All about Self-esteem

Do you care whether you are praised or criticized?Does a compliment make you happy?Does an adverse remark make you  unhappy?Do you have  fame , envy or admiration as your goals?If yes , then you self-esteem is coming from others .And that is dangerous .Why do you give others  power over you and control your mind and state of happiness?Your pursuit of happiness should depend on you alone , and on no one else.Don't place others  before your self.Be great , rather than wanting to be thought great. Donot lead a second hand life.Do not be a second- hander.

          Don't run after popularity . Give honest judgment to a friend , even if it is unpleasant .Demand a certain quality in people you like.Donot believe in fratenities , professional associations , etc.

                     Have a self .Respect your self .If you do not respect your self , you can have neither love , nor respect for others.Be true to yourself .Have robust  independence, an impeccable integrity and an enviable competence .Be fiercely independent.Never sacrifice your integrity  and your independence even for the best causes.Sacrifice of integrity or independence  can never be a virtue.The integrity of  your  creative work is of greater importance than any lofty endeavour.

                       Be competent .Before you can  do things for others , you must know how to get things done .That is competence.To be competent , you need to have love for what you do .Also the way you do your work .Your work done your way .Develop the habit of working meticulously.(Zero errors)..Know every part of your work.Do a thing for your own purpose.

                      Do you like to hold power over another human being?Rulers of men are dependent on their power.Donot decide for others.The man who goes after power is the worst second-hander  of all.

                        Do you share credit with others?More than that , do you share dis-credit with others.?Be clear that all credits and discredits are yours alone .Be the responsible doer.No one can really hurt you or help you .

 If you believe in the above , you will  have  some  wasted periods in your life.But  that is the price you pay.Donot give in when circumstances are adverse. Donot sell the person you love for money  or for popularity.Then I will be proud of you. 

The art of Project Management ,Part 2.

Today(October9,2013;Wednesday),I had   one more opportunity to address the officers of Indian Forest Service ,  in Forest Training Institute , Kanpur,UP,India, on the subject of project management .I was told that about 10% of forest officers/officials out of about 13,000 get trained  on a variety of subjects  once in one year .This I thought, was inadequate .To my mind , every official has a right to be trained under a short duration training course, at least  once in a year .This requires up scaling of budget , infrastructure and faculty many fold .But it would be a worthwhile investment .One reason , why in India , government officials work much lower than their potential , is lack of training .Training inculcates the qualities of leadership and competencies.
                                             One very important concept to be understood is project life cycle.We must deliver on time .For this , we must start and finish on well defined times .The project has to be conceptualised/defined in a time frame , project planning must take place in a defined time period , execution must finish on time , and delivery of the deliverables must be made on time .In other words , the project life cycle must have a well thought and well defined time frame .
                                                While all stages of project life cycle are equally important , the project planning must need special attention .It has nine equally important aspects/parameters as follows:
1.Scope/Deliverables.
2.Schedule/Time management/Delivery target time.
3.Cost/resources.
4.Human resources/Staffing .
5.ICT.
6.Procurement/Contract.
7.Risk.
8.Quality.
9.Processes.

The tools available with a project team are many :
1.Checklists.
2.Documentation .
3.IT.
4.Knowledge management.
5.Reports/Presentations.
6.Investment in capacity building and training.
Monitoring , control and compliance can be done trough some of the following methods /tools:
1.Steering committee/Budget Approval committee.
2.Process audit/Process improvement .
3.Due process.
4.Performance review/Oversight.
5.Plugging the Leakages.
6Project Closure.
7.Performance audit/Performance improvement.
             I was told that in China , a very large number of universities have started giving degrees in Project Management .But in India, there is not even a single university awarding a degree in Project Management.
Most of the departmental Training Institutes in states do not have ant training programme of training government officials on project management .It is such a glaring gap in the governance system of India.
                        A good,robust project management training can go a long way in improving efficiency, delivery and cos-effectiveness of our public development , welfare programmes as well as our governance .
                         I was happy to see overwhelming support to the idea of project management in public sector and government, among the audience.

Lion Safari and Eco-restoration of Fisher Forest at Etawah

 Lion Safari to conserve the Asiatic Lions (at present numbering 411 in the world) is being set up in the Fisher Forest Etawah.Fisher Forest has a total area of 2912 acres.Lion Safari is being established in 875 acres .An Eco-restoration project of 1000 acres of Fisher Forest was completed on October5,2013.In all , 153240 plants were planted ).What follows is a report of the event of October5,2013 published in The Pioneer , Lucknow in its edition dated October6,2013.

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Lion Safari will boost tourism, development in UP: CM

Sunday, 06 October 2013 | Pioneer News Service | Lucknow | in Lucknow

Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav said on Saturday that the Lion Safari at Etawah would not only boost tourism in the region but also bring happiness and development in the state.
Addressing a huge gathering during inspection of Fischer Forest/Lion Safari project in Etawah on Saturday, the Chief Minister reiterated that the Samajwadi Party was committed to all-round development of Uttar Pradesh. Former Defence Minister and Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam  Singh Yadav was also present on the occasion.  The SP supremo and the Chief Minister planted a sapling in the area. 
“We have planted over 1.5 lakh saplings in the Fischer Forest and the Lion Safari area spread over 1000 acres in Etawah. The progress of work which was started by Netaji (Mulayam) is now in full swing despite of various hurdles,” the Chief Minister said. Yadav Junior said that they were adopting international standards in developing the Lion Safari and it would be one of the world’s best wildlife sanctuary. 
                    
“The uniqueness of this safari would be that while at other such places the animals remain in the cage and the tourists roam in the area, in the Etawah Lion Safari, people will move in caged paths while the lions and other animals will roam freely in the jungle,” the Chief Minister said. Yadav Jr said the area would be developed as a green belt with more than 11 lakh trees and this year the Government had fixed a target of planting five crore saplings here. The Lion Safari, which is mainly being developed to save lions, will also have a Lion Breeding Centre.
The Chief Minister said his Government would spend more than Rs 45 crore on developing the Lion Safari and Rs 30.50 crore of this amount would be utilised on setting up animal house, conservation breeding centre, veterinary hospital and other such facilities. He said of the remaining amount, Rs 9 crore would be spent on tourist promotion by setting up interpretation centre-cum-library, gardens, parking lots, watch towers, toilets and other amenities.
As per the plans, 50 hectares of the total area will be reserved for developing lion safari core, 300 hectares for buffer zone, 50 hectares for chain link fencing and 350 hectares for habitat. Highlighting the achievements of his Government, the Chief Minister said they were giving Kanya Vidyadhan, unemployment allowance, assistance under Hamari Beti, Hamari Kal, free laptops, and had waived loans of farmers and were providing free irrigation facilities. He said many more welfare schemes would be announced in the near future.
Yadav Jr said the state Government would open employment avenues for youth, particularly in the police force. He said the Government was trying to improve the power scenario. Speaking on the occasion, Yadav Senior asked the Government to expedite the Lion Safari work. The SP chief said the state Government had already laid emphasis on improving education and health systems.
“UP is the only state where education, irrigation, medicines and treatment of all chronic diseases are free, he said, adding that the state Government was making all efforts to improve the power scenario. The SP supremo stressed the need to tackle communal violence with tough hands. He said that Etawah, which was once known for dacoits and crime, was now known for its good environment, particularly after the Lion Safari/Fischer Forest. 
Yadav Sr lauded the Chief Minister for speeding up the pace of development in the state and said the Lion Safari would bring Etawah on the international map.

My favourite quote by Gandhi

“An error does not become truth by reason of multiplied propagation, nor does truth become error because nobody sees it. Truth stands, even if there be no public support. It is self sustained.”

M.K.Gandhi