Scintillating Spectrum of Success
Ashok Lavasa, currently the Vice President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has had four action packed decades of wide ranging professional experience. As a prominent bureaucrat in various government departments, his last one was in the constitutional position of Election Commissioner before he recently joined ADB. In an in depth and insightful interview to Corporate Citizen, he narrates his inspiring personal and professional journey, which has many positive takeaways for the young as well as seasoned professionals of how to work prolifically and with dedication, humility and without greed, to contribute to the duties you have been assigned to. Read on…
"Perhaps the most dominating but silent influence on me as a child, and throughout life, was of my father who never preached anything. He simply lived by his principles. He would speak the plain truth even if it would hurt the listener. A loving father, he never doted on us. He was a trustworthy friend but never promised more than what he was capable of. He was a loyal employee but held in awe by his bosses"
Corporate Citizen: You have recently been appointed as Vice President, Asian Development Bank. How do you find the switchover from a high profile government office to a high profile banking job in the corporate world? Please tell us the highlights of both the worlds.
Ashok Lavasa: Democracy and development are two vital facets of governance that are established on the fundamental principle of equality of rights and opportunities. Democracy provides citizens with the right to elect a representative government. The purpose of electing a government is not merely to demonstrate the fulfilment of a constitutional political design. People elect governments in order to fulfil their aspirations of economic and social development. Democracy is a form that reflects the will of the people and development is generally the outcome that reflects popular expectation. Both my responsibilities, the current and the one immediately preceding, are connected with these vital aspects of governance.
I was appointed to the constitutional position of Election Commissioner in January 2018. As a three-member body, Election Commission (EC) oversees the registration of voters and preparation of electoral rolls, and supervises, directs and controls the conduct of elections to the office of the President and Vice President of India, General Elections to the House of People (Lok Sabha), Council of States (Rajya Sabha), State Assemblies and State Councils. While in the Commission till August 2020 I had the satisfaction of conducting the General Elections to Lok Sabha in 2019 involving 910 million voters, 13 million polling personnel and more than a million polling booths. From January 2018 to August 2020, the Election Commission conducted General Elections to 17 State Assemblies of Karnataka, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, Jharkhand, Odisha, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Sikkim, Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh.
CC: What is the objective of the Asian Development Bank (ADB)?
While the EC was set up under the Indian Constitution and has been in existence since January 1950, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a multilateral organisation set up in 1966 and is owned by 68 members-49 from the region and the remaining from other parts of the world. They came together considering the importance of closer economic co-operation as a means for achieving the most efficient utilisation of resources and for accelerating the economic development of Asia and the Far East and recognising the desirability of promoting the harmonious growth of the economies of the region and the expansion of external trade of member countries.
As stated in ADB’s Charter, the purpose of setting up the Bank was to foster economic growth and co-operation in Asia and the Far East by promoting investment in the region of public and private capital for development purposes and to meet the requests from members in the region to assist them in the coordination of their development policies and plans with a view to achieving better utilisation of their resources, making their economies more complementary and promoting the orderly expansion of their foreign trade. ADB maximises the development impact of its assistance by facilitating policy dialogues, providing advisory services, and mobilising financial resources through co-financing operations that tap official, commercial, and export credit sources.
Given the fact that Asia comprises the largest number of countries that are in different stages of development, working in the Bank provides an opportunity to work towards achieving the Bank’s vision of “a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty in the region” as despite the region’s many successes, it remains home to a large share of the world’s poor-263 million living on less than $1.90 a day and 1.1 billion on less than $3.20 a day.
This position in ADB would provide me with an opportunity to utilise my vast experience in economic administration at the national and state level and my significant association with industrial and infrastructure development for the benefit of India as well as the Asia-Pacific region. Being one of the founding members of the Bank, India has made a vital contribution in shaping and supporting ADB’s overarching policy of poverty alleviation and balanced regional economic growth.
CC: As VP, ADB, what are your responsibilities and where do you operate from?
As Vice President for Private Sector Operations and Public Private Partnerships (VPPP), I am a member of ADB’s senior management team that comprises the President and Vice Presidents who are responsible for different verticals of the Bank. I am responsible for supervising the work of the Bank’s private sector operations (which involves financing for developmentally impactful projects in its developing member countries - DMCs) and Public Private Partnership (PPP) operations (which includes supporting DMCs with their PPP capacity and assisting them with preparing PPP projects). I am also responsible to provide support to the President on the broader corporate and strategic initiatives of the Bank and to engage with the external stakeholders on the work of the Bank.
ADB’s headquarters is in Manila and members of the senior management are based in Manila. So, I will be relocating to Manila as and when travel becomes possible.
"Technology is bereft of the human dimension. It doesn’t permit the gaze of the teacher, the eye contact that creates a bond between the teacher and student. Besides, the warmth of social gathering is missing and the joy of meeting and sharing with friends can never be provided by technology"
Addressing an international conference asElection Commissioner
CC: You have an impressive bio-data with expertise in varied fields. Having done your schooling in Belgaum Military School, did you dream of joining the Armed Forces? Also, tell us a bit about your childhood and the values that you ingrained.
I had not joined Belgaum Military School with the purpose of joining the Military services. For that matter, I did not know in 1966 when I joined the school as a child of less than nine years what I wanted to be when I grow up.
Even though Military Schools were under the direct control of Army Headquarters, Ministry of Defence, their primary aim was to prepare students for the All India Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination of the Central Board of Secondary Education. The schools also prepared boys who wished to join the Indian Armed Forces for the entrance examination of the National Defence Academy. These schools were inherited from colonial times. It appears that King George V was so impressed with the courage and fighting abilities of the Indian troops that at the conclusion of the First World War, he decided to set up some institutions for the education of children of Indian Jawans. Admissions to the school were initially restricted to the sons of Junior Commissioned Officers (JCOs) and Other Ranks (ORs) of the Army and their equivalent ranks in the Navy and Air Force. All India Entrance tests for the Military Schools were held each year. Having retired from the lowest rank of the Air Force, my father was qualified under the OR category and hoped that admission to a Military School was a less expensive way of sending his son to a public school.
I was never inclined to join the Military Services because I wanted to study Liberal Arts and was the first student and perhaps the only one so far, in the history of the school to opt for studying Humanities despite securing very good marks in Mathematics and Science. I did it against the advice of my Principal and my teachers but with the encouragement of my father who allowed his children to pursue their own path.
In 1973 when the results of the All India Higher Secondary examinations were declared, I topped the school; the only occasion in which a Humanities student had surpassed all students of the Science stream.
In 2018, when I went as Chief Guest on the Founders’ day of my School I saw the school admission form filled in 1966 by my father. In the form there was a column that was to be filled by the parent regarding ‘Parent’s intention of a career for the boy’, my father wrote, “Boy’s intention is to become Collector”. It was not his intention; with him, it was always what we wanted to do. He didn’t want us to grow as climbers but as plants that follow the sunshine and can stand on their own.
I was born in 1957 in Jaipur where my father was a low paid employee in National Ball Bearing Company. In 1960, he moved to Surat and then to Vadodara in 1963. My primary education was in Gujarati in New Era School in Vadodara.
Perhaps the most dominating but silent influence on me as a child, and throughout life, was of my father who never preached anything. He simply lived by his principles. He would speak the plain truth even if it would hurt the listener. A loving father, he never doted on us. He was a trustworthy friend but never promised more than what he was capable of. He was a loyal employee but held in awe by his bosses. His conscience was like a pocket mirror into which he would peep off and on. His abiding value was that it is possible to do well in life without compromising with one’s principles. He believed that bearing the consequences of one’s action was inescapable. There was always a price to be paid, whether for good deeds or bad, and it might often seem disproportionate. It was not until one had paid the price that the deed and the principle behind that deed was complete.
"A teacher is a provider of knowledge; technology is an enabler, it is a tool. It is not a substitute for the teacher. It is a fact that technology has helped us bridge the gap caused by restrictions on physical movement and gatherings in educational institutions. It has helped people in remaining connected in this difficult phase of social distancing"
Receving the first international alumnus
awardfrom Southern Cross University 2019
CC: You have been a professor of English at the University of Delhi. Tell us highlights of your academic career. Also, with technology having come in, what should be the role of a teacher today?
I have studied Master of Philosophy (Defence & Strategic Studies) from Madras University, Master in Business Administration (MBA) from Southern Cross University, Australia and M.A. English and B.A. (Hons.) English from Delhi University. I topped the University in the first year of my B.A. (Hons). I had an intense desire to teach English literature after completing my post-graduation, which I did for a year and four months in Salwan College at the University of Delhi. I was teaching graduate classes even before I was 21. I taught Homer, Shakespeare, D.H. Lawrence and Bernard Shaw. I enjoyed teaching immensely as Literature was my passion. But soon two things happened, which dissuaded me from teaching. One, in 1978 UGC said that one had to be a PhD in order to be promoted as a Reader and the other that in English one could not do PhD without doing MPhil. That put me off. I didn’t want to study because someone else wanted me to study and secondly, I realised that I should keep my passion and profession distinct. If I wanted to preserve my love for literature I had to stop teaching it. That is when I decided to apply for other jobs; qualified to be a Probationary officer in State Bank of India, worked there for six months and then got into the Civil Services in 1980.
A teacher is a provider of knowledge; technology is an enabler, it is a tool. It is not a substitute for the teacher. It is a fact that technology has helped us bridge the gap caused by restrictions on physical movement and gatherings in educational institutions. It has helped people in remaining connected in this difficult phase of social distancing. To this extent, it has assisted us in overcoming a handicap. However, technology is bereft of the human dimension. It doesn’t permit the gaze of the teacher, the eye contact that creates a bond between the teacher and student. Besides, the warmth of social gathering is missing and the informal conviviality after the class and the joy of meeting and sharing with friends can never be provided by technology. Of course, the availability of technology and the aptitude of the younger generation in adapting to new technology also poses a challenge for the teacher to upgrade his/ her skills as well as to utilise them in enriching teaching methodology and techniques.
CC: What inspired you to join the civil services? What did you learn from the training at the Lal Bahadur Shastri Academy in Mussoorie?
What prompted me to attempt the Civil Services was my decision to leave teaching because I was convinced that I had to separate my passion from my profession. I didn’t want to lose my interest in literature by making it a daily drudgery. Hence, I decided to take up a job for earning a living. I was neither obsessed nor determined to be a civil servant. I first got into a bank as I qualified but I had also appeared for the Civil Services exam before I qualified for the Bank. I decided to complete the process and succeeded in my first attempt. The person who had constantly tried to brainwash me against teaching and push me towards civil services was one of my Professors at Delhi University who often travelled with me on the same bus from the University.
The other person who asked me to join the prevailing national pastime of appearing for Civil Services competitive exam was my father who said that I had the option of not joining if I felt so strongly but at least I should have the satisfaction of qualifying so that I had no regrets later in life. What encouraged me to follow that route was that my classmate and my future wife shared the same thought.
Mussoorie Academy in 1980 seemed a great place; lovely weather, old-world charm and romantic weather. Of course, there was Yoga, PT and mess manners. But amid this charming ambience was the faculty eager to impart learning, share their experiences and there were the colleagues who bristled with enthusiasm, ideology and their commitment to change the world. It is a place that created lifelong bonds, with faculty and with fellow probationers. The two-year training was like being an incubator, shaping your ideas and your attitudes. There was also the basic training in Law, Principles of Public Administration, Economics and regional languages.
"The overall slowdown in the economy has affected revenue collection of the governments both at the centre as well as the state level. The integration of the tax regime brought about three years ago is in a seemingly intractable bind"
Alumnus of the decade award by Hindu College Old Students' Association 2019CC: Which has been the best posting in your tenure as an IAS officer? Please elaborate on the reasons too.
It is difficult to single out any particular job as the best but let me highlight a few exciting things that I was associated with during my service. I have enjoyed each and every job that I have done. I don’t believe in taking myself seriously but I believe in taking my job seriously.
As Finance Secretary in a landmark 2017-18 Union Budget of India, Railway Budget was merged with General Budget after 92 years, the distinction between Plan and Non-Plan was done away with. An Outcome Budget was presented and the date of the Budget presentation advanced to complete the approval process by 31st March. We finalised the revision of General Financial Rules (GFR) that govern the procedure of spending public money and public procurement to make them market-oriented, technology-driven and less rigid. It was only the third time since 1947 that GFR was revised. The Public Finance Management System, an integrated national electronic platform for managing public finances was rolled out throughout the country for efficient management of financial resources and liquidity management leading to saving in the cost of funds and monitoring effective utilisation.
Earlier, when I worked in the Department of Economic Affairs from 1997 to 2002, I was involved in drafting Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) 1999 and its Rules and Regulations, Electricity Act 2003, Communications Convergence Bill, 2001, finalising the documentation of leasing of four international airports, the BOT Model Concession Agreement for private investment in National Highways through the PPP route, the amended TRAI Act providing for the Telecom Dispute Settlement Appellate Tribunal. I contributed to the formulation of the new Country Strategy of USAID and CIDA.
As Secretary Environment, I led the Indian delegation in COP 21 and successfully negotiated the Paris Agreement. I also led the Indian team in negotiating the Montreal Protocol and the International Convention on Desertification. I was instrumental in finalising India’s Intended Nationally Determined Contributions for submission to the UNFCCC in October 2015. During my tenure, we implemented the online system of Environment and Forest clearances, standardised the Terms of Reference for carrying out an environment impact assessment, brought out the policy for scientific sand mining, revamped the environment clearance process for buildings, and finalised the reclassification of polluting industries. We reviewed and notified de novo the revised national level Waste Management Rules in 2016 pertaining to plastics, solid waste, biomedical waste, electronic and hazardous waste, construction and demolition waste after a year-long consultation with stakeholders with a view to making them more effective, modern and market-oriented. We also made the first Fly Ash Utilisation policy and introduced stringent emission norms for thermal power generation.
As Secretary Civil Aviation, I drafted the Regional Connectivity Policy for Airlines, the concept of No Frills Airports, and the Flexi Use of Air Space, and pushed for setting up Maintenance, Repair, Overhaul (MRO) facilities in the country.
During my stint in the Ministry of Power in Government of India we prepared the Financial Restructuring Plans for Electricity Distribution Companies in 2012 and revised the Standard Bidding Documents for competitive procurement of electricity. In Haryana as Principal Secretary Power we successfully completed the competitive bidding process of procuring power as per Tariff Bidding Policy of Govt. of India under Case-1 and Case-2 and also implemented the first State Transmission Project under PPP mode, under Viability Gap Funding Scheme of Govt. of India. It was truly satisfying that during that period Haryana added more than 5000MW generation capacity in 4 years against the less than 4000MW it had added in 40 years.
I also worked as a Member of the Expert Committee on Restructuring the Indian Railways headed by Dr Rakesh Mohan, which worked for about two years and laid out a blueprint for reforms in the Railway sector. I was a member of the Committee to oversee the corporatisation of Department of Telecom as BSNL, the setting up of the Railway Telecom Company RAILTEL, and the Deepak Parekh Committee on Accelerated Power Development & Reforms Program (APDRP), and Member of the Task Force on studying the Annuity/Shadow Toll model of financing of roads in India.
Very early in my career as Managing Director of the Haryana State Industrial Development Corporation, I thoroughly enjoyed my responsibility for the development of Industrial Infrastructure including with private sector participation and promoting projects under the assisted and joint sector within the State apart from providing term lending and merchant banking services. As MD of Haryana Tourism Corporation, I enjoyed organising the Surajkund Crafts Mela in its initial years and got constructed many new tourist complexes besides starting adventure sports activities.
CC: Having been the Finance Secretary of India, what are your views on the present Indian economy and what are the ways to revive it?
The Indian economy is facing a difficult situation in this globalised world and is affected by several external as well as internal factors. World trade was already slowing down and the unforeseen crisis created by Covid-19 has further aggravated the situation. In order to contain the adverse effect of the virus on human health, governments the world over have taken decisions that have hampered economic activities, dampened economic growth and caused unprecedented disruption leading to unemployment and stress on government budgets.
While health concerns are the most immediate, the system is trying hard to cope with the additional burden caused by the pandemic on health infrastructure, which requires higher spending. The virus has now moved to smaller towns that are grossly ill-equipped in terms of their testing capacity and treatment facilities. The migration to villages of those who were gainfully employed in urban areas has put additional strain on a rural economy that was earlier dependent on, and buoyed by, remittances from urban areas. These job losses have caused a loss of dignity as well as eroded savings.
The overall slowdown in the economy has affected revenue collection of the governments both at the centre as well as the state level. The integration of the tax regime brought about three years ago is in a seemingly intractable bind. The above situation coming on the heels of declining growth rates in the past few quarters and the poor financial health of the financial institutions compound the challenges.
The highest priority at this point has to be the creation of demand by placing more purchasing power in the hands of the consumers. Government has provided a boost to a few employment generation programs in the rural areas and more is needed to be done. The Government would also do well to increase its spending on infrastructure works. I think there should be a concerted effort in accelerating the pace of execution of all capital works by announcing incentives for early completion beyond the contract completion dates. New development works for which no budgetary allocation was made should be reviewed and the maximum number of such works should be started so that the construction sector gets a boost. This would provide employment and also create a demand for several commodities used in construction. A massive programme of affordable housing in urban areas is required to be undertaken.
Besides, there is an urgent need to restore supply chains that have been broken because of administrative as well as other factors. The tourism and hospitality sectors need to be revived at the earliest as they have the maximum employment potential. Similarly, restoration of activities in the unorganised sectors requires to be supported.
For the economy to be pulled out of this trough Central and State governments have to continue to work together and sector-wise expert groups be formed to suggest immediate measures to revive demand. We have to be prepared for the long haul and some heavy lifting.
"One should derive satisfaction with the outcome of the earnest effort put in to perform the job at hand. The feeling of achievement should be related to accomplishing what you set out to do, not what you aspired for and you could not. A true professional works for achieving results by using fair means"
CC: As Secretary of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, what tips and advice would you give citizens, particularly those of the young generation, on the need to save our environment, at the individual level?
Addressing a conference on StateFinances as Finance Secretary 2016
Even as steps are taken to bring the economy back on rails and to build a conducive environment for recovering lost jobs and erosion of wealth, it would be important to draw lessons from the ongoing crises to guide us for the future. The foremost lesson of this lockdown is to learn to do more with less. As I had written in an article recently, “let us ask ourselves whether limitless consumerism by those who can afford, and imitative aspiration by those who can’t, is the only way to progress. Should there be a race to buy only because we have the power to purchase?”
The value of kifayat will have to be reintroduced in the way we live. KIFAYAT is to understand the value of our resources, use them in a way that we extract maximum value from every resource that we spend and in doing so recognise the right of others who may need that resource. There is a story we heard in school about Mahatma Gandhi and the matchbox that best illustrates the meaning of kifayat. During the freedom struggle, Gandhiji visited a wealthy businessman seeking a donation. The businessman greeted him and made him sit in the drawing room. It was dusk and they started talking. Meanwhile, an attendant entered the room and started lighting the lamps as it was getting dark. As the attendant finished his task, the businessman called him and gently rebuked him for using an extra matchstick to light the lamps. Gandhiji was amused at the businessman’s parsimonious behaviour and very nervously and with dim expectations asked him for his contribution to the freedom struggle. The businessman signed a cheque and asked Gandhiji to fill an appropriate amount. Now totally bemused Gandhiji asked him to explain his seemingly contradictory conduct, stingy about a matchstick and so liberal about the donation. Upon which the businessman explained that he was neither stingy nor frugal; he was sensitive to the use of extra resources for achieving the same purpose as the attendant lighted all the lamps every day using one matchstick. So the use of the second that day wasted a resource. That is the essence of Kifayat, an attitude that took the form of a value that an entire generation practised and society lived by. If we want to make a difference we need to pause to ponder and imbibe the virtue of Kifayat.
I have been both Finance Secretary & Environment Secretary in GOI. I have handled resources, both financial and natural and I know how they can be squandered and how they can be saved. By saving I don’t mean preserved or kept unused but how we can do more with less.
Two of the biggest ideas occupying the human mind and world communities at large in our age and times are Climate Change and Sustainable Development. The big question before us is “How do we achieve progress without punishing our future generations?” Indeed a question that ought to have been asked several times in the last two centuries as mankind embarked on the path of mechanisation, industrialisation and capitalisation of the economy. With a great sense of responsibility, I would argue that we will fail in our efforts in dealing with both unless we re-engineer our psyche, modify our approach and build it around the value of ‘kifayat’, which is neither based on self-denial nor on being stingy.
This is as true of financial resources as it is of natural resources. Both these resources are finite and will increasingly seem inadequate in the face of our growing demands and relentless and thoughtless exploitation.
Take electricity for example. India’s per capita electricity consumption is about 1000 units per year, only 1/3 of the world average. As we grow economically more electricity will be needed. We will consume more in the future but just as we adopt more energy-efficient technologies we can also conserve energy by changing our lifestyle. This is something India argued for in Paris and succeeded in bringing a sustainable way of life into the Preamble of the Paris Agreement.
"Trust begets trust. It lies at the root of goodness. It reduces tension and leads to harmony in personal and public life. At a professional level too I believe that two things are important: professionalism and pride. Whatever be the nature of the job, one should endeavor to do it well, to the best of one’s capabilities"
CC: You pursued your MBA at Southern Cross University in New South Wales. Why did you choose that University? What are your thoughts on the present-day MBA curriculum in India?
I went to the Southern Cross University to pursue my MBA as an AUSAID scholar under the Colombo Plan of Government of India. The academic inputs from Southern Cross University continue to be the foundation of my learning and understanding of the global economic environment and trends in transnational corporate management. At the same time, the multi-cultural environment on the University and the rich interaction with students of different countries would prove useful in working in a multilateral organisation like the ADB, which too draws talent from all over the world.
Coming to Southern Cross in 1996 from a public service background, I aimed to acquire a deeper understanding of the role of the private sector in domestic and global economic growth, especially as India had embarked on the path of economic liberalisation and globalising its economy. The MBA study contributed significantly as I played a bigger role in planning and implementing programmes for infrastructure and industrial development. As my career progressed after Southern Cross University, I successfully handled the Energy, Civil Aviation, Environment & Climate Change and Finance portfolios at the State and Central government levels till I finally retired as Finance Secretary of India. Twenty-two years after I left Southern Cross in 1997, the University conferred on me its first International Alumnus Award in 2019.
I think the MBA curriculum in India is well structured and well regarded in the world. However, that is true of only a few institutions. The plethora of institutes that have sprung up in the country awarding MBA degrees are in fact creating a dilemma for those acquiring those degrees as they have degrees without adequate knowledge and consequently they nurture dreams that can seldom materialise. Therefore, according to me, we need to be selective in providing MBA programmes and insist on maintaining the quality of education imparted. Further, there is a need to study the Indian corporate management styles and business environment and develop case study material on the Indian experience. I am also a strong believer in introducing ethics and environment protection as mandatory subjects in all our academic programmes. In the end, it is not business acumen and marketing skills that are necessary for modern managers as an ethical underpinning to their decisions and the sensitivity towards conservation of resources, natural and financial.
CC: What is your advice for MBA post-graduates who would be stepping into the corporate world to begin their career?
My advice to them is that they should learn to look beyond their balance sheets. They should be as much bothered about bottomline and shareholder wealth as they should be about being good responsible citizens. They have to care for their company and also for their conscience. They have to ensure that the company they work for is a law-abiding corporate citizen and that they themselves are social entrepreneurs as they venture in their own business.
CC: You are an author too and a new book is on its way to being published. Please tell us about your new book(s).
The first book titled 'An Ordinary Life: Portrait of an Indian Generation' is a portrait of my father, Udai Singh, or Bauji, and of the India of his time and generation. It is also an exploration of the values and principles he stood for and which have served as a moral compass to me in my own personal and public life.
I wrote in the book that, “There are many whose lives don’t seem extraordinary because they are not popular. Their stories are not heard because they haven’t been written about. But these stories represent an era, an entire generation. Every generation will need these stories when it has exhausted its amoral quest of pure materialism or reached the apotheosis of its permissiveness and compromises. These ordinary lives may not be well-known or heroic in popular perception. They may not be icons, recognised and idolised. But their life inspires because it is a vindication of certain lasting values that survive in every society. Such lives provide hope and keep us connected with the unseen forces that govern us. Through a series of real-life incidents, the book explores the role of morality and honesty in life.
In the second book, 'Mannat', co-written with my wife Novel and brought to life by photographs taken by us, we narrate stories of shrines and places of worship in India that test human strength and stamina, and to which believers ascribe the power of granting their wishes. “The book weaves a nature-faith-culture story of human bond and bondage. These are pictures of places that unite even as they preserve identities. Beneath the symbols and beyond them, runs a thread of love dhaga prem ka, as Rahim called it. If it is intact, we are one; if not, we get tied into knots that society could do without.”
"We need to be selective in providing MBA programmes and insist on maintaining the quality of education imparted. Further, there is a need to study the Indian corporate management styles and business environment and develop case study material"
CC: Tell us a bit about your family and what does your family mean to you?
We are four brothers and sisters & all of us had court marriagesbetween 1977 and 1980 with the consent and full participation
of allfamilymembers from both sides — Ashok Lavasa
My wife’s name is Novel. She is a postgraduate, M.A (English) from Delhi University and an MBA. She also completed a short course in Credit and Lending from Sothern Cross University in Australia. She sought voluntary retirement as Assistant General Manager, after having worked as an officer with the State Bank of India (SBI) for 28 years. She left the bank in 2008 to pursue her interest in alternate models of sustainable growth, environment protection, human resource development and farming. That helped her in discovering her passion for sustainable living practices such as renewable energy, climate change and solid waste management.
She then ventured to be an agriculture entrepreneur and took the risk of setting up a small horticulture unit, taking guidance from a Government Centre of Excellence for Horticulture, promoting techniques relating to the production of high yielding varieties in a small piece of land. Being an educated banker and having an interest in this field, she became a role model for the Centre. After three to four years of hard labour and gaining experience from practising hitech horticulture, she realised the importance of organic farming which could be more sustainable and suitable for small and marginal farmers and its benefits to the environment, water quality and water table. She is now a practising organic small farmer and makes her own organic fertiliser with desi cow urine and pesticide with natural ingredients. She motivates others to practice organic farming.
She used to participate in car rallies. However, just as she switched from hi-tech horticulture to organic farming, she gave up this high-speed, polluting sport for nature benevolent activities like trekking and rafting. Being an ardent lover of nature, she has trekked twice to Amarnath and Churdhar, twice to Har-ki doon, to Swargarohini base camp and camp II of Bandurpunch Peak at about 18000 feet altitude, camped at Tapovan overlooking the Bhagirathi peaks and at the base of Shivling Peak (which is above Gaumukh) for three days with our children when they were 8-10 years old. She has also been to Yamunotri and Tungnath (up to Chandrashila), including Dodital.
Along with farming, she devotes time to NGOs in the field of women and girl child empowerment, environment, sanitation and education and has served as an independent director on company boards.
Our daughter, Avny, completed her graduation in B.A. Honours (Economics) from Lady Shri Ram College for Women (LSR), Delhi University with a first division. She is also a sports enthusiast and was elected as the President of the National Sports Organisation at LSR and was an integral part of the athletics team there. In 2006, she was selected from LSR for a one-year diploma in Development Studies and Sports Management at the La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia. She also worked for the FINA Swimming World Championship 2007, Australia and for a sports event management company, Globosport India Private Ltd in 2008 and in the Commonwealth Games 2010.
In 2013, she qualified the UPSC exams and was allotted to the Indian Administrative Service. She was posted in the Jammu and Kashmir cadre, where she is currently serving. During her time there, she organised the School Olympics in Jammu with the participation of about 4000 students. As Deputy Commissioner Leh, she also organised the School Olympics in Leh in 2018 and 2019 with the participation of about 2000 and 3000 students respectively. These events were multi-disciplinary sports events for government and private school students. Besides this, she has set up solid waste management facilities in the district that have been cited as examples of sustainable waste processing. Currently, she is Commissioner, Municipal Corporation in Jammu.
Our son, Abir Lavasa is a sports enthusiast and has an avid interest in cricket since his schooling days. He was the cricket captain in his school. He completed his bachelor’s degree in Commerce from Sri Venkateshwara College, Delhi University. While at college, he played in the Delhi University inter-college cricket tournament and also represented the Haryana Cricket Association in the Under-19 and Under-22 teams from 2005-07. In 2007-08, he debuted as a first-class cricketer and represented Haryana in the Ranji Trophy tournament for two years. Given his deep passion for sports and background as an outstanding cricket player, he was appointed as the nodal venue operations manager for the aquatics venue in the Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Swimming Complex during Commonwealth Games, 2010.
Thereafter, he completed his post-graduation in MBA from Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Pune. After working for many well-known companies in executive positions, he joined an entrepreneurial venture as an employee in the sunrise sector of food processing and organic snacks and helped it raise funding from venture capital funds. He is now a consultant in sports motivation, promotion of organic products and setting up of ventures.
"Human beings are in the world to live their quota of life. We can all make our little contribution to making the world a better place if we think beyond our own existence and try to solve or help in solving a problem that is not our own"
Snorkelling in Mauritius with wife, NovelCC: What is your philosophy of life at the personal and professional level?
Life is a gift of Nature. We have a contract with Nature to maintain our body. Each one has to fulfil that contract dutifully by not feeding the body too much, protecting it from undue strain and not misusing it by making undue demands on the body. At the same time, we should not be mentally constrained by what we think is our potential as each one of us has the capacity to achieve beyond his or her perceived potential. Human beings are intelligent that’s why they don’t behave like animals. The question is “are they intelligent enough to behave like animals?” There is very little waste in the animal world and there is little avarice or acquisition. We should also learn to consume as per our needs and not as per our wants. Conservation is not a virtue born out of necessity; it is a necessary virtue if we want harmonious coexistence with Nature.
Human beings are in the world to live their quota of life. We can all make our little contribution to making the world a better place if we think beyond our own existence and try to solve or help in solving a problem that is not our own. It is good to be simple. Equally, it is simple to be good. Human beings are essentially good. Mischief might be common; malevolence is not.
Goodness is not always in conflict with an opposing external force. It could simply be restrained by custom, lethargy, law or inhibition. Sita crossed the lakshman rekha to give alms to Ravan disguised as a saint by overcoming one such restraint. What impelled her was her innate goodness. Goodness can take you beyond the boundaries of legitimate expectation; it makes you more than law abiding. It is an intangible asset.
There are many people in every society who ‘think’ with their heart and ‘feel’ with their head. They keep working silently and selflessly. They could be around us helping the marginalised; they could be away from public gaze tilling soil or tending trees; they could be unidentified pillars of the system; they may be those writing but not being read; they could be waging little battles unrecognised. These are people who rise above their situations, unmindful of their own struggles. They hear the unspoken and respond before being beseeched. Happiness is not a goal for them; it could be their attainment.
Trust begets trust. It lies at the root of goodness. It reduces tension and leads to harmony in personal and public life. At a professional level too I believe that two things are important: professionalism and pride. Whatever be the nature of the job, one should endeavour to do it well, to the best of one’s capabilities. In the end, it is not intelligence alone that works; it is hard work and sincerity that counts. Equally, it is the pride of one’s profession, the satisfaction that one gave, one’s best that matters as a true professional. One should derive satisfaction with the outcome of the earnest effort put in to perform the job at hand. The feeling of achievement should be related to accomplishing what you set out to do, not what you aspired for and you could not. A true professional works for achieving results by using fair means; for him or her the process should be as important as the outcome.