The Hindu Business Line : One in four Indians is food-insecure

JOB security is a common worry of the employed, while cops anguish over VIP security, lenders lose sleep on loan security and depositors look for investment security.

But for millions the main worry is food security? Food Security in Asian Countries, edited by Vijay S. Vyas, from Academic Foundation (www.academicfoundation.com) defines food security as "a situation in which households have both physical and economic access to adequate food for all of their members, and are not at the risk of losing such access".

"The incidence of hunger in rural India has declined from 18.5 per cent, in 1983, to 1.6 per cent, in 2002." In 1983, seasonal hunger (16.2 per cent) accounted for the bulk of total hunger, and this has come down to 1.1 per cent. Chronic hunger has fallen from 2.3 per cent to 0.5 per cent. Yet, 26 per cent of the population is still food-insecure, if food security connotes income security.

Surprisingly, decline in calorie intake is the highest in Punjab (from 2677, in 1983, to 2381 in 2000); and with 1826 Tamil Nadu ranks last in the calorie table shown in the book. Must read!

No better time exists than now

HAPPINESS is easy, what's difficult is to let go of unhappiness, writes Hugh Prather in How to Live in the World and still be Happy, from Magna Publishing (www.magnamags.com). "Just consider for a moment the countless hours most of us spend fantasising our reactions to things that will never be, formulating answers to remarks we will never hear. And if for a moment we run out of future twists of fate to imagine, we go back in time and rewrite events and conversations that have long since ended." How true! "No better time exists than now, and the hope that there might be a better time has cost us many opportunities to be happy. Let the present remain with you and spread out its calm blanket of acceptance at your feet."

A book full of insights that can be put into practice.

Wants and expectations

SANJEEV Jha, a PhD in economics, has written a provocatively titled book, When my Priest's Prostitute met a Pickleseller, from Viva (www.vivagroupindia.com). "This is not about any new three Ps of marketing. Nor is it intended as an erotica on corporate strategy. This is not even a cookbook on pickles," explains the preface. "The intent is to offer a simple book that attempts to identify the `how' of successful selling by examining the `why' of professional frustration."

A section named `solicitation' introduces readers to Saloja's wisdom: "When a customer comes to us, his wants are clearly articulated... His want is simple and can be satisfied quite easily. But his expectations are more and always unarticulated. The key to success is to not only satisfy the wants but to do so in ways in which his expectations are also surpassed. If you can do so you would become the most successful two-wheeler insurance company in the world." Knowledge from unusual sources!

Thaksinomics

AS MANMOHANOMICS is to India, so is Thaksinomics to Thailand. "In August 2004, the Government of Thailand published a white paper titled, `Facing the challenge: Economic policy and Strategy'," informs Asian Development Outlook 2005, from Asian Development Bank (www.adb.org). The paper explained the economic agenda of the country's PM Thaksin Shinawatra.

"His policies try to balance past excessive dependence on external demand, urban-based mass manufacturing, and unproductive asset-building, with structural development in domestic demand, traditional sectors and entrepreneurs, and improvement in the pricing power of Thai goods and services."

Elsewhere in the book, I learn that Republic of Palau enjoys one of the highest living standards in the Pacific. Under `Compact of Free Association', covering 1994-2009, "Palau conducts its own domestic and foreign affairs, while the US retains control of defence and security matters."

Fodder for your GK.

Dig up water tanks

A FERTILE site, situated in the midst of charming scenes adorned with various metals and inhabited by all sorts of creatures is the best suited for a water tank, according to one of thecouplets in the great epic, write S. S. Gulshan and Devesh Bhikshu in The Mahabharata and Management, from Sultan Chand & Sons.

"A person who causes a tank to be dug becomes entitled to the respect and adoration of the three worlds. A tank full of water is as agreeable and beneficial as the house of a friend. The excavation of tank brings virtue, wealth and pleasure for the person who gets it done. A tank is said to be necessary for all the four purposes of living creatures. Water tanks constitute the excellent beauty of a country," state slokas in Anushasan Parva.

Dig up some ancient acumen.

Customer is no nuisance

PAY attention to your own purchasing habits because these can give you an idea of what people want when they buy from you, advises Susan M. Gage in Extraordinary Customer Service, marketed by Global Business Press. "Take stock of how people in your organisation view customers. The results may shock and dismay you," says the author.

"Employees who have infrequent contact with customers probably think very little about customer service. They may see their roles as having barely anything to do with customers, and some may view the customer as insignificant or even as an adversary." For instance, your accountant may say, "Customers may make my job more difficult."

Therefore, think of a pervasive customer service programme. "All the departments must `buy in' to two ideas. First, customers are of utmost importance to the company. Second, contact with customers does not make their jobs more cumbersome but, in fact, is central to helping them perform their jobs well."

Essential addition to your bookshelf.

Tailpiece

"Our company's share bucked the trend... "

"And went up?"

"Yes, after it got a shot in the arm!"

ReadingRoom@TheHindu.co.in

D. Murali

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