta Incubation Center West Bengal University of Technology
E-Cell NIT Trichy
VIT Technology Incubator Vellore
Technopark Technology Business Incubator (T-TBI) Trivandrum
Center for Bio-Technology Anna University Chennai
National Design Business Incubator Ahmedabad
NIT Calicut
International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics Hyderabad
Kongu Engineering College NEN e-Cell Erode
Advanced Materials Technology Incubator Hyderabad
Center for Entrepreneurship SPJMIR Mumbai
North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Guwahati
NSIC Technical Services CenterBirla Institute of Technology Mesra
NIT Suratkal
STEP, BEC Bagalkot
Maulana Azad NIT Bhopal
Science and Technology Park, University of Pune
Science and Technology Entrepreneurs Park Ludhiana
STEP – Thapar Institute of Engineering & Technology Patiala
STEP – PSG College of Engineering
IncuCapital TechnoPark Trivandrum
ICICI Knowledge Park Incubation Center Hyderabad
Gujarat GrassRoots Innocations Augmentation Network Ahmedabad
CIE IIIT Hyderabad
L-Pad

 

Issues with HealthCare IT in India

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Over the last few years, have been fortunate enough to be working with the HealthCare sector in India.

In the due course of time, I have been interacting with IT Departments of various Hospitals (Very Large and Large and to some extent at the Primary Health level too). What I have been trying to understand is the key reasons as to why the IT penetration has been at a distant in the Indian Hospitals. There are quite a few valid reasons and I also encountered one other not-too valid reason, but will have to give it a benefit of doubt.

Time factor – One of the key factor why Hospitals see resistance from Doctors to use IT systems is because of the number of clients (patients) they need to see. On an average, a Doctor in any Hospital in India see’s an average of one client every two minutes (the raw data might be even more). In these two minutes, the Doctor has to understand his client problem, establish a connection (Important in the Indian Context), provide guidelines for the analysis and prescribe. The complete process takes definitely more than two minutes, and if the Doctor tries to spend time on the computer taking notes, his/her client might not appreciate it and not return back to them. People in Cities understand the importance of technology, however, in India, as 80% of the population still lives outside Cities, it might not be practical for the Doctor/Hospital to make them understand the same.

Cost – The second most important reason which needs serious consideration. 70% of HealthCare costs are “out of pocket”. Hence, when Hospitals/Doctor’s Clinic implement the use of technology, client tends to understand that cost of treatment is “higher” and hence avoid’s those kind of Hospitals/Doctors.

There is no support for Hospitals/Doctor’s to use Technology from the Government. Hence, the cost has to be shared by the client, which directly impacts their revenue.

Technology Education – There are no initiatives by the Government to spread awareness of the benefits of using Technology to end users. Even though there might not be immediate acceptance for this, on the long run, people would definitely see the benefit.

As an illustration, Government of India spend considerable time and money on the “Eradicate Polio” initiative and this has been a success. Even though initially the message was not taken seriously, now when a child is born even in the remotest place of the Country, parents immediately inquire of the Polio Drops schedule and ensure that their child gets them. The results speak for themselves – Today, India is “Polio Free”.

Variety of HealthCare Practices – India is a very large country and has variety of HealthCare Practices – Homeopathy, Allopathy, Unani etc. People change their practice depending on the kind of ailment. I have also seen and known people who follow a certain practice sticking to the treatment in serious conditions too, but very rare.

This does not have a direct impact on the HealthCare System/Process, however, this plays a vital role when people shift their accustomed practice.

More detailed information on various practices and Infrastructure in my earlier post.

Acceptance by all Stakeholders – Even though every Individual accepts that IT is an integral part of delivering Quality HealthCare, acceptance by all stakeholders also plays a very vital role in rolling out technology solutions.

As an Illustration, Government employees need to submit manual receipts and documentation for their medical reimbursement. Also, many Insurance providers do not completely follow the approval and reimbursement process online.

In summary, a Hospital/Doctor’s office is not encouraged in all aspects to implement Technology. There are many a times when they need manual documentation. To avoid multiple process flows, Hospitals keep their Technology inquisitiveness away.

However, things are changing. With a recent success story of how the Andhra Pradesh Government implemented Aarogyasri, many states have been trying to follow the same.

There are quite a few other concerns and problems for Hospitals to implement IT, however, if we have a humble beginning, success will definitely follow.

Startup Weekend

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I got associated with Startup Weekend recently and have been thoroughly enjoying my association with them. Am working with the team who is bringing the Hyderabad edition and wanted to share all the information regarding the event here.

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Entrepreneurship, technology and innovation have never been as important in our world as they are today. With that, entrepreneurs and innovators across India need all the help they can get through mentors and meeting the right investors.

At Startup Weekend (www.StartupWeekend.org) we bring together aspiring entrepreneurs and provide a platform to give shape to their ideas.

Startup Weekend (www.StartupWeekend.org) is founded by Andrew Hyde in 2007 and funded by Kauffman Foundation. You can read more about us at http://startupweekend.org/about/our-story/

What happens at SW?

More than 100 aspiring minds come together to identify ideas to give shape. All 100 can share their ideas or they can be part of another idea. Ideas are shortlisted, teams are formed and over the next 48 Hours, the idea takes shape. We have Investors, Idea Evaluators, and Mentors available to guide teams through the process. On the last day, ideas are presented and the shortlisted ideas take away cool prizes.

Startup Weekend in India

Startup Weekend came to India in 2011. The first two events were organized in Delhi (March 4-6, 2011, http://delhi.startupweekend.org) and Bangalore (March 11-13, 2011, http://bangalore.startupweekend.org).

During Delhi Startup Weekend, 34 Ideas were Pitched, 10 Teams formed; 8 Partners, 5 Mentors.
During Bangalore Startup Weekend, 67 Ideas were Pitched, 15 Teams formed; 7 Partners, 4 Mentors, 20% of teams won prizes.
Now, we are bringing Startup Weekend to Hyderabad from 2-4 September 2011.

To know more about the event, visit http://bangalore.startupweekend.org. You may also join our announcement only mailing list at https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en#!forum/startupweekendind, which will keep you posted on the event and other details.

Choosing to Cruze

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Having read the title of this post, am sure you know by now what I am going to rave about. But, before that, wanted to dedicate a paragraph for my earlier beast and king of India Road, the Mahindra Scorpio.

What do I say? In one line, there is nothing to beat a Scorpio  for the price range and for the comfort even today and I am also sure that there will be no competition in the near future too. Mahindra struck the right chords when designing that car. When I was buying it, friends and family said that it is too big a car to drive in Bangalore, but I did not give in. Went ahead and today, I have no regrets of having bought it. I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of the last five years. As I was closing in to 80,000 KM, the only thing I was not enjoying is that the Clutch was getting heavy (or rather the traffic is increasing). Read all about my drives and maintenance schedule on my blog (Scorpio Maintenance,Scorpio Drives)

I wanted to move  to a car as there are no SUV’s in the price range I was looking 🙁 Started my research in January 2011 and it took me five months to close in to Cruze.

Available Options
Not many, but just three – VW Jetta, Honda Civic, Skoda Laura and Chevrolet Cruze.

Check out the video comparison between the three cars from AutoCar.

VW Jetta – Apologies, but a straight NO. They do not have an automatic variant in Indian market and does not even come with 50% of the features what its competitors have to offer.

Skoda Laura was always out of my lists as I personally believe that it’s prized high above it’s true value. Also, the reviews I have been reading of the after sales service kept me away. Adding to these, the maintenance costs are High too. Also, Automatic transmission is close to 20 Lakhs, which is way above my budget. Also, the true comparison is with the L&K 2.0 TDI AT which is way beyond in the price for me.

Honda Civic was in my mind. Like many other reviewer’s, I was also skeptical about the ground clearance. Let me share my experience. One day, in December 2010, I went to Magnum Honda at Mekhri Circle and was speaking to their sales person, Mr. Santhosh, a wonderful sales person. When I talked to him about the ground clearance, he said only one thing, “I will give you the complete list of Civic owners in Bangalore and Bellary (a mining area in Karnataka where the roads are very bad and this I heard and I have never been there), you randomly pick any 10 numbers, call them and ask them if they have spent any money on the car maintenance because of the low ground clearance and even if two out of the ten you choose say yes, then I will get you the car at an unbelievable price for you” are the exact words he told me. I was really impressed with his challenge. Also, if there are people spending around 15-17 Lakhs on the car and if this was a real big problem, there would not have been any sales for the car was my thought. Also, he bough the car and took me for a long drive and made me drive in places where there is no road and also ensure that i went on all the speed breakers. I did hit the bottom of the car when was crossing few speed breakers, but it was only scratching my heart and not the car 🙂 I was very impressed with the confidence of Mr. Santhosh. My parents liked the car and especially, my mom was very impressed because it had a very large rare door which was making it very convenient for her to get in and out. My mom loved the silver colour and her pick was the Civic with Silver colour.

Chevrolet Cruze – I test drove this car way back in November 2010 and was very impressed in the first ride. My heart went to it, but somehow could not relate an American Car with a Diesel engine; Didn’t know the history of Cruze by then and now, I know. So, accepted 🙂

Comparing the Overview, Specification, Features, Other Features of all the Four Cars.

What I was looking for?
In the order of priority:
1. Sturdiness
2. Power
3. Safety
4. Ability to do long drives without tiring me 🙂
5. Value for my sweat and blood

Before I go into details of each of my requirements, let me share my shortlists – Honda Civic and Chevrolet Cruze.

Sturdiness
What is Sturdiness and why have I rated this on the top?
sturdiness is the state of being vigorous and robust or the property of something that is strongly built or resoluteness evidence by strength of character.

  • Civic fails to impress me on this. It is delicate (looks delicate though).
  • Cruze looks like a leopard sitting on the ground with all four legs stretched (Not comparing to BMW et all)

Body Structure (Civic Vs Cruze)
  • Read the Civic Skeleton/Body structure details here. Honda introduces the Advance Compatibility Engineering (ACE) body structure with the Civic.
  • Read the Cruze Skeleton/Body Structure details here.

I am sure you got the synopses of both the structures, both are well engineered and crafted to be sturdy. With my limited knowledge of detailed design of the structure, I rate Cruze 1 point more than the Civic in this category.
Power

One of the most important factors for me. I got used to a bit powerful car and wanted my next one to be a bit more powerful, not just in the books, but in actual performance too. (Scorpio comes with a 122 PS @4000 RPM Power, but the wheel base and Torque of 290Nm @1800 RPM gives you the feeling of power).

Civic promises a 132 BHP powered petrol engine but losses it’s edge in the torque with 172Nm@4300 rpm.
Cruze comes with a 150 BHP 2.0 Ltr VCDi engine with a displacement of 1999 CC and 327Nm@2600 rpm. However if you test drive both, you will clearly see the difference in the initial pick up itself.
This was the killer. By now, I have almost decided on Cruze 🙂

Safety
Two categories to note – Passenger Safety and Pedestrian Safety (Because, it is common in India for people to cross the street suddenly, not because they want to, but because there is no other option).
Passenger Safety

  • Both Cars come with Driver and Passenger Air Bags. Outside India, Cruze also comes with Air Bags for the rare passengers and also the top. Unfortunately, they do not have this in India 🙁
Pedestrian Safety
  • In Civic, to help reduce pedestrian injuries in the event of a collision, the hood and fender areas are designed to deform if contacted by an adult or child pedestrian. Energy-absorbing collapsible hood supports, wiper arm pivots and fender mounts are designed to allow substantial deformation in an impact.
  • In Cruze, the protection design to the hood and relating hinge structure reduces the chance of pedestrians striking the engine block.

I am not going into the finer details, both cars come with ABS. However, Cruze comes only with ABS and Frond and Rare Disk Breaks, where as the Civic comes with ABS, EBD and BA along with Front Ventilated Disc Breaks and Disc Breaks for the Rare.

What is ABS and EBD? Read the definition here
.

Ability to do long drives, without tiring me 🙂
I love driving and my drives relax me. With the Santro (2003 May – 2006 May) and Scorpio (June 2006 – May 2011), I totally clogged 1,32,000 KM (55,000 KM in Santro and 77,000 KM in Scorpio), averaging about 1,375 KM per month.

Naturally, my next car should be something with should take me further and relax and provide more pleasure. Considering the Psychological aspects of the low ground clearance and not providing enough power to substitute, Cruze won more points.

Value for my sweat and blood…
This is quite natural for everyone 🙂 and I am no exception. I earn my money and naturally, it should not go waste. For me, Car is an Investment (I am sure for any Man, it is), but a little more for me.
Somehow, my heart was not 100% ready with the investment on Civic, but definitely 101% for the Cruze.

Identifying the Dealer
I initially went to Sundaram Motors on Kasturba Road, Bangalore. The sales person was decent. He asked me when I was planning for the car and I said immediate. I told him that I would come back in 2-3 days with the documents required. I was back to research on the dealership and did find few issues with the dealership, sales and service. I live in North Bangalore and was seeing if there was any dealership in this part of the town so that the service center is nearby. I figured out that there was Trident Chevrolet dealership in Kalyan Nagar and called them. Went there on a Sunday morning and Mr. Arun greeted me. I was comfortable with Trident because I bought Santro also with Trident.

Experience with Dealership and the Sales Person
Mr. Arun is a very calm and sober Sales person. He has been with Trident for over 8 Years and ensures that the customer is happy with their selection 🙂 I bugged him to the core with my questions. I used to call him once in a week (I waited for 4 weeks for the Cruze) for a test drive and he patiently used to come and give me a ride…

Call Arun on 97437 86901 if you are looking for a Cruze and you will not regret it. I am in no way marketing for them, but just sharing my experience with Trident and Arun.
Customization

If you ask me, no customization required.

Music System – The music system in Cruze is not a very good one. It is decent one. I am still researching on the Stereo, will post after I find out a good fit.

Types – Cruze comes with JK Tyre, not the best. They should have given Bridgestone or Michelin. I am not changing them now, but if you are looking to customize, do read Choosing the right Tyre for your car.

In Dash Multi-Purpose System – Caska is the one of the best which is custom made for Cruze. It includes DVD Player, Bluetooth Phone integration, GPS Navigation and iPod Integration. One Team BHPian has got it, check out pictures and his review here.

Choosing to Cruze
I booked the Car 6 June 2011 and got the delivery on the 30 June. Click here to check out the pictures.



What Book has changed your Life?

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Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid

I read this book way back in early 2005 and it did quite change my thought process. Even though this book focus’s on helping Organizations understand how Innovative Products work in the Emerging markets, there is a key take away for Social conscious people like me.

The book embarks on a journey, in which Late Dr. Prahlad argues that organizations always work with the top and middle of the pyramid, but forget the largest part of the pyramid. Any products and service can be produced at better quality for a lower price when it reaches many more than what is anticipated. The discussion/argument is not about the exclusive products like cars or luxury items, but others which are quite necessary. The book takes you thorough case studies of organization who have innovated to help people who absolutely need few things, ranging from Home to HealthCare to daily consumables.

I am not going to go deep into any of the case studies, but would like to share how it motivated me to think differently. Before I read this book, my understanding of the world and organizations was very limited, but this book opened my eyes to a whole new world of understanding what consumer needs and how this has changed they organizations did business.

Today, we have organizations building even cars exclusively for the price sensitive population (Tata Nano car which costs only $2,500). The products and services which have been innovated for the bottom of the pyramid (price sensitive population) also has impacted the middle and top of the pyramid. Organizations realized this a bit late. The prime understanding of any good producer is that any product/service accepted by consumers will always be accepted. However, one aspect which organizations miss is that even in non-price sensitive markets, people consume only limited quantities. However, when you produce goods and services in smaller quantities, acceptance might also go up!

Look at the classic example of Aravind Eye Clinic in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India. This organization has constantly innovated from the beginning to provide cost effective eye care. If you speak to the founder, his inspiration is McDonald’s. He was amazed the Quality of food available at any of the McDonald’s outlets across the world, which is precisely the same anywhere and everywhere. Being an ophthalmologist, he wanted to create something which has the same quality anywhere and everywhere. Today, Aravind Eye Clinic performs more than 600 eye surgeries each day and these surgeries cost as low as $50. What is the outcome? Acceptance in the 80% of Rural India that they too can better their lives.

If I keep quoting case studies, the list goes on. However, the key take away for me is to produce something/anything which can be accepted at the bottom of the pyramid and impacts their lives. This will translate to acceptance at the middle and top of the pyramid too.

HealthCare Infrastructure in India

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There have been many articles, research papers and writeup on this topic available on the web. As part of a research project, I managed to gather some data points for understanding the State of HealthCare in India. Thorough this post, would like to share my findings and provide some references for a better understanding on this subject.Economically, India has been consistently growing at over 8% GDP every year for the last 3 years and if the Economists prediction goes right, we will continue to grow the same way for the next few years.

HealthCare is one of the key parameters in which a country’s Development and stature are measured. To begin this discussion, let us first understand the structure of HealthCare in the Indian Context.

Primary Health Care is essential health care; based on practical, scientifically sound, and socially acceptable method and technology; universally accessible to all in the community through their full participation; at an affordable cost; and geared toward self-reliance and self-determination (WHO & UNICEF, 1978).
The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified five key elements to achieving this objective:
  • Reducing exclusion and social disparities in health (universal coverage reforms)
  • Organizing health services around people’s needs and expectations (service delivery reforms)
  • Integrating health into all sectors (public policy reforms)
  • Pursuing collaborative models of policy dialogue (leadership reforms); and
  • Increasing stakeholder participation.

Primary HealthCare in India

In 1947, the year of India’s independence, average life expectancy was 29 years and today, in just 63 years, it has reached 65 years. According to estimates, it will reach 74 Years by 2025. There are many reasons for this impressive progress in life expectancy in India and one of the key reasons is the maturity of the Primary Health Care facilities and services in India.

PHC was conceptualized in 1946, three decades before the Alma Ata declaration, with the recommendations of the Bhore committee, that laid emphasis on social orientation of medical practice and high level of public participation. The government followed it up with setting the Community Development Plan in the 1st 5 year plan (1951-55) and Health Survey and Planning Committee in the 2nd 5 year plan.

Primary HealthCare as a key initiative has been an Objective only in the 9th 5 Year Plan (1997-2002).

  • Department of Women and Child Welfare (DoWCW) is responsible for the overall implementation of HealthCare schemes in India.
  • The Central Government is responsible for providing funds for HealthCare infrastructure across the country.
  • The State Government is responsible for allocation of funds to respective regions and building up the personnel and HealthCare facilities across the state.
  • At times of emergency, the Central Government is responsible for collecting and distributing Medicine’s and required support to the state/region.
  • The Government provides a three-tier (Primary, Tertiary and Secondary) support structure for addressing the HealthCare needs across the country.
Structure of Indian Public HealthCare System
The Indian HealthCare system is a three-tire structure which focus’s on delivering care at the individual level. This structure is designed according to the population norms.

Population

Urban

Hilly/Tribal/Rural
Sub Center

5000

3000
Primary Health Center

30,000

20,000
Community Health Center

1,20,000

80,000
Sub Center
The Sub Center is the closest to the common man and becomes the first point of contact in the three tire system.
  • Each Sub Center is managed by an Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANM) and one Male Health Worker.
  • One Female Health Assistant and One Male Health Assistant manage 6 Sub Centers.
As of 2008,
  • There are 1,58,792 Sub Centers.
  • 53,390 ANM’s
  • 1,46,036 Male Health Workers
  • 23,458 Female Health Workers
  • 23,458 Male Health Workers.
Primary HealthCare Center (PHC)

Primary HealthCare Center’s form the second tire in the system (Secondary Care) and each PHC is a hub for 6 Sub-Center’s. A PHC typically has a 4-6 beds for addressing immediate and basic Health Care necessities.

Community Health Center (CHC)

CHC forms the third tier in the system.

  • A CHC has 1 Surgeon, 1 Physician, 1 Gynecologist and 1 Pediatrician along with 21 Paramedical Staff.
  • CHC is a 30 bed facility.
  • 1 CHC for 4 PHC’s.

Now, let us look at the core data of HealthCare Infrastructure in India.

Personnel Availability

Required In Position Shortfall
CHC 6491 4276 2337
PHC 26022 23458 4477
Sub-Center 158792 146036 20486
Doctors at PHC 23458 24380 3537
Multipurpose Worker (Female) at PHC & SC 169494 153537 21066
Nurse MidWife 53390 44940 18017
Only ANM 19385 21313 1841
Health Assistant (Female) 23458 17599 6481
Health Assistant (Male) 23458 17972 8827
Health Worker (Male) 146036 60247 79322
Laboratory Technician 27734 12885 14135
Obstetricians and Gynecologists (PHC) 4042 1029 2576
Obstetricians and Gynecologists (Other Location) 219 143 115
Peadiatrician (PHC) 4042 791 2814
Peadiatrician (Other Location) 219 73 146
Pharmacists 27734 20964 7017
Physicians (PHC) 4042 1043 2562
Physicians (Other Location) 219 81 138
Radiographers 4276 1695 2280
Surgeons 234 81 142
All Specialists at PHCs 17104 4279 11033
Total 739849 556822 209349

Infrastructure – (District Hospitals, Ayurvedic Dispensaries & Hospitals, Family Welfare Center and Referral Hospitals)

State District Hospitals Ayurvedic Dispensaries Ayuevedic Hospitals City Family Welface Center Referral Hospitals
Andhra Pradesh 16 557 9 0
Assam 22 380 1 0
Arunachal Pradesh 14 2 1 0
Bihar 25 311 11 12 70
Chhattisgarh 16 634 8 0
Goa 2 77 1 0
Gujarat 23 493 48 106 409
Haryana 21 472 8 0
Himachal Pradesh 12 1109 25 0
Jammu & Kashmir 14 273 2 0
Jharkhand 24 122 1 0
Karnataka 27 589 122 2 57
Kerala 14 740 124 0
Madhya Pradesh 50 1427 34 0
Maharastra 23 469 55 0
Manipur 7 0 0 4 8
Meghalaya 5 12 1 0
Mizoram 8 0 0 0
Nagaland 11 85 0 0
Orissa 32 624 8 0
Punjab 20 507 15 0
Rajasthan 33 3539 100 0
Sikkim 4 1 1 0
Tamil Nadu 27 35 7 104 100
Tripura 2 55 1 0
Uttar Pradesh 71 340 1771 0
Uttaranchal 18 467 7 0
West Bengal 16 295 4 0
Andaman & Nicobar 3 5 1 0
Chandigarh 1 6 1 0
Dadra and Nagar Haveli 1 3 0 0 1
Daman and Diu 2 1 0 0
Lakshadweep 1 2 0 0
New Delhi 9 148 10 0
Pondicherry 4 16 1 0
Total 578 13796 2378 228 645

Infrastructure – Homeopathic Dispensary & Hospitals, Medical Colleges, Unani Dispensaries/Hospitals

State Homeopathic Dispensary Homeopathic Hospitals Medical Colleage Rural Dispensaries Unani Dispensaries Unani Hospitals
Andhra Pradesh 286 6 32 196 6
Assam 75 3 3 1 –
Arunachal Pradesh 44 2 – –
Bihar 179 11 8 366 144 4
Chhattisgarh 52 3 3 6 1
Goa 59 1 1 – –
Gujarat 216 14 13 8347 – –
Haryana 20 1 3 19 1
Himachal Pradesh 14 1 2 3 –
Jammu & Kashmir 0 0 4 235 2
Jharkhand 54 2 3 30 –
Karnataka 42 20 36 176 51 13
Kerala 580 33 18 1 –
Madhya Pradesh 146 22 8 50 2
Maharastra 0 45 39 25 5
Manipur 9 1 1 42 – –
Meghalaya 10 7 – –
Mizoram 1 0 – –
Nagaland 115 1 – –
Orissa 603 6 4 9 –
Punjab 107 5 7 35 –
Rajasthan 178 9 8 102 3
Sikkim 1 0 1 – –
Tamil Nadu 46 9 25 1421 21 1
Tripura 93 1 2 – –
Uttar Pradesh 1482 8 16 49 210
Uttaranchal 60 1 3 3 2
West Bengal 1220 12 9 3 1
Andaman & Nicobar 15 1 – 1
Chandigarh 5 1 1 – –
Dadra and Nagar Haveli 1 0 3 – –
Daman and Diu 0 0 – –
Lakshadweep 1 0 – –
New Delhi 98 2 5 25 2
Pondicherry 7 0 8 – –
Total 5819 228 263 10355 1008 254

State wise Population to Infrastructure availability

State Population Sub Center PHC CHC Doctor
Andaman & Nicobar Islands* 356,265 3,125 18,751 89,066 4,880
Andhra Pradesh 75,727,541 6,048 48,234 453,458 34,204
Arunachal Pradesh 1,091,117 1,843 9,406 24,798 12,542
Assam 26,638,407 5,801 31,562 258,625 65,290
Bihar 82,878,796 9,356 50,505 1,183,983 52,958
Chandigarh* 900,914 64,351 450,457
Chhatisgarh 20,795,956 4,386 28,843 152,911 24,125
Dadra & Nagar Haveli* 220,451 5,801 36,742 220,451 36,742
Daman & Diu* 158,059 7,185 52,686 158,059 26,343
Delhi* 13,782,976 336,170 1,722,872 599,260
Goa 1,343,998 7,814 70,737 268,800 30,545
Gujarat 50,596,992 6,956 47,155 185,337 49,654
Haryana 21,082,989 8,665 50,198 245,151 60,237
Himachal Pradesh 6,077,248 2,934 13,535 83,250 14,932
Jammu & Kashmir 10,069,917 5,281 26,853 118,470 22,328
Jharkhand 26,909,428 6,799 81,544 138,708 81,544
Karnataka 52,733,958 6,476 24,025 163,263 18,562
Kerala 31,838,619 6,250 35,026 297,557 18,383
Lakshadweep* 60,595 4,328 15,149 20,198 10,099
Madhya Pradesh 60,385,118 6,836 52,554 223,649 57,951
Maharashtra 96,752,247 9,146 53,278 237,721 81,236
Manipur 2,388,634 5,687 33,175 149,290 20,771
Meghalaya 2,306,069 5,751 22,389 88,695 21,755
Mizoram 891,058 2,435 15,633 99,006 17,136
Nagaland 1,988,636 5,009 23,124 94,697 25,173
Orissa 36,706,920 5,488 28,700 158,904 27,130
Pondicherry* 973,829 12,647 24,970 243,457 14,321
Punjab 24,289,296 8,499 50,184 192,772 120,842
Rajasthan 56,473,122 5,257 37,574 161,814 36,623
Sikkim 540,493 3,677 22,521 135,123 12,869
Tamil Nadu 62,110,839 7,134 51,120 301,509 27,483
Tripura 3,191,168 5,512 41,989 290,106 12,514
Uttar Pradesh 166,052,859 8,092 45,001 322,433 82,985
Uttaranchal 8,479,562 4,804 35,479 154,174 9,792
West Bengal 80,221,171 7,746 86,819 229,860 99,038
Total 1,027,015,247 7,033 2,988,332 7,595,753 1,830,246

I will append more information as I get to learn more.

Most of the data was taken from Ministry of Family and Child Welfare (http://www.mohfw.nic.in) and also from search, papers and other websites. I ensured that I do not violate any copyright information.