A Customer-centric Content Marketing Approach

By M H Ahssan

The pressure of competition and desire for business growth pushes marketers towards tactics that promise quick wins. Pundits advocate strategy first (been there) but doing so in a comprehensive way isn’t always practical, especially when it comes to areas like social media and content marketing.

For marketers in need of practical advice on customer-centric, practical content marketing, a solid framework can be invaluable for an adaptive approach that is thoughtful about overall direction and measurable short term impact at the same time.

An increasing number of Search Engine Marketers are advocating both Content Marketing and Social Media in concert with achieving SEO objectives which is a great sign, but often lacking a customer-centric approach.

Here’s a Content Marketing framework that proves to be customer-centric as well as SEO and Social Media savvy that I think any smart online marketer can follow.  Keep in mind, with a holistic approach, this 4 part framework can be applied to any type of online content that a company produces: HR, Customer Service, Public Relations, etc.

I talked about this approach at Content Marketing World recently and will be elaborating on it at several future events as well. Of course I drill down even deeper in “Optimize“.  But since that book won’t be out until the first part of next year, here is a bit of an elaboration.

Customers - Optimize for keywords or optimize of customers? It may be semantics and it’s certainly not a mutually exclusive situation with customer segments and individual search keywords. Many online marketers focus on keywords that are popular and relevant to products and services without ever considering things like customer pain points, behaviors and position within the buying cycle and how that manifests as a search query.

Content Marketers organize their campaigns according to customer needs and how to influence those customers to buy. Add keyword optimization (SEO) to that mix and you have a very powerful combination.
• Identify customer segments – What do they care about? What is their context?
 
• Document pain points & information needs during buying cycle.
 
• Build a path of content including triggers that inspire purchase and social sharing.

Keywords – As you understand the language of your customer, the opportunity to optimize content for search “findability” becomes very important. What better place to connect with customers than at the moment they proactively seek a solution? Build relevant keywords according to customer interests into a content creation plan with key messages and you’ll be one step closer to “relevant ubiquity” .

Besides search keywords, it’s worth considering social topics. The interplay between searching and social referrals is becoming more standard as buyers navigate information resources online.
 • Brainstorm and research keywords with tools like Google AdWords Keyword Tool, Wordtracker and Ubersuggest.
 
• Tap into social media monitoring tools to gauge what topics cluster together on social networks, blogs and Twitter, relevant to your search keywords.
 • Organize search keywords and social topics into a keyword glossary shared with anyone in your company that creates online content.

“Content – is King and Creativity is Queen”, according to Pan Didner of Intel. I happen to agree. Content Marketing is growing and soon “everybody will be doing it” but certainly not doing it well. Through a combination of keen customer insight, analytics and smart creativity, online marketers can stand out amongst the 27 million pieces of content shared in the U.S. each day or the 5 Exabytes of information created every 2 days around the world.

Keywords and topics can fuel a Content Plan that provides a calendar of planned content publishing, topics, optimization focus, promotion channels and planned repurposing. Allow for wildcards and spontaneous content creation according to real-time opportunities and current events.

 • Plan content according to customer segments, keyword topics and business services/product offering.
 
• Leverage search keywords for content optimization on the website, blog and on social media sites.
 
• Create modular content that can serve its purpose individually, as part of a matrix of topics and as repurposed content in the future.

Optimize & Socialize - Armed with customer insight, a keyword glossary and a content plan, it’s time for those Social SEO smarts to see some action.  With content staff and social media teams trained on SEO best practices, new content will be easier for prospects and customers to find – when it matters. They’re looking for it!   Monitoring search analytics for refinement of on-page optimization helps keep your investment in optimized search and social content high impact and current.

In today’s online marketing world, there is no “Optimize” without a smart dose of “Socialize”.  Social network development and content promotion is essential to inspire sharing, traffic and links. Social links and web page links to your content provide a powerful combination for search engines to use when finding and ranking helpful information that leads your customers to buy and share.

 • Train copywriting and social media staff on keyword glossaries and SEO best practices. Keep social topics up to date!

 • Optimize web and social content on and off the corporate websites while engaging and growing social networks.

 • Create, optimize and share useful content that will inspire customers to buy and share with their social friends.

The particular strategy, goals and methods of measurement will vary according to your situation of course, but as I mentioned above, this framework is applicable to any area of online content that a company might be publishing: Marketing, Sales, Customer Service, Human Resources, Public and Media Relations.

Have you seen examples of companies doing a great job of going from basic SEO to more robust content marketing optimization? Have you implemented or observed some great examples of “optimize and socialize”?

Bigg Boss 5 - Launched with Bashing Duo, Sanjay & Salman

By M H Ahssan

Actor Sanjay Dutt, who makes his debut on televison as the host for the fifth season of reality show Bigg Boss, says he was nervous initially but co-anchor and friend Salman Khan built his confidence.

The Bollywood celebrities made a splashing entry at a promotional event here last night, where they played anchors and questioned each other on various things including Khan's recent surgery and talk of an alleged tiff between the star-duo sometime back.

"As an anchor I enjoyed and liked it. I got confidence from Salman. Since this is the first time I am hosting a show so there was nervousness backstage. I was nervous but when we came on stage and Salman started the act and then I became comfortable....and we went with the flow," Sanjay said.

Both Salman and Sanjay have worked together in films like Saajan and Chal Mere Bhai, and share a great friendship.

Sanjay says he considers Salman like his younger brother. "We share a great chemistry, there is a great bond and friendship so all this is fun to do," he said.

Salman, who is hosting the show for the second time, won't be there for few episodes. When asked Sanjay how will he manage the show alone, he said, "I will call up Salman and take his help...we will be in touch. And I have seen the previous season as well."

Sanjay even asked for suggestions on how he should present himself on the show. The response was to perform his famous 'Munnabhai' act and do 'Gandhigiri', considering that the show starts from October 2. The show will be aired from Monday to Friday at 10.30 pm and on weekends at 10 pm on Colors channel.

The fifth season of TV reality show Bigg Boss promises to get bigger and better with two star hosts - Salman and Sanjay - who will be welcoming 14 new inmates including probables like boxer Mike Tyson and pop singer Shakira.

The show sees celebrity contestants stay in a house for about three months, cut off from the outside world. They are overseen by a "mysterious person" known as Bigg Boss.

This time, the location of Bigg Boss house has been shifted to Karjat from Lonavala. Interior designer Shayam Bhatia has designed the 9,000 square feet house.

This year there are two separate bedrooms as against the single bedroom last time where all 14 housemates stayed. The bedrooms have been done in shades of green and fuchsia with a hint of white, brown and yellow. The confession room varies with a shade of royal green and the jail concept is back and black.

The beautifully designed open kitchen is connected to a dining room that extends to the garden area. The outdoor spot consists of a pool, the activity area, gymnasium and the kitchen sink.

This season there will be over 55 cameras following every move of the contestants 24x7. Like last year there will be a special bedroom for the Head-of-House who will get special privileges.

Also, the show will also see two hosts for the first time --Bollywood stars Salman Khan and Sanjay Dutt. Salman, who hosted the fourth season, is the only celebrity who will be repeating the feat for the second time.

Fourteen handpicked strangers, locked in the house for about three months will have to perform all the household chores right from cleaning to cooking to tasks.

The names that are doing the rounds include - former world heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson, Colombian singer and dancer Shakira, former cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu, Nihita Biswas (wife of convicted murderer Charles Sobhraj) Mexican actress Barbara Mori, former South African cricketer Jonty Rhodes, British singer-rapper Jay Sean, stand-up comedian Sudesh Lehri, Jaspal Bhatti, Shekhar Suman's actor son Adhyayan, TV actors Parul Chauhan (of 'Bidaai' fame), Karan Singh Grover (of 'Dil Mill Gayye') and Amar Upadhyay.

However, the names of the housemates will be out soon as the reality show is set to hit the small screen on October 2 on Colors channel.

"I feel this is the best time to do TV. Earlier I was little afraid to do it. When I went as a guest on Salman's show Dus Ka Dum he had told me that I must host a show. And if there is a good opportunity then he will ensure I do it. It is Salman who told me about Bigg Boss and that is how I came on board," Sanjay said.

Nitish or Modi - Who will make a better PM of India?

By M H Ahssan

When Narendra Modi threw his hat into the ring to become India's next prime minister, he never bargained for the fact that he would stumble on a skull cap. The now famous "cap incident" was a rare instance of spontaneity in a carefully choreographed Sadbhavna fast in Ahmedabad, when the Gujarat Chief Minister, in a gesture of spare-me-the-honour, rejected the cap offered by Maulana Hazrat Sufi Imam Sahi Sayeed Mehendi Husain. For a leader desperate to reach out to the Muslims of Gujarat and to Indians at large, that moment preserved by cameras was heavy with meaning, especially so when Modi displays a penchant for wearing a variety of colourful headgear that display the country's ethnic diversity.

The three-day amity fast was designed by India's most popular state administrator as a Gandhian short-cut to gain political acceptability needed for a national leader-and to announce his own ticket for the top job in 2014. The queue of BJP stalwarts, all as ambitious as Modi but with less credentials, was a sign of his rising clout as frontrunner. But when the curtain dropped on the drama, did Modi look merely desperate-an impatient player overdoing the part?

The question became inevitable as the noise accompanying the self-canonisation in Ahmedabad was in stark contrast to the silence in Patna. Nitish Kumar, the Chief Minister of Bihar, shares only one passion with Modi: development. When Modi hard-sells his own mythology as a 21st century Sardar Patel who deserves a space larger than Gujarat, Nitish quietly waits in the wings, biding his time, patiently sure of himself. When Modi performs his way into front pages and onto prime time television, intimidating his colleagues in BJP and allies in NDA, Nitish takes backstage in Patna and refuses to supply the mandatory soundbites. If the flamboyance in Ahmedabad was divisive, the silence in Patna was reassuring. When the show was over and Modi had his lemonade, one man stood between him and his unhidden prime ministerial ambition: Nitish Kumar.

What is it that makes Modi, unarguably the most popular leader on the Right, a polarising figure in spite of his commendable achievement in bridging the communal divide in post-2002 Gujarat? Why is it that he is still a haunted man, forever struggling for acceptability beyond Gujarat? In opinion polls conducted by india today and even other publications, Modi consistently maintains his lead as India's best chief minister and the best possible prime minister in a non-upa government, but he still cannot take a break from the project of makeover: he is always a work in progress. Modi is trapped in his own image as an uncompromising Hindutva leader. That may be fine with the faithful but in India the gold standard of a right-wing prime minister was set by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the abiding embodiment of inclusive leadership.

Modi is still the proverbial hardliner, and hardline can get you success, not final success. Then, there is the legal labyrinth of riot-related cases which he continues to navigate, and it is unlikely that he or anyone knows till when. Modi has his rebuttal ready for the harrumphers. "When I took over, many felt I was too inexperienced to lead the government but today the same people say I have proved myself. So opinion can change over a period of time. But there is a vested interest group in India with intellectual ability that opposed Sardar Patel, Morarji Desai, Atalji, Advaniji and now me. So the belief that I am a polarising figure is not justified," he tells Newsindia.

This indomitable faith in himself is not totally misplaced, for he is still the BJP's best bet for 2014. A Modi showcased as India's best administrator with a mass base, and communication skills to match, will be a formidable force. His strength is Gujarat, as much as it is his curse. He now wants a bigger gallery to mount his bestselling portrait as a clean ruler and a development fanatic. Gujarat is the development model that industry moguls continue to toast and The Economist writes about. Under Modi's stewardship, the state has become an economic powerhouse whose growth rate is higher than the country's. Gujarat generates 16 per cent of India's industrial output and 22 per cent of its exports. From infrastructure to agriculture, from education to green technology, Gujarat has taken huge strides, showing the rest of India what focused leadership can achieve.

Says industrialist and president of the Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry Mahendra Patel: "Modi's greatest asset is his missionary spirit, which has forced the bureaucracy and industry to act. His development model has a trickle-down effect to the lowest levels." A tough administrator, he refused to slow down the drive against farmers indulging in theft to draw ground water for irrigation on the eve of the 2007 polls despite pressure from BJP MLAs. He has become an apostle of participative development. "If you look at India's past 40 years, you will find that ruling parties tailored their budget with a view to strengthen vote banks. They created models that made people dependent on Government. But in Gujarat, we rejected the vote-bank based model and created a new model," he says.

As an organiser and a campaigner who can play with the mass mind, he now wants to sell the slogan "Sab ka saath, sab ka vikas" to a wider audience. And within the BJP, in spite of the charioteer-in-chief Advani's refusal to retire from the roadshow, no one is more qualified to do so. As a senior BJP leader tells Newsindia, "Ultimately, who else is there?" Publicly, though, party leaders maintain that it is too early for the party to choose a prime ministerial candidate.

Arun Jaitley, in the run-up to the 2009 elections, had queered the pitch by endorsing Modi's name for prime ministership in 2014. Today the opposition leader in the Rajya Sabha, who is himself emerging as a national leader worthy of the top job, says the focus is on putting the BJP house in order. "The elections are still three years away," he adds. Party president Nitin Gadkari too says no decision has been taken yet to project anybody as the prime minister candidate for 2014. "We have not decided on Narendrabhai's name. His fast was not to become the prime minister. It is to clear the misunderstanding about Gujarat," he says.

He admits that there are problems in endorsing Modi's name because of the 2002 riots taint. "He cannot do much about it" but the party is making efforts to focus more on his development agenda, administrative skills and dynamic leadership, he says. "If Modi can prove that he can defeat Congress by a decisive margin in the Assembly elections, it will become a little easier for him," Gadkari says. But he is categorical about the possibility of Nitish as usurper: "He may be a key ally but remains an outsider. No worker in the party will campaign for him." Will allies accept Modi? "Ultimately votes count. If we get more votes, allies will automatically come. BJP reaching 165-170 seats is important. And when you go to war, you go with your best General. Modi is the best General that the party has," says a senior party leader.

The General must first win the war within. Modi has hardly been on talking terms with Gadkari ever since rss pracharak Sanjay Joshi was reinducted into the party to strengthen BJP in Uttar Pradesh against the Gujarat strongman's wishes. His weight-reducing bariatric surgery was a well-timed excuse for the party boss to avoid the photo-op with Modi during the Sadbhavna mission. Sushma Swaraj, who made it to Ahmedabad, was visibly uncomfortable in the company of the man who she thinks is responsible for her stint in the wilderness after her defeat from Bellary in 1999. Party insiders feel that Modi agreed to give a Rajya Sabha berth to Smriti Irani only to counter Swaraj.

Apart from Advani, Jaitley is the only central leader with whom Modi enjoys a good rapport, though Jaitley himself has prime ministerial ambitions. The rss is already working on a succession plan for Gujarat as Modi is convinced that he deserves an office higher than the one he occupies now. The new generation, swayed by the political zeitgeist, is sceptical about the Modi brand. "While the youth of the country may be on a warpath against corruption, demanding an honest administration, they are also looking for a more inclusive social structure. In this day and age, Modi may never be able to wish away the 2002 blot. It is there to stay. The party will have to do better than a Modi," says a young BJP leader.

That is why Modi's desperation is Nitish's hope. Parties like TDP, Biju Janata Dal and agp-traditionally anti-Congress but wary of alienating minority support in BJP's company-would be happy embracing NDA if Nitish Kumar is at the helm. Apart from his proven record in winning Muslim votes, he is winning, like Modi, in the politics of development as well. As an administrator, he has addressed critical areas ranging from restoration of law and order to health, educational services and building roads.

As a leader, he has pushed targeted social welfare schemes. According to his acolytes, if Nitish can make Bihar a functional state, he has the potential to change India too on behalf of NDA. Nitish's biggest disadvantage, though, is his electoral base. He may have the credibility and character to become a national leader, but JD-U, with only 20 members in 543-memberLok Sabha, is not a political force beyond Bihar. Though he has a good political chemistry with leaders like Naveen Patnaik, no regional satrap has come forward to propose his leadership.

The biggest roadblock for him will be Modi himself. With less than six months' age difference-the elder of the two, Modi, turned 61 only last week-the two can neutralise each other. There is no love lost between the two. The relationship worsened on May 10, 2009 when Modi, during an NDA rally at Ludhiana, clasped Nitish Kumar's hand and forcibly raised it as a show of solidarity.

Many considered it as Modi's revenge because Nitish had earlier scuttled Modi's plans for campaigning in Bihar for the Lok Sabha elections. Senior jd-u leaders seeking anonymity maintain that Nitish is mentally prepared to pull the plug on the alliance if Modi is named the BJP's prime ministerial candidate. With 117 jd-u MLAs in the 243-member Bihar assembly-besides a handful of Independent supporters-he thinks he can afford to take the risk. (BJP is his ally in Bihar.) Nitish has succeeded in keeping Bihar offlimits for Modi.

Since taking over as Bihar Chief Minister in November 2005, Nitish has put his foot down on Modi campaigning in the state. Nitish does not even mention Modi's name on public platforms, and considers the Gujarat chief minister as a communal leader unacceptable to his inclusive brand of politics. In June 2010, Nitish raged against advertisements carrying a picture of them together at Ludhiana which were placed in Bihar newspapers by Modi supporters. The advertisements had boasted about Gujarat's flood-relief aid to Bihar. Nitish took no time to withdraw his dinner invitation to BJP top brass then present in Patna for BJP's national executive meet.

He not only refused to attend the BJP rally held at the conclusion of the meet but also returned the Rs 5 crore given by the Gujarat government. Besides derailing the BJP's national executive meet, Nitish almost rocked the alliance. He knows that BJP cannot afford to lose someone like him who continues to be wooed by the Congress. He now hopes to keep Delhi inaccessible to his rival, though, while talking to Newsindia, he is characteristically diplomatic: "The BJP is yet to officially declare anyone as its prime ministerial candidate. We can express our opinion only after an announcement is made."

The opinion is unlikely to please Modi. Come 2014 and it will be a clash between the socialist and the saffronite in the opposition for the highest political position. It will be a battle to behold.

How ill is Mrs Gandhi?

By M H Ahssan

The news is good. The operation was a success. She is back in India and has begun to defuse the life-threatening crisis within Congress and government at a time when what she really needs is some rest. India doesn't know what exactly ails its most powerful citizen.

The one unanswered question, which continues to fuel speculation ranging from the ignorant to the bizarre, is: why did the authorities keep details of Sonia Gandhi's medical condition such a tightly wrapped secret? Some word has begun to trickle down since Sonia has returned. She has confided to a select few Congress leaders that she had first stage cancer, for which she went through a seven-hour-long surgical procedure. "In June, when Congressmen claimed that she had gone abroad to tend to her ailing mother, she had gone for her own treatment," a Congress leader told India Today. "The good news is that the illness is not life-threatening. However, it will be at least six months before she will be able to handle the normal workload," the source said.

India has substituted news with plenty of conjecture. Since August 4, when bbc and Agence France-Presse broke the news of Sonia Gandhi's surgery, Delhi's politically connected physicians have been in demand. Some have been toeing the Congress line that it's a private matter, some reprimanding nosy reporters, some citing the Hippocratic Oath while most are denying any knowledge. Various theories have been doing the rounds in a season of enforced silence-that it could be gastrointestinal or gynaecological cancer.

At the centre of all this is the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, US, where Sonia reportedly had her surgery. According to some doctors, speaking in strict confidentiality, the seven-hour-long surgery indicates a rare and difficult cancer. They said the 64-year-old Congress president was initially diagnosed with an "unspecified mass" in her pancreas. The tests indicated the probability of the rare neuroendocrine tumour of the pancreas (pNET). The more common pancreatic cancers, adenocarcinoma, are virulent and have a survival rate of about two per cent. But pNET is more slow-spreading and treatable. "The long ot time could be because pNET is so rare. It affects less than one person in 100,000 in the US," the doctors told Newsindia.

The operation could have taken long, says a doctor who refuses to be identified, because, post-operation, the biopsy revealed that it wasn't probably a cancer at all. "It was most likely an unusual disorder, pancreatic tuberculosis, which very often mimics pNET," he said. The symptoms for pancreatic tb and cancer can be surprisingly similar, making diagnosis virtually impossible: from fever and fatigue to weight loss to upper abdominal pain radiating to the back.

Radiological imaging techniques, ultrasonography, CT scan and other tests usually fail to make a clear distinction. "It's a very lucky and extremely rare misdiagnosis but not totally unheard of," says the doctor. At the world's top cancer facility, a patient with an unspecified mass can get a biopsy, an ultrasound for size and surgical procedure, all in a day. The doctors took time to detect it correctly and put Sonia on heavy-duty anti-tb therapy (reportedly for the next six months). "She should be fine after that," he says.

Beyond pNET and pancreatic tuberculosis is another theory. It stems from her physician of choice in the US. Internationally-known cancer specialist, Dr Dattatreyudu Nori, is professor and executive vice chair of radiation oncology at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City hospital. Nori is an acclaimed expert in women's cancer. He has been named as one of the top doctors in the US for the treatment of women by one of the most popular women's magazines, The Ladies Home Journal. Nori was on vacation in Iceland at that time, but was apparently called back urgently and returned to New York to coordinate the entire procedure for Sonia. Nori has neither confirmed nor denied that he was treating her.

There is no final official word on the Congress President's health but what can be confirmed is that the Congress party seems to have become suicidal. The most obvious manifestation of it is the sight of a hapless prime minister reduced to a bystander while the turf war between two of his senior Cabinet colleagues, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Home Minister P. Chidambaram, takes a heavy toll on governance.

Sonia remains the absolute authority where all arguments stop. The PM has fallen from grace, while Rahul has failed to rise to the occasion. According to a party official who met Sonia recently, "she is not happy with the handling of the 2G letter conflict by the prime minister." He was referring to a March 25, 2011, note written by the finance ministry to the PMO which stated that Chidambaram could have prevented the 2G scam by insisting on an auction.

Mukherjee is blaming the PMO for giving such a detailed response to an otherwise general RTI inquiry, as well as for demanding such a note in the first place. In a four-page letter written to the Prime Minister, he has said that it was at the behest of the then Cabinet Secretary K.M. Chandrasekhar that such a note was prepared. According to finance ministry sources, the letter states "the finance ministry sent a 12-paragraph note apprising the cabinet secretary of the facts but this was sent back with paragraphs added." Whether he wanted it or not, the Prime Minster has become party to the deepening crisis.

Though Mukherjee rushed to New York on September 25 to meet Manmohan, who was attending the UN General Assembly, and Chidambaram had been in touch with the Prime Minister on the phone, Sonia still had to step in for damage control. On her return home on September 8 from the medical treatment in the US, there was hardly any political news to cheer her up. She has questioned her colleagues about the fallout of the Anna Hazare fiasco. Saddled with a Prime Minister who lacks political authority and a son whose disinterest is only matched by his diffidence, an ailing Sonia does not have the luxury of a quiet recuperation.

There has been speculation ever since she left for treatment that she would appoint Rahul as Congress working president. That has not happened. The main reason for this is Rahul himself. He is not sure of himself, and now it looks like even the party is coming to terms with the reality of a reluctant prince. Soon after the 2G letter crisis broke, Rahul flew to Srinagar where, for two days, he dabbled in Youth Congress matters and breakfasted with his pal, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. Just as he refused to play an active role during the Anna Hazare agitation he has gone out of his way to distance himself from this crisis too.

The four-member core group that Sonia had appointed to run the party when she left for her treatment on August 4 has already been disbanded. It held no structured meetings during the 36 days she was away. This was again an indication of Rahul's reluctance to take charge. When the Hazare agitation was at its peak in August, Rahul led a delegation of MPs to the Prime Minister to talk about the land acquisition bill. Impatient with his disconnect, the MPs surrounded him at 7 Race Course Road after the meeting with Manmohan and pleaded with him to step in. They complained about the Government's mishandling of the Hazare campaign. Though Rahul spoke in Parliament the next day, he did not offer any resolution or display leadership.

What aggravates Sonia's agony is the fact that, set against an heir apparent who is a permanent work in progress is a prime minister who has lost his elan. When Manmohan complained that the Opposition was trying to destabilise his government, Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy asked, "Does he mean opposition within or outside the Congress?"

The dominant feeling within the Cabinet is that there is a growing need for a political Prime Minister. "All the crises have been political, not economic. We don't need an economist, we need a politician," says a Congress Cabinet minister. There are also few takers for Manmohan's economic policies. "The two arms of the Prime Minister are the pmo and the Planning Commission. Both are out of sync with the party," says the Cabinet minister.

He rattles off a list of Congress Cabinet ministers-Kamal Nath, Jairam Ramesh and M. Veerappa Moily-who are upset with Planning Commission chief Montek Singh Ahluwalia. "To solve the problems of the rural poor, the Planning Commission has hired a team of the urban rich," adds a party general secretary. "Once Pulok Chatterji joins the PMO, then the party will have its man in place there. Right now, there is no connect between the party and the Prime Minister's Office," he said. Added to this leadership vacuum is the mystery about Sonia's illness.

Since the party has not yet been officially briefed about it, the field has been left open to conspiracy theorists. "Even public personalities are entitled to privacy in so far as their personal life is concerned," says Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari. Sonia has never functioned as a 'visible' leader; yet never was the need for her party to get a glimpse of its president greater.

Her spin doctors organised a well-choreographed meeting of the Central Election Committee on September 15, ostensibly to discuss candidates for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls. It provided an ideal showcase of a leader in control. When the Prime Minister drove up to 10 Janpath, she was at the door to receive him and see him off. "She looked at the candidate list and her immediate reaction was why there were so few Congressmen on it," said a senior Congress leader, pointing out that most of the candidates were former bsp and sp politicians. "Rahul then said he would talk to the Youth Congress to suggest some names," added the Congress leader. What he didn't voice was the relief that his party president seemed 'okay'. Later, Congress General Secretary Janardhan Dwivedi told the media that "she looked normal... but it will take her a little time to fully recover".

Until the Pranab vs Chidambaram letter bomb landed in her in-tray, Sonia was content with routine party work such as nominating pcc teams for Goa and Maharashtra and taking a decision on whether the Congress should go it alone in the Tamil Nadu local elections. She has also begun meeting Cabinet ministers and party officials, managing four-five meetings daily.

"She is watching a lot more television than she does normally and is worried about party turf wars," says a Congress leader. Considering the malady afflicting the Government, it could be a long while before the Congress president sees something she likes on TV.

Challenges facing CIOs in Saudi Arabia

Devoteam managing partner OSAMA GHOUL takes a look at the many issues facing Saudi Arabian CIOs working in the Kingdom today.

With the rapid growth of the IT market, CIOs in Saudi Arabia encounter many challenges that vary from making day-to-day simple decisions to taking strategic directions that will affect the future success of the organisation.

As the role of a CIO is becoming less technology focused and more strategy oriented, CIOs in Saudi Arabia are becoming more engaged in setting strategy, enabling enterprise change, and solving business problems, as well as IT problems. Additionally, leading finance professionals have begun to recognise that well-managed IT organisations are not just cost centres, but valuable business partners that can drive both operating efficiencies and top-line growth.

This recent shift in the CIO role emphasises the importance of adopting modern IT approaches that guarantee more efficient business processes, through innovative and visionary use of new technologies, such as cloud and virtualisation, enterprise content management, social media, and proper SOA.

This paradigm shift adds a major challenge before the CIO to balance between the various business objectives, like introducing new technologies, maintaining business agility, being responsiveness, achieving quality of service, cutting cost, and promoting innovative thinking. Each CIO is facing different realities and factors that impact the decisions about how to balance between these business differentiators.

Although cost reduction is not on the top of the list when it comes to the Saudi public sector IT spending features, the calculations of the IT investment ROI remain one of the challenges that CIOs face in justifying their investment. The emerging technologies are deemed to be the major challenge that requires enormous efforts from the CIOs in assessing these technologies and valuate its benefits against the expected cost.

Among the emerging trends that most CIOs have to confront and introduce within their organisations are that most of IT infrastructure is being commoditised, and most of the horizontal applications are being shared or consolidated, the distinction between internal and external collaboration is being reduced by time, information management is now dealing more with internal and external information as a continuum.

In addition, the confluence of information, operational and consumer technologies will create a new wave of transformational opportunities similar to what is currently named ‘Government 2.0’, the transformation towards enterprise service management, as a full spectrum IT governance, and the introduction of enterprise architecture management are having an impact.

Alongside with the transformation towards adopting and activating new trends, CIOs within the Saudi ICT market find themselves dealing will challenging key issues including balancing the need to influence business strategy with the need to provide top-notch IT support, balancing between cost reductions and enhancing service provisioning, keeping up with the continuous change of the technologies followed to achieve the transformation towards the new trends, and the maturity, availability, and ability of the service providers to fulfil the requirements of the Saudi market.

In addition, they are having to worry about introducing new trends within the organisation to get stakeholders buy-in, developing a surrounding ecosystem that will incubate the transformation process from all aspects, even up to the level of the ethical codes and social policies needed to ensure interoperability, catering for the overlapping roles of service recipients.

Varun Outshines Rahul in Parliament

By Dr.Subhash Kapila

One of the unintended consequences of the Anna Hazare movement which peaked in August end with a Parliament discussion on his main demands for breaking off his fast was to throw up vividly the marked comparison in terms of political abilities and political impact potential between Varun Gandhi and his first cousin Rahul Gandhi. Both grandsons of late Indira Gandhi in different political dispensations spoke in the Parliament debate on Anna Hazare.

In public perceptions Varun Gandhi created a more positive political impact with his political composure, political gravitas and his speech marked by extempore delivery masterfully done. Rahul Gandhi in the run-in for succeeding Prime Minister Man Mohan Singh had raised great hopes that he would seize the occasion to establish his political credentials in a moment of crisis. Rahul Gandhi angrily read out a four page written text on the subject and highly critical of the mass political upheaval. That Rahul Gandhi could not seize the moment politically, the blame should rest on his political mentors within the Congress Party and his political spin masters.

The Indian media was quick to seize this unintended consequence and has gone to own with analyses that it seemed that Rahul Gandhi was not yet ready to assume the political leadership of India and some within his Party suggesting that maybe he wants to spend more time to strengthen the Party organization before he bids for the top slot. So much doubting on his political prowess has taken place that some analysts went on to suggest that the Congress Party Plan B should cater for his sister Priyanka Gandhi replacing him as heir to the dynasty.

Politically, all eyes would now be riveted on the Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections next year to assess Rahul Gandhi’s political fortunes. Even if the Congress Party does not win power in Uttar Pradesh next year but substantially increases its share of winning Assembly seats, that achievement would be politically credited as Rahul Gandhi’s political gain. However that itself seems to be debatable.

Varun Gandhi is certainly not in the race for Prime Minister as his Party the BJP has more than a handful of strong contenders for the Prime Minister’s office in 2014. But for political analysts drawing political comparisons between the two Gandhi family cousins would continue to be inevitable. It makes good copy especially for those who abhor dynastic politics and dynastic leadership within the Congress Party.

Regrettably for Rahul Gandhi India’s political environment is presently not in favor of the Congress Party and hence for Rahul Gandhi also to launch his bid for Prime Ministership. The Congress Party stock has fallen markedly in public perceptions as a result of the cascade of unending political corruption scams of unprecedented proportions. Then is what is being described by the political opposition parties as a civil war in the upper echelons of Congress Party political leaders and especially between the Home Minister and the Finance Minister.

More significantly is the growing alienation of India’s middle classes from the Congress Party especially after the Congress Part’s mismanagement of the Anna Hazare mass political upheaval and the earlier suppression of Baba Ram Dev’s movement at Ram Lila Maidan in New Delhi by use of brute police power.

All of these above are tremendous political pressures on Rahul Gandhi and could distract him from the orderly succession scripted for him by the Congress President and the Congress Party political machine.

Comparatively his first cousin Varun Gandhi has no such political distractions weighing in heavily on his political fortunes or his political path. Varun Gandhi does not enjoy or has at his command a subservient political machine to bolster his political fortunes. Politically whatever he has achieved working his way up through BJP ranks is on his own strengths and convictions however much many may differ with him.

In times to come one will always be presented by political comparisons between the two Gandhi first cousins.

Who’s Not Guilty in 2G Scam?

By Rajinder Puri

Congress spokesperson Mr. Abhishekh Singhvi commenting on the 2G controversy said that there was not a “shred of evidence” implicating any Congress minister. As a distinguished lawyer Mr. Singhvi doubtless knows what he is talking about. However even for a layman not well conversant with law, there arise a few nagging questions that continue to trouble. The charge sheet on the 2G scam was filed by the CBI against former Telecom Minister Mr. A. Raja on April 2, 2011.

The offences listed against Mr. Raja for the issuance of 2G Spectrum licenses was for the period 2008-2009. Just one week before Mr. Raja was charge sheeted the recently leaked Finance Ministry note had been prepared on March 25, 2011. The note made clear that Home Minister Mr. P. Chidambaram, then the Finance Minister, was initially opposed to Mr. Raja’s decision not to auction the Spectrum 2G licenses but eventually did not prevent him. That disclosure created an uproar and tension between Mr. Chidambaram and Finance Minister Mr. Pranab Mukherjee.

Now Mr. Mukherjee has written a new letter to the Prime Minister in which he has clarified that the note was a background paper intended to achieve a consensual approach by different ministries on the contentious issue of 2G Spectrum licenses. Mr. Mukherjee has defended Mr. Chidambaram. However in the letter Mr. Mukherjee has also revealed that the note was prepared with inputs from several ministries including Law, Finance and Telecom, as well as the cabinet secretariat and the PMO.

It may be recalled that the note was released by the cabinet secretariat in response to an RTI application. Mr. Mukherjee’s letter makes clear therefore that all the ministers concerned were in the loop about what Mr. Raja was up to. Mr. Mukherjee wrote that Mr. Raja could possibly “prima facie be held guilty”. However “Mr. Chidambaram cannot be accused of any such thing.”

Mr. Raja was booked for criminal conspiracy, cheating and forgery under sections 120B, 420, 468 and 471 IPC, and under various sections of Prevention of Corruption Act. In the charge sheet the CBI gave details of how the conspirators caused a loss of Rs 30,984 crore to the state exchequer. In the light of the note dated March 25, 2011, Mr. Mukherjee’s latest letter to the PM revealing the involvement of several ministries in its preparation, and the fact that it was released by the Cabinet Secretariat creates powerful circumstantial evidence that the PM, the FM and the HM were all aware before April 2, 2011, when Mr. Raja was charge sheeted, of what he had done during 2008-2009 when he was issuing the licenses. But it was the Supreme Court and not the government that ordered the CBI to probe Mr. Raja. This is what raises the nagging questions.

The Prevention of Corruption Act makes clear that even without direct complicity or motive of profit if any official is aware of the state being defrauded and does not act to prevent it, he or she becomes an abettor open to criminal prosecution. Section 10 of the Act reads: “Whoever, being a public servant, in respect of whom either of the offences defined in Section 8 or Section 9 (defrauding the state) is committed, abets the offence, whether or not that offence is committed in consequence of that abetment, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall be not less than six months but which may extend to five years and shall also be liable to fine.”

The question raging in public debate is which ministers of the UPA government are guilty. In the light of the above facts should not the question be which ministers are not guilty?

Diabetic Retinopathy - Handle with Care

By M H Ahssan


All Diabetics, beware to handle this disease with care as 'Diabetic Retinopathy' is caused by damage to the retina of the eye. Once, this condition is common in people with chronic diabetes, you have to be more cautious in caring your eyes. We have provided some helpful information on diabetic retinopathy to avoid any hassles in health further. Have a look and follow us.

Diabetic retinopathy is a group of eye problems, which mainly affects diabetics. It is one of the most serious complications of diabetes. Diabetes is caused by increased levels of blood sugar, called as hyperglycemia. Diabetes results from insufficient production of insulin hormone by the pancreas or reduced capacity of the body to use insulin. Diabetes can give rise to serious complications such as nerve damage, renal failure, heart and blood vessel diseases, foot problems and eye problems.


Diabetic people are at higher risk of developing certain eye problems such as cataract, glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy. Diabetic retinopathy is one of the common complications of diabetes, which usually occurs in people with chronic diabetes. It occurs due to damage to the blood vessels of the light-sensitive tissues in the retina. It may happen in people with type-1 diabetes or type-2 diabetes. In some cases of diabetic retinopathy, there may be swelling of blood vessels and excretion of the fluid. In other cases, there may be a growth of new blood vessels on the surface of the retina. Diabetic retinopathy initially causes abnormality in vision, and if left untreated, it can lead to vision loss. The National Eye Institute has reported that about 45% of diabetic adults in the United States suffer from some degree of diabetic retinopathy. It is one of the leading causes of blindness in the United States.


Types of Diabetic Retinopathy
There are two major types of diabetes retinopathy: non-proliferative and proliferative. Non-proliferative retinopathy is the early and mild form of the disease, which can cause blurred vision. Proliferative retinopathy is considered as the advanced and more severe stage of the disease. It may result in vision loss and scarring of the retina.


Stages of Diabetic Retinopathy
Diabetic retinopathy is classified into four stages depending upon severity of the condition. Mild non-proliferative retinopathy is the earliest stage of the disease. It causes small areas of balloon-like swelling (microaneurysms) in the blood vessels of the retina. In case of moderate non-proliferative retinopathy, some of the blood vessels in the retina are blocked. In severe non-proliferative retinopathy, blood supply to the retina is decreased due to blockage of most blood vessels. In the last stage, proliferative retinopathy, the growth of new blood vessels is triggered along the retina for the nourishment of the retina. Since these new blood vessels are fragile and abnormal, they may break and cause bleeding in the retina, resulting in haemorrhages. Proteins may leak from the blood vessels, leading to swelling of the retina (edema), which can cause vision loss and blindness.


Risk Factors for Diabetic Retinopathy
People with severe diabetes for a longer period of time are at greater risk of developing diabetic retinopathy. Poor control on diabetes, high cholesterol levels, high blood pressure and smoking are the risk factors for diabetic neuropathy. Pregnant women with diabetes are more likely to develop diabetic retinopathy.


Symptoms of Diabetic Retinopathy
Many a times, no symptoms are experienced in the early stage of diabetic retinopathy. In the advanced stage of the disease, you may notice the symptoms such as spots floating, dark streaks or a red film that block the vision, shadows or missing areas of vision, blurred vision, poor night vision and vision loss. The abnormal growth of new blood vessels can give rise to some serious complications such as vitreous hemorrhage, retinal detachment, glaucoma and blindness. Generally, both eyes are affected by diabetic retinopathy.


Diagnosis of Diabetic Retinopathy
When you notice the symptoms of diabetic retinopathy, you should immediately consult an eye-specialist doctor. The eye-specialist carries out a dilated eye exam for the diagnosis of diabetic retinopathy. This test is performed by dilating the pupils using eye drops and then examining the retina. The doctor examines for the abnormal blood vessels, growth of new blood vessels and scar tissues, damage to the nerve tissues, swelling, bleeding or fatty deposits in the retina, bleeding in vitreous (clear, jelly-like substance that fills the center of the eye) and retinal detachment. Some other tests such as retinal photography, also called fluorescein angiography and optical coherence tomography (OCT) are also suggested for the diagnosis of diabetic retinopathy.


Treatment for Diabetic Retinopathy
Treatment for diabetic retinopathy is decided depending upon the type and severity of the condition. Damage to the retina that has already occurred can’t be reversed with any kind of treatment. The treatment is aimed at preventing the disease from getting worse and stopping further damage. Generally, no treatment is required for non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy. However, laser treatment can be administered if necessary.


In case of advanced proliferative diabetic retinopathy, a prompt surgical treatment may be required. There are various treatment options such as focal laser treatment, scatter laser treatment and vitrectomy. Surgical option helps to slow or stop the progression of the disease. But, keep in mind that it is not a cure. Since diabetes is a long-lasting condition and there is no cure for diabetes, there is a possibility of further retinal damage and vision loss in diabetic people. Therefore, you should opt for regular eye check-up even after the treatment.


The only way to prevent diabetic retinopathy is to keep your diabetes under control. You should opt for appropriate diabetic diet, regular exercises and diabetes medications to control diabetes. Monitor and maintain your blood sugar levels with the help of blood glucose tests on a regular basis. Also keep your blood pressure and cholesterol levels under control by having nutritious diet and regular exercising. If you notice slight changes in your vision, immediately consult the eye-specialist.


Have a watchful approach towards diabetes treatment and management in order to promote healthy vision. Take good care of your eyes; they are precious!