The world's largest electoral democracy as we know, went to the polls today. 1st phase polling was held today and I was more than enthusiastic casting my vote. The last time I cast my vote was in 1998 when we had a paper ballot system.

This time the excitement was all the more palpable as I was curious to know about the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM). We may not be a perfect democracy looking at the way money and liquor has been used to woo the voters. However seeing the indelible mark on my finger I am proud of the fact that when we compare ourselves to our neighbours we are much better off atleast in having a say in electing our representatives.

The EVM is a simple machine which records our vote at the press of a button in a jiffy. People will miss the excitement of putting a stamp on the ballot paper but things change. Technology has played a large role in reducing wastage of time, efficient reuse of resources and faster declaration of results. The EVM is one such device which is also user friendly.

Holding such a mammoth election exercise is no small feat. The credit truly must go to the Election Commission of India which has a come a long way from being a silent spectator to becoming the people's watchdog.
(Image source: http://www.bel-india.com/BELWebsite/images/EVM.jpg)

Beleaguered, tainted, fraud-hit...these are some of the words which were used to describe Satyam (my employer). Satyam scam as Prannoy Roy of NDTV rightly put it was actually a Raju scam. Satyam is a great company. Truth they say has a ring to it. Nothing is farther from truth.

As an employee of the company I am relieved that we have finally found a new owner in Tech Mahindra. I admire Anand Mahindra (Chairman of the Mahindra group) for turning around the company when it was in the dumps a few years back. Launching the Scorpio was a calculated risk which not only restored the company's brand image but also made an impact on the export market.

Taking over of Satyam is just the beginning. The tough challenge lies ahead. There is one positive thing about the whole process. That even though Satyam fraud was a blot on India's corporate image, the redeeming feature has been that the government hasn't nationalized the company and allowed the market forces to dictate the agenda. It did supersede the board but that was quite understandable and the need of the hour.
(Image source:http://ceoworld.biz/ceo/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/satyam-logo.jpg)