NEW DELHI, Aug 12 (PTI): Terming the current global economic crisis as a creation of investment bankers, NRI business tycoon Lord Swraj Paul yesterday said the magnitude of the problem could be far bigger than what meets the eye.
"It is a man-made crisis and the investment bankers are responsible for it," he said at an interactive session organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) Ladies Organisation here.
How big the problem is has not yet been gauged as the bankers have not come out with the truth.
Major banks across the world have written off over 120 billion dollars in bad debts since last year, connected to the subprime crisis in the US banking sector analysts have predicted close to another 200 billion dollar write-downs.
Lord Paul said the bankers have gone overboard by giving loans to people, which were more than their repaying capacity and have resulted in the current crisis.
He cautioned that India is not shielded from the global downturn and country's soaring inflation should be a matter of concern.
"Some people got into the exuberance of growth that India witnessed but they failed to understand the problem of tackling inflation," he said, adding that countries like Britain were more focussed on controlling inflation than achieving growth.
He said although India has managed to 'shine' far better than it was 50 years ago, it has left a lot to be desired.
"...80-85 per cent of the people are being neglected, no country can be proud of such a figure," he said.
Lord Paul said it was a shame that over 300 million people live on an earning of one dollar a day and nearly 600 million on two dollars a day.
"Thirty per cent of the children have no primary education, this is not acceptable," he said, adding that India seemed to have turned a blind eye to those issues.
Asking women of India to take up leadership role, he said: "A corporate leader does not have to be a visionary, yet he needs to have a vision. The vision may not always remain the same; it can change or evolve, but he must know where he wants to go at any time and keep going towards it."
Lord Paul said a leader should clarify his objectives and focus on them relentlessly.
A leader cannot afford too much distraction or relaxation. The company must come first, second and last. There is not such thing as a successful part-time leaders, he added.
He said one of the principle tasks of the corporate chiefs is to balance the future with the present, the short and the long term and be consistent in his application.
Sharing his prescription on leadership and entrepreneurship, Lord Paul said: "The basic philosophy should be to enjoy whatever you do. You cannot easily chose what you have to do, but you can enjoy doing it."
