Of all the IT ads that one sees in the print media, I am most attracted by those of Oracle, the world’s largest vendor of enterprise software. They are least ‘creative’ and sans any images. All they say is how their applications helped company A reduce inventory retention time, company B increase production, company C lower customer service fulfillment time.

In this age of intense global competition, successful businesses know about one indispensable way to stay ahead: cut all unnecessary spending of time, materials, financial resources and management talent, and deploy them where necessary in order to boost productivity, improve quality, enhance customer satisfaction.

In pursuit of this goal, they review functioning periodically and introduce what is known as BPR or business process reengineering. Companies like Oracle provide BPR software.

Whenever I read about BPR success stories, I wonder when we will have governmental process reengineering, or GPR, in India?

Want to know how efficiently the Government of India works? If you are a Delhiite, or a visitor to Delhi, take a walk along the majestic avenue from India Gate to Rashtrapati Bhavan and cast a glance at the lush-green lawns of the Boat Club on both sides.

Even those who have never been to Delhi are familiar with this place, since they have seen live telecast of the annual the Republic Parade that moves down this road, appropriately called Rajpath.

But if you are visiting this place in November, you will be shocked by what you see on the Boat Club lawns. The Central Public Works Department (CPWD), which has a monopoly over all construction and maintenance work in the GoI buildings (and mostly does a shoddy job), is busy erecting stands and other temporary structures for the Republic Day Parade. Most of the Boat Club lawn space has been barricaded and made out-of-bounds for locals and tourists, for whom it is a favourite recreational spot. You will wonder why CPWD has started the work so early?

... contd.