Every decade has its own flavour. When I was growing up in the 1960s and 1970s, poverty and mismanagement were accepted as the norm. I spent many hours standing in queue at ration shops, which would not open regularly, and their operators blatantly sold sugar and wheat in the black market. Ballot boxes were “looted” in the elections, news about dacoit gangs striking towns and villages were common, and movies were made about the lives of smugglers. India was seen as a backward and laggard nation.  

Things struck rock bottom in July 1991, when India was forced to mortgage 46.91 tonnes of gold with the Bank of England and the Bank of Japan to raise just $ 400 million. The false pride of a Sone ki Chidiya burst in its face! Although different leaders got the credit for what was called economic liberalization, the truth was that the Indian economy was forced open by the World Bank and the IMF, for foreign entities to operate in Indian markets. The rupee was devalued. Markets were flooded with imported TVs, refrigerators and cars, and the middle class rejoiced.  

The share market boomed. But it also unleashed large-scale corruption. New words like “scam” entered the lexicon. Over the years, while the rich became richer, the spirit of philanthropy evaporated. Privatization of health and education eclipsed charitable hospitals and colleges, earlier a hallmark of Indian society. The policy of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) was created as a fig leaf to hide the nakedness of profiteering. But even this was misused for tax evasion more than it was used for doing good on the ground. The “India Shining” campaign was rejected by people. The neo-rich and corporate honchos were not trusted by the people. There was uneasiness amongst the poor. 

Things were not good at the global level too. American companies were rushing to China to manufacture their goods at lower costs and abandoning their factories and firing their own workers. The term, ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance), was popularly used first in a 2004 report titled, Who Cares Wins: Connecting Financial Markets to a Changing World, which was a joint initiative of financial institutions at the invitation of the then United Nations Secretary-General, Ghanaian diplomat Kofi Annan. Eighteen financial institutions from nine countries, with total assets under management of over 6 trillion USD participated in developing this report.

Since then, the idea gained traction that the way that environmental, social, and corporate governance issues are managed, is part of companies’ overall management quality, and needed to compete successfully in a more globalized, interconnected, and competitive world. More importantly, a consensus was created for financial institutions to commit to integrating environmental, social and governance factors in investment processes. Someone must pay for the collective good of humanity and the wealth generators themselves would be the best people to make it a part of wealth creation. 

As the idea built up, a variety of organizations and financial institutions devised ways to measure the extent to which a specific corporation was aligned to ESG goals. In what was nothing short of a miracle, ESG turned out to be a great success. So much so, that in 2015, the United Nations (UN) adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a worldwide call to action to eradicate poverty, protect the planet and improve the lives and prospects of everyone, everywhere. A 15-year plan was made to achieve the goals.

The SDGs are universal and thus, apply to the entire world – developed and developing countries alike. They are integrated and indivisible, calling for coherent and integrated solutions and multi-stakeholder partnerships to address the complex development challenges we face. And they call for systematically and explicitly reducing inequality and focusing on those left behind on the path to sustainable development. Everyone in the world is now aware of the top three SDG priorities of no poverty, zero hunger, and good health and wellbeing.

Gradually, an awareness swept across the corporate world. Why not align the new investments to the SDGs? Why not refine HR policies so as to achieve human resource development, rather than mere management? A small army of business executives worked on Agenda 2030, deciphering the fundamental importance of reliable, timely and disaggregated data and statistics. India joined the mainstream and much of the country’s National Development Agenda is mirrored in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Dr. Nirav Mandir, the young chief of HR at Shree Ramkrishna Exports (SRK), Surat, a diamond business house with an annual turnover of more than a billion dollars and employing more than 6000 people, was amongst the first in India to embrace the SDGs into their management.  As if prodded by the hand of Providence, when the SRK leader, Govind Bhai Dholakia, decided to create the new building of his company, Nirav was tasked to pursue the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification for green buildings. 

Nirav blended into this assignment that spread over six years, awareness creation about sustainability, not merely as a building standard, but as a way of life. Very active in HR parlance, he mobilized his peers in measuring progress achieved and making decisions supporting the SDGs that were based on evidence, without which change remains superficial and temporary. Fully supported by Govind Bhai, and mentored by Mahesh Ramanujam, the Indian-origin CEO of the U.S. Green Building Council, Nirav developed a unique model of HR policies in the company transcending the workplace, where “free from addiction” is a norm and families are invited in business success celebrations. 

Govind Bhai writes in his autobiography, Diamonds are Forever And So Are Morals, “Nirav Mandir, looking after HR in our company led hundreds of employees to work tirelessly as the backbone of the green building movement where they found common ground was the belief that success in life and business is all about our willingness to reimagine the way we treat each other. We decided to go for Gold Rating certification, which implied 60-79 points earned on the ‘Green building’ criteria and became the pioneers in the Indian diamond industry in this regard. With further improvements, we would later achieve the highest Platinum Rating.”

I have always been an ESG enthusiast, even when this term was not articulated. In 1993, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam tasked me with developing civilian spinoffs of Defence technology, in what was, perhaps, the first example of channelling organizational resources for the larger good of people. The impact of this ideology was so transformative that I resigned from my secure job at DRDO to pursue interdisciplinary and multi-agency projects of societal importance. I might have missed out on some honours and rewards by stepping out of the might and glory of the missile world, but developing a low-cost coronary stent, or setting up telemedicine connectivity in the 1990s when even 2G telecom did not exist, was no less satisfying. 

I was recently going through the findings of a Gallup 2021 report – The Will of the Workplace for Environmental, Social and Governance. It mentions, “In September 2020, the World Economic Forum published a report with inputs from CEOs of 120 companies, in collaboration with the big-four accounting firms (Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC). The report outlines a path for creating consistent metrics and reporting for sustainable value creation. Based on four pillars — principles of governance, planet, people, and prosperity — the report presents 21 core metrics and 34 expanded metrics.”

So, no business can be just making profits anymore. It must also do social good. That is the trend and flavor of the present times. High-sounding words like charity and philanthropy have been replaced with heavy-duty terms like responsibility and commitment. Companies must invest in the larger good of making the lives of people a little better, preserving the environment, adopting cleaner energy, and supporting local over global commodities and products. I see in my lifetime, the beginning of a new era of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG). As such, ESG can’t be a popular name for the era, but as things change for the better, a catchy name like “humanization” will also appear. 

The world over, sighting dolphins is considered as a good omen and a great symbol of good luck. That capitalists will take care of the progress of humanity is more of a wish, rather than a reality on ground. I see ESG as a dolphin and dream of it with a rainbow for the progress of humanity. The proverbial dolphins have not yet jumped out of the waters to give a sighting; they are still in the seas.   

Of late, I spend much of my time reading books. Excellent books are available on the Internet, which can be read for free. One can even download them, highlight the portions one likes and even add notes. Being a technical person, I consider this as another great gift of technology.

I recently found a beautiful, small book on the Internet, The Gifts of Imperfection, by the American research professor, Casandra Brené Brown (b. 1965). She talks on a 20-minute lecture platform, TEDx, and is considered as “a new star of social psychology.” The book courageously declares on the cover itself, “Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to be and Embrace Who You Are.” Later in the book, she explains this process as “wholehearted living,” which comes out of practice.

The book calls courage, compassion, and connections as the three gifts of imperfection. Consider these three words as verbs – actions. So, courage is all about taking actions courageously. It could be anything, from something as small as getting up at 6 a.m., to reducing the sugar and salt in your diet, to quitting your addictions, which may not necessarily be smoking, or consuming alcohol, but eating junk food, guzzling soft drinks, watching TV for hours, being hooked to social media, or idle talk, lethargy, procrastination… there are a hundred types and a thousand forms to it. If something must stop, stop it – period.

The biggest courage is to speak out what your heart says. And we all fail here. We are conditioned to “sugarcoat” our criticism, not to convey bad news, and say “yes” even if we want to say “no.” Not only does life get complicated by such behavior, but every time we do this, we let ourselves down. In our attempt to be nice to people around us, we grow up becoming a stranger to our own selves and live bogus lives. 

Compassion is a very misunderstood word. Contrary to what is generally believed, it is not about being kind and caring towards others. It is about being kind and caring to your own self. It is about experiencing your feelings, especially addressing your fears, and not running away from them. The practice of compassion involves moving towards what scares us, engaging it, and overcoming it. 

The biggest barrier to compassion is the failure to see boundaries – my own and those of others – and instead of accepting accountability, shifting the blame. Insincere students blame teachers, lazy and incompetent employees blame their supervisors and working conditions, businesspeople blame markets, and the public in general blames the leaders. Even grown-up people do not hesitate in blaming their now-old parents for their failures in life. 

Compassion is all about acceptance. We need to accept ourselves and accept others as we and they are and find a solution, rather than wasting time and energy in blame games. Setting boundaries and making people accountable is more work than just shaming and blaming. Parents do that quite regularly while raising their children. Students who are a little slow in learning or not sharp enough, are berated at home and struggle in school. Without good marks in senior school, admission in good colleges is ruled out. 

Connection is fundamental. Human beings are, by nature, social animals. We are designed to work together and extend our cooperation in order to progress. Our relationships shape our biology, as well as our experiences. Patients surrounded by well-meaning and caring family and friends recover faster. Neglected and abandoned people are plunged into addictions and a plethora of chronic ailments. 

The secret is that our brain operates through connections. Love is as fundamental an emotion to the brain as oxygen is to its cells. It simply does not function in the absence of love. The root cause of our failure in life is the lack or absence of love. We try to find it where it is not present and never approach where it is waiting to be tapped. So, the problem is not that the people around you are unloving; the problem is that you are stuck up thinking about them. Move on and move away; you will find love in abundance.

Social media is an imposter for connections. There can be nothing more insensitive than using emojis for expressing one’s feelings. Not only is the person using an emoji, trivializing the emotion, but also the person to whom it is being sent. Over time, relationships turn into stereotypes, like emojis. 

Life is a school. The purpose of living is not finding the path of least resistance, but gaining experience. Human life is the only form in the universe endowed with consciousness and choice. Whatever you do using these gifts would be good and anything done by ignoring them will be fraught with danger. The saying that there is no gain without pain is, indeed, true. So, engage with people, tell them your stories, and hear theirs, and you will find a new meaning emerging out of the apparent nothingness.

But what if I am cheated? The answer is – you will learn about people in the process. Each of us is given an immortal essence inside, like an embedded chip of infinite intelligence. There is nothing that is incomprehensible or hidden from this. Instead of being afraid of being cheated by others, stop cheating your own self, with immediate effect. Everyone in this world is born with imperfections. Your faults are, indeed, the road signs on your way to succeed in life.  

Take imperfections as a site to start. Whatever you find as your biggest fault, start working there and you will experience soon that everyone around you is helping you in the process – the entire universe will conspire to help you repair your fault. But instead, if you blame others for your fault, get angry and enter fights, the faults will not go away, but fester like wounds and worsen. 

I close with a quote from the book, The Gifts of Imperfection, “Understanding the difference between healthy striving and perfectionism is critical to laying down the shield and picking up your life. Research shows that perfectionism hampers success. In fact, it is often the path to depression, anxiety, addiction, and life paralysis.” 

So, accept and embrace your imperfections, your shortcomings, your faults and start working on them – bit by bit, silently, without making a fuss or show, and you will soon find the onset of healing. Even if you talk to a stranger, you will find a friend there… That is how this world is designed. 

Last month, I spent time reading His Dark Materials, by the English author, Philip Pullman. It is a three-book novel comprised of Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass. Written as a children’s book, in Harry Potter style, at a superficial level, this book is a fantasy, but presents the most fundamental question – the forces of ‘religion,’ who believe in destiny and present themselves as an intermediary force, versus the free-thinkers, who discard the idea of destiny and allow people to control their own lives. The Northern Lights has been made into films, first, in 2007 and then, in 2019. 

Having lived life past youth, settled in a family, and reaching a point in one’s livelihood, every thoughtful person starts realizing that all does not happen as one wishes and that there is an ongoing conflict between what one feels and what one is told, wherever one goes. The axis of all personal struggle is about being in control of every moment of our life. As we grow, we know that the controls we enjoyed are no more effective – things do not happen as per plan, people behave in unpredictable ways, and as old age sets in, and the end point of life is visible, the futility of life stares at us.

My take from the book is that knowledge is fundamental to earn one’s livelihood. Without knowledge, no one can, indeed, survive in the world. The right to decide how one wants to live is given to everyone by God and must never be denied. This right is very desirable. Pullman says that one must operate on one’s knowledge, and live without the grace, comfort and protection of a higher power. Here lies the pivot. I spent a few days in reflection and then realized that there is, indeed, no conflict, confusion, or even dilemma in his statement. All problems arise out of the error in understanding the meaning of knowledge and grace. 

The ninth verse of the Ishavasya Upanishad, comprised of just 18 verses, puts it very bluntly:

अन्धन्तमः प्रविशन्ति येऽविद्यामुपासते । 

ततो भूय इव ते तमोय उ विद्यायां रताः ॥

They who live in complete ignorance, fall into blind darkness; and they who live by knowledge alone, fall into an even deeper darkness.

So, it is neither by living in ignorance of what is happening around, nor by its complete knowledge, that life can be understood. The mind must be applied to make sense of the situation you are in, attend to the responsibility and obligations that the situation brings in, but leave the outcome to a higher power, as you are not the only person living in the world – there are 8 billion like you – and as your situation has emerged out of a bigger situation, the solutions also lie beyond you. But the key is to do your part, your bit of what is to be done. Not doing that is sin. 

When I watch people living false lives – not studying in one’s student days, not taking care of their physical and mental fitness, not honing the skills required in earning their livelihood, but pretending at work, and not feeling grateful for the gift of life, family and friends that they have already received, I look at these as acts of self-inflicting injury, the splurging of one’s endowments, and becoming a part of the problem for everyone, rather than a part of the solution in their own lives. As time passes, these people’s own colleagues, relatives, and even children desert them, and they spend their last years in despair. 

It is unpleasant to look at life in this way. But not to know something, because it hurts, is no escape either. It is here that Pullman’s book offers some brilliant insights. Pullman presents daemons, the external expressions of people’s souls, taking forms that symbolize their owners’ character. Pullman presents them as animal companions present with one from birth till the end of one’s life. They keep changing their forms, depending upon the situation, but their basic form remains unchanged.

Your daemon represents your basic nature, the way you are – your instincts, your drives, your temperament, your likes, and dislikes. Your daemon is your uniqueness. The world we live in is designed to separate us from our daemon and turn us into components of a machine – working where fitted. As we grow, we shun our daemons, but they never die till our own death. Living connected to your daemon, is, therefore, the only way to live a purposeful life. In practical terms, keep your child alive in your heart, be mindful of your emotions, and keep releasing them appropriately.

There is a quiz on the Internet. You answer ten questions, and your daemon is suggested to you. My daemon was a grey wolf. It was written, “Your daemon is mysterious, loyal, strong, and the kind that would do anything for their loved ones. But with that, you have a dangerous side that can frighten your enemies and sometimes even your friends.” I searched for more clues. One site says about people with a grey wolf daemon, “You are self-motivated and ambitious. Once you have an idea in your head there is little that can stop you on your road to success. You don’t let yourself get pushed around and you won’t stop until you’ve achieved your goals.” 

Had my daemon been a peacock, a lion, or even an elephant, I would have been delighted, perhaps. But a wolf? It took me a while to digest this. But as I recollected my experiences, starting from early childhood, University, the DRDO, the Care Hospital, my time with President Kalam and after him, my health, friendships, fights, and health issues… the grey wolf looked more and more reasonable. 

I certainly enjoyed cooperative game hunting to achieve recognition; I was quick to adapt where I was; I tackled difficult people diplomatically, rather than going in for direct fights, which I was sure I would lose; I had a good social nature and very expressive behavior, no different from individual or group howling. I travelled with my wife and children, prioritizing these trips over other expenses. But the Aha! moment came when I realized that a wolf is the ancestor of the domestic dog. 

And then, many characters flooded my memories, who flourished in their careers by following the commands their bosses gave them – right or wrong was never their concern. They did what they were told to and felt happy with whenever and whatever they got. But I could not do that. I remain a little bit of a wild animal in this world, never fully domesticated, and in the process, perhaps, not as rewarded as others. 

So, know your daemon. And then keep him close to your heart in whatever you do. Let your daemon talk to you. Drift, wait, and obey, if you like, but hear him, nevertheless. As Philip Pullman writes about multiverses, this world is just one place, a little aspect of the One, which exists in a million forms, at a million places, even at this very moment. Your daemon is your bridge into those unseen realms and helps you meet your doppelgänger – your double i.e., your true nature, like a mirror!

I live in the Silicon Valley part of Hyderabad and keep getting nuggets of what is going on in the computer field, through neighbours in the condominium where I stay, and visitors. Last week, there was a discussion on blockchain technology and how it is the latest mythology circulating around. My use of metaphor was not liked, as the general perception is that I live more in the world of myths these days. The other day, I irked a visitor by telling him that Samba was the son of Shri Krishna, who brought an end to his lineage. My visitor thought the only Samba was the one sitting atop the boulder in the film, Sholay, who answered the question, “Kitne aadmi the (How many were they)?”   

Keeping aside the matter of how much is myth and how much brass tacks, there is no doubt that blockchain is the most transformative technology of our times. The first thing I learnt was that blockchain is not Bitcoin, but that Bitcoin is impossible without the blockchain. Secondly, blockchain is a software technology; it is easy, but most cumbersome when applied. You need enormous computer power to validate a transaction on blockchain and if turns mainstream, it would have significant economic consequences. It is unlikely to happen in the immediate future, except as a revolution against the established order of the world. A “who will allow it versus who will be able to stop it” question is staring at us!

I dug deep and came to know about Ethereum, a decentralized blockchain platform. But more than the platform, what attracted my attention was its co-creator, Vitalik Buterin, who was born in Russia in 1994, and came to Canada when his computer scientist father immigrated there in the hubbub of Y2K. As goes the legend on the Internet, Buterin learnt about Bitcoin from his father, at the age of 17. He dropped out of the University of Waterloo in 2014, travelled extensively, interacting with other computer scientists and created Ethereum and, in 2018, received an honorary doctorate from the University of Basel. 

The general perception of blockchain is Bitcoin. The general perception of Bitcoin is stealth money, which is beyond tax nets and flows across the world without attracting attention to the transactions made. Both perceptions are only partially true. Blockchain is a technology and when used to handle money, becomes Bitcoin. And blockchain is more about integrity than confidentiality. Once used for anything, be it in supply chains, healthcare, real estate, media or energy, it brings authenticity in every business transaction. When used in governance, for revenue records, citizen identity, taxes, and voting, it rules out any opportunity for corruption. Basically, blockchain hits the operating structure of power. So, the question blockchain faces is not who will stop it, but who will allow it. 

I read a quote attributed to Vitalik Buterin on the Internet. Buterin says, “Whereas most technologies tend to automate workers on the periphery doing menial tasks, blockchains automate away the centre. Instead of putting the taxi driver out of a job, blockchain puts Uber out of a job and lets the taxi drivers work with the customer directly.” It is, indeed, a very big statement and points toward the great war already going on between the technology forces who want to control the way this world runs, and the forces that are running it right now. As the history of mankind testifies, technology has always prevailed. The way millions of people live, becomes the way of life. The way big businesses operate, becomes a business practice. And this brings me to the need, the most urgent need, of finding a middle path between this and that.   

The middle path is mentioned in the Shrimad Bhagavad Gita; it has been celebrated by the Buddha and the philosophers of ancient Greece. Shri Krishna tells Arjuna:

नात्यश्नतस्तु योगोऽस्ति न चैकान्तमनश्नत: |

न चाति स्वप्नशीलस्य जाग्रतो नैव चार्जुन || (Verse 6.16) 

But there is no yoga for one who eats in excess, nor for one who does not eat at all, nor for one who habitually oversleeps, nor for one who always keeps awake, O Arjuna.

Thus, the mean or the middle way between the two extremes, one, of excess and the other, of deficiency, is considered right and called the golden mean. Gautama Buddha made his religion a path between the extremes of religious asceticism and worldly self-indulgence. In the Greek temple of Delphi, “nothing in excess” is engraved. Later, Aristotle explained that every virtue in its extreme is, indeed, a vice. 

So, courage is a virtue, but if taken to excess, it would become recklessness. In deficiency, courage turns into cowardice. A virtuous, reasonable, and measured person can become indulgent and an addict by a deficiency of restrain and a fanatic by its excess. If the truth is stretched to its extreme, it can become either self-deprecating, or boastful, arrogant, and proud.  

Coming back to blockchain technology, it is inevitable that at some point of time, it will take over the way the world works, and will be unstoppable. Raymond “Ray” Kurzweil (b. 1948) believes that the singularity will occur by approximately 2045. What is seen is the proverbial writing on the wall that the blockchain revolution is coming, and that it will wash away many structures — legal, regulatory, governance, business practices, and even societal. Imagine the elections if you can cast your vote using your mobile phone! Your health records are meticulously and correctly archived. And business transactions are, perforce, authentic. Though it would be a mistake to rush headlong into the blockchain innovation without understanding how it is likely to take hold, a bigger, or rather, fatal, mistake would be to keep ignoring it.

The message is to start living authentically. Don’t waste your energy in having multiple versions of yourself, as nothing would be hidden anymore. Why stand embarrassed in the future? Decide on the purpose of your life and organize all your activities around that. Any activity, even thoughts, that deviate you from your life purpose, must be nipped in the bud. And while you do that in your personal life, professional life, and civil life, as the blockchain technology matures, you will see it as a convenience and efficiency enhancer. 

Today, it has become a norm to get medicines delivered at home, sourced from the manufacturer, all taxes paid. If the diagnostic tests done are all blockchained, how much savings and accuracy in the treatment, would it bring to the patients receiving it? It would make the doctors who prescribe them, accountable. When all seeds are blockchained, agriculture will be transformed. All academic records, extra-curricular activities, conduct in society, once blockchained, will directly bring employment, as money always needs people to multiply itself. 

What would Dr. Kalam say about blockchain? When he departed in 2015, it was still considered as fiction. Maybe he would say, “Buddy, this is not a ‘disruptive’ technology that would attack the traditional business model. Blockchain is a ‘foundational’ technology; it will remove the rug from beneath the people who are standing tall and glorified today, collapsing structures like buildings during an earthquake.” So, what do we do? Live simple, lean, and with integrity. A hut in the garden never fears an earthquake, nor is a person harmed in a financial crisis, who has always been giving more than he is taking.”

I have shared earlier in my blog, my fascination with Calculus that I studied as part of my engineering education and later applied while working in missiles. Mathematics is the language of science and the medium of expression for abstract ideas. You can’t understand any phenomena beyond a point without comprehending the unseen part of it and for those, mathematical functions are your lamp posts. 

I recently read two books of the American mathematician, Steven Strogatz (b. 1959) – “The Joy of x” and “Infinite Powers.” These brilliantly written books explain well how indeed the world works – both, the natural universe, and the man-made world. There are simple laws and patterns at the core of the apparently complex world and properly understood, they instill a sense of peace and confidence in facing, or rather, enduring the reality. 

If you understand the health problem well, especially chronic illnesses, you know how to live with them without being frightened and keep doing your best in the situation. If you understand the way big money moves markets, climate operates the weather, and social tensions are brewed and festered by the seekers of political power, you are not only less surprised, but also better focused on what you can do to safeguard your own little interests without being overwhelmed. 

In “The Joy of x”, published in 2012, Strogatz writes, “Math is everywhere, if you know where to look. We’ll spot waves in zebra stripes, hear echoes of Euclid in the Declaration of Independence [the phrase “all men are created equal”], and recognize signs of negative numbers in the run-up of World-War I [the area between the opposing armies’ trenches was known as “No Man’s Land”]. And we’ll see how our lives today are being touched by new kind of math, as we search for restaurants online and try to understand – not to mention survive – the frightening swings in the stock market.”

In “Infinite Powers”, published in 2019, Strogatz writes, “For reasons nobody understands, the universe is deeply mathematical. Maybe God made it that way. Or maybe it’s the only way a universe with us in it could be . . . our universe obeys laws of nature that always turn out to be expressible in the language of calculus as sentences called differential equations. Such equations describe the difference between something right now and the same thing an instant later or between something right here now and the same thing an instant later or between something right here and the same thing infinitesimally close by. The details differ depending on what part of nature we are talking about, but the structure of the laws is always the same.”  

Computer science is rooted in mathematics and those programmers who do not take mathematics seriously, do not flourish beyond a point. The mathematical way of thinking that means abstract reasoning, critical thought, and logical deduction, is imperative to succeeding in computer science. The art of reading, comprehending, formulating thoughts, and communicating with abstract language, come naturally with learning mathematics. The popular term, algorithm, is basically an abstraction of a process. Once it is established as parameters, it can be studied how it is repeated, modified, and even applied to solve other problems.

Recently, Mahesh Ramanujam, Former President and CEO (2016-2021) and COO (2011-2016), U.S. Green Building Council visited me. During his tenure there, Ramanujam helmed the accelerated expansion and implementation of LEED, the world’s premier green building certification and rating system. A computer engineering graduate from the Annamalai University (1993), Mahesh now enthusiastically leads the charge for a “zero emissions” world. We had a long chat. 

As outlined in the 2015 Paris Agreement, the commitment to keep global warming to no more than 1.5°C, translates into a reduction of the current levels of emissions by 45% by 2030, and to reach zero emissions by 2050. This can be possible only through a complete transformation of how industries produce, people consume, and the movement of goods and travel in the world. 

But, as Ramanujam views it, that timeline doesn’t offer the sense of urgency required. In many ways, Ramanujam says, “Things are moving in exactly the opposite direction – and scaling change needs to meet a series of challenges.” Of course, he’s referring to the fact that urbanization is on a roll; thermal power stations are being added, and roads are choked with traffic, exhaling greenhouse gases. A rather utopian term that has gained traction of late is a decarbonized economy, or more accurately, a low-carbon economy (LCE). Renewable energy, nuclear power, biofuels, and energy efficiency are the new engineering hotlines. Low-carbon economies are, indeed, a precursor to the more advanced, zero-carbon economy. But who is going to make it happen? Why should an industry invest in clean technology? 

Idealism alone will not work. Ramanujam believes that a proper understanding of the scaling is necessary, that people, planet, and profit can exist in tandem and not despite one another. Firstly, it must be economically beneficial for a business to go in for lower to zero emissions. And secondly, there must be a cost to doing business as usual, one that ultimately renders the polluting industries unviable. 

This is where carbon credits come in. According to the National Indian Carbon Coalition, “A carbon credit represents ownership of the equivalent of one metric ton of carbon dioxide that can be traded, sold, or retired. If the organization produces fewer tons of carbon emissions than it is allocated, the organization can trade, sell, or hold the remaining carbon credits. When a credit is sold, the buyer is purchasing the seller’s allowance of emissions.”

Sounds great, right?! 

But the challenge is how these credits can be accurately measured and traded. The answer lies in Mathematics. An average car generates 5 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide per year. It used to be 10 metric tonnes earlier, which has lowered down to 3 and below in emerging fuel-efficient models. Users of these cars must purchase the equivalent number of carbon credits from a reputable source. An hour of flying generates a certain quantity of carbon dioxide. Money should be paid to forest growers and farmers to sequester carbon in the soil. Solar and wind energy parks offset the energy produced using fossil fuels. All these businesses – energy, automobile, aviation, agriculture – are fundamentally small-world networks. Their nodes may not be connected to one another, but the neighbors of any given node are likely to be connected. To a keen eye, all is visible, measurable, and transactional – and according to Ramanujam, these prerequisites are what lead to market transformation.  

As things stand, the carbon market is merely a concept. The current landscape is disorganized, archaic, and lacks incentives. Ramanujam feels that carbon markets riding onto a public and decentralized database, such as the blockchain, can provide a global infrastructure data layer, and force polluting companies to either pay higher prices for carbon credits or seek more environmentally friendly approaches to their business practices. He also says that, “Using crypto and carbon metrics will provide a cohesiveness to an otherwise fragmented effort at a zero-emissions future. “

I tend to agree. A journey of thousand miles begins with one small step and it is time to take that step, instead of sitting in inaction.

It was during the phase of expanding the Pan-Africa e-Network platform, created under a project of the Government of India that, in 2011, I landed up in Rwanda, a beautiful country with a cool climate and scenic, hilly terrain. Rwanda, due to its geographic location on the continent, is called Africa’s heart. There was a flight from Nairobi in Kenya to Kigali, hopping over the small Bujumbura airport in Burundi. It was here that I met Colonel Ben Karenzi, a medical doctor, and Commandant of the Rwandan Army Hospital. He gave me a PowerPoint presentation on the proposed Super Specialty Hospital for Military, with 3D drawings. This was new to me, habituated to seeing the traditional Indian hospitals, which had evolved over several decades, adding layers upon layers of facilities. I was presented a copy of A Thousand Hills: Rwanda’s Rebirth and the Man Who Dreamed It, the story of Paul Kagame, a refugee who, after a generation of exile, found his way home.

Dr. Ben Karenzi and his team paid a return visit to India and saw Hyderabad as a fast-emerging hub for the treatment of international patients, mostly coming in from the African continent, finding it more suitable than the two other great Indian medical hubs – Mumbai, crowded and expensive, and Chennai, a little away. Our focus was using Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to provide whatever services were possible in Africa itself and a lengthy follow-up back home after they returned, post-treatment. These visits and people travelling more often provided an impetus for better bilateral relations between India and Rwanda. Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Rwanda in July 2018 and soon after, the Indian High Commission in Kigali became operational, on August 15, 2018.  

After superannuation from military service, Dr. Ben became a consultant in the management of international projects. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic lockouts and disruptions of international air travel, he could not visit India earlier, but he finally arrived last month on a week-long trip. It was very kind of him to visit me at my home as his first stop and before returning – what is generally called briefing/ debriefing sessions done at the beginning and conclusion of a visit. Age had affected both of us and there was no ‘pink of health’ anymore. But the spirit was indomitable and the vision about what could be done between India and Rwanda, sharper.

During this visit, Ben Karenzi spent an entire day at Bharat Biotech International Limited to understand the aspects of capacity building for vaccine manufacturing in Africa, totally dependent on UNICEF-sponsored vaccine programmes for their children, which means, vaccines manufactured in the Western countries. The CDC Africa is merely two years old, and a continental strategy is yet to emerge on what African people need and will get without dependence on imports. India offers a shining example of such a pursuit. India is now not only self-sufficient in all essential drugs and pharmaceuticals, including vaccines, but provided desperately needed COVID-19 vaccines to Rwanda and other countries. The Indian “price” is unbeatable and Western powers can only persist by fortifying their current dominance through rules and regulations they have historically created and imposed upon Africa. 

Ben Karenzi spent another day at the Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) factory in Hyderabad. BHEL had created a small 28 MW hydroelectric project on the Nyabarongo River in Rwanda, with an 80-million-dollar Indian line of credit. The project has eased out Rwanda’s electricity shortage to an extent. Rwanda has abundant methane reserves and can become an energy hub, following the gas turbine route. Besides being an energy partner, BHEL, with its world-class Plant and Machinery (P&M) building capacity, can establish the Kigali centralized water and sewage system. The focus is not merely funding and doing, but making the Rwandan people learn advanced engineering and cater to the needs of the African economy, something India did in the 1960s. Rwanda’s only sugar refinery and its only modern textile mill are both run by Indians, and it is time to upscale and raise the stakes.   

Since everything eventually acquires a name, this working together of developing countries has been called “South-South” cooperation. It is a broad framework of collaboration among countries of the global South, with all developed countries in the North. When the developing countries share knowledge, skills, expertise, and resources among themselves through concerted efforts, it is called “South-South” cooperation. There is a trend, led by China, of an increased volume of South-South trade and foreign direct investment. Between African and Asian continents, there is regional integration, technology transfers, and impromptu sharing of solutions and experts. It will take another few decades before becoming a viable alternative to the North-dominated world order, but the baby is born; it will grow with time. 

Ben Karenzi presented me a folder on Vision 2050, the Rwandan national development strategy, launched in December 2020 by President Paul Kagame. Rwanda aims to be an upper-middle income country (UMIC) by 2035, and a high-income country (HIC) by 2050. This means realizing a per capita GDP of about 4000 dollars by 2035 and of over 12,000 dollars by 2050. For understanding, India has a per capita GDP of 2000 in 2022. According to Mr. Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), in his February 2022 speech at the Asia Economic Dialogue, “I believe that with our progress, we will reach $10,000 per capita in the next 15-20 years.” Of course, with more than 1.35 billion people, and growing, it will be a humongous task. India must go global, capitalizing on its technology and engineering expertise. 

I am yet to deep dive into the document, but what struck me most was the assertion of President Kagame, “Vision 2050 has to be about the future we choose, because we can, and because we deserve it.” It is, indeed, true that we all are as big as our dream. Without aspiration, any individual, or community, or nation, easily gets lost in merry-making, only to be subjugated by a higher power, or to wither away into oblivion. The idea of ‘who I am’ and ‘what do I do with my life’, is fundamental. It was not until Bal Gangadhar Tilak proclaimed, “Swaraj is my birth right, and I shall have it!” that a movement started in India to overthrow the British Rule. Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam used to say, “You have to dream before your dreams can come true.” So, President Kagame’s call to choose, because we can, and because we deserve it, is a call of our times, for the entire global South, where more than five billion people live mostly impoverished lives.

The COVID-19 pandemic has proved this much, that South-South cooperation is the only way forward. The urgent need for vaccines has opened a window of opportunity for a South-South cooperation initiative in health and related areas. But if not for Indian and Chinese vaccines, there would been a disaster. While the superficialities of advanced healthcare systems in the Western world surfaced, the vaccination of billions of people throughout the global South was a historic achievement. This has to move on to agriculture supply chains, and finally, education. It will happen, because we deserve it. It will take years, even decades, but like a tree that takes years before giving fruits, it will happen, if started and sustained.