Indian Economy: News and Discussion (Apr 1 2011)

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AbhiJ
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Re: Indian Economy: News and Discussion (Apr 1 2011)

Post by AbhiJ »

In the first five decades of Independence, only 550 kilometers of four-lane highways were built. In other words, only 11 kilometers a year. Now, we will build 24,000 kilometers of highways at the rate of 11 kilometers a day.
http://pib.nic.in/archieve/lreleng/lyr2 ... 20034.html

550 KMs of Roads in 50 Years.

That's Congress 4 u! :mrgreen:

Remove $10 Billion NREGA could build 4000 Km 4 Laned Highways Every Year. Opportunity Cost - 28,000 KM 4 Laned Highways. India has only 14,000 KM 4 Laned Highways Right now!
Theo_Fidel

Re: Indian Economy: News and Discussion (Apr 1 2011)

Post by Theo_Fidel »

South and Western India has taken us as far as we can go. With bigger GDP's these states will naturally slow to 5%-6% growth. We need the Bihars & UP's & MP's & NE & WB's of India to start growing at 10%, to start increasing their GDP size. Even Bihar needs to bulk up before it crows about its 13% growth rate. I think we are at the mercy of the North & East now. They need to get their Musharraf in gear else we are in trouble...
-------------------------------------------------

WRT Forex there is ton of money desperately looking for even 3%-5% rate of return. If GOI & Corporates are wise they will refinance at the dirt low international rates available. This money will find it way into India as the only country providing 10% CD rates. I know my money is flowing into Indian CD's.
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Re: Indian Economy: News and Discussion (Apr 1 2011)

Post by vera_k »

^^^

This is not so. Most Southern and Western states can easily have $2 - $3 trillion GDPs, so they have plenty of room to run. Even the medium term (2020s goal) where a bunch of states have $400-500 billion GDPs requires these states to grow much faster. But the one size fits all model is showing strain due to low growth in a lot of states.

The question is not whether international finance is available (which it is), but at what cost it can be accessed. Foreign lenders will not bear currency risk, so the effective interest rate depends on how the rupee performs. If it depreciates even 10% a year, that is 10% more that the Indian borrower has to repay.
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Re: Indian Economy: News and Discussion (Apr 1 2011)

Post by harbans »

That's Congress 4 u! :mrgreen:
No wrong! We have people here that will still say that Cars are just status symbols. Lack of development ethos is not a party platform, it's a mindset issue. Congress exploited an entrenched mindset to it's advantage instead of providing a leadership which would bring development and jobs to the fore. Why the F do you need cars and roads?
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Re: Indian Economy: News and Discussion (Apr 1 2011)

Post by harbans »

AHMEDABAD: Think of an Indian village and what comes to mind are images of mooing cows, open drains and children playing ants and frog games. But, Punsari, a motley village in Himmatnagar, talks about wi-fi and optical fiber broadband network, its children spend best of their times in air-conditioned classrooms with CCTV cameras. The village also boasts of its own mini-bus transport system and there are 25-odd CCTVs located on important junctions to spot litterbugs.

...

"The village panchayat pays an annual premium of Rs 25 lakh against insurance for each of the 6,000 villagers who have a cover of Rs 1 lakh and a mediclaim policy of Rs 25,000. Our schools have zero dropout rates, CCTV cameras in classrooms help us keep watch on teachers in classrooms. Our reverse osmosis plant supplies 20-litre cans to houses for a token cost of Rs 4. These are bare essentials for a standard life today and why should our village be behind," claims the village sarpanch Hemant Patel, 29.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city ... 309567.cms
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Re: Indian Economy: News and Discussion (Apr 1 2011)

Post by gakakkad »

harbans wrote:
No wrong! We have people here that will still say that Cars are just status symbols. Lack of development ethos is not a party platform, it's a mindset issue. Congress exploited an entrenched mindset to it's advantage instead of providing a leadership which would bring development and jobs to the fore. Why the F do you need cars and roads?

In case you are referring to the consversation in the PRC econ-looney dhaage , I have replied ...You ll find it more than satisfactory .. No one ever said that cars are just status symbols ...
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Re: Indian Economy: News and Discussion (Apr 1 2011)

Post by gakakkad »

Theo_Fidel wrote:South and Western India has taken us as far as we can go. With bigger GDP's these states will naturally slow to 5%-6% growth. We need the Bihars & UP's & MP's & NE & WB's of India to start growing at 10%, to start increasing their GDP size. Even Bihar needs to bulk up before it crows about its 13% growth rate. I think we are at the mercy of the North & East now. They need to get their Musharraf in gear else we are in trouble...
-------------------------------------------------

WRT Forex there is ton of money desperately looking for even 3%-5% rate of return. If GOI & Corporates are wise they will refinance at the dirt low international rates available. This money will find it way into India as the only country providing 10% CD rates. I know my money is flowing into Indian CD's.
disagree... even today the south/western states are growing rapidly , while UP and Bihar are laggards.. UP especially... We just discussed there growth rates ..UP barely grew at 6-7% in the past few years..while Gujarat/haryana/maha/tn etc grew at 10+ ...

The south/western state have not yet grown rich enough for the growth to moderate too..

For instance Guj has surplus power ..But total production is only 20 GW..It is 3 times less than England which has a similar population....So there is plenty of scope for growth... These states can easily gp to 2-3 T economy in a decade or twos time if they are governed well and centre does not try mess around..

Doomsday scenarios like a turd front gober mint with Didi as Fin Min , Raja Bhaiya as Home min , and la-loo as PM can ensure that these dreams remain dreams..
Theo_Fidel

Re: Indian Economy: News and Discussion (Apr 1 2011)

Post by Theo_Fidel »

^^^^^
Just Talking myself down of the cliff. Just frustrated that all this effort and hard work by the South & West is not able to keep India moving. It seems to be getting harder and harder every year....
gakakkad wrote:.. No one ever said that cars are just status symbols ...
Actually I suspect that was a poorly worded dig at me without the context. I said in in the Urban thread that in dense urban cities a car is more or less a status symbol with low utility. Harbans took exception as he thought I was condemning Indians to JNU style socialism. Shrug. :(
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Re: Indian Economy: News and Discussion (Apr 1 2011)

Post by Advait »

Theo, I have seen you repeatedly refer to southern India as South India and keep talking about how South is keeping India up. This sounds like typical Tamilhz(!) supremacist attitude. In another thread you were going on about how Tamilzhs get along well with SoKo etc.

I have seen Tamilhzs use this kind of language to justify saying "we should go separate". I hope you are not one of them.

Of course you have included western India to lend credibility, but the whole "North is keeping up down" sounds divisive.

What is Kerala's economic strength/contribution? If the Gulf countries kick out/cut down all Indians working there, what are Kerala's ppl going to do? And yes that can happen. Palestinians were kicked out of Kuwait after GW1. Don't think Mallus are that indispensable.

Outside of Chennai, Benglauru and Hy'bad how many other cities and towns are developed compared to their "North" counterparts.
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Re: Indian Economy: News and Discussion (Apr 1 2011)

Post by Advait »

Guys, the issue with us is not that our leaders and other elites don't know what to do. They WON'T DO IT.

WHY? Because it is in their interest to do so. Our kleptocrats have invented a model that is the envy of communists everywhere. Communism failed because the communists took over all aspects of the society and when they couldn't deliver the ppl threw them out.

Here, our kleptocrats have given us a some economic and social freedom and limited freedom of speech which makes most of us think we have the same level of economic and political rights as compared to western countries. So what is holding us back?
The evil Hindoo, "upper-caste" oppressors blah blah blah. Nowadays they have added environment and "poor ppl being displaced by dams etc" as part of their narrative.

Most ppl have bought into all these arguments including even the ppl on the right. They always try to show that they are not casteist, they care about property rights of tribals etc.

Just see our media and notice how much time is devoted to "social causes" and how little to economic ones. Most journalists also don't know much about economics or think that the socialist version is the only right one.

The only option is to spread grassroots awareness, for those of us who have been fortunate enough to see how other countries work, to spread the idea that if we demand more, the ppl in power will deliver.

WE DEMAND MATERIALISM. - this should be our nara.

If somebody wants to wear khadi, let him, as long as it is not subsided. Let him weave his own khadi. We want brand name clothes. We want big cars and the latest iphone.

Even our working class ppl should be made to believe that they deserve all these things and the only reason that they are not getting it is the government. And this is where the hard part comes in. We have to make sure that they don't start believing that more socialism and reservation is the answer, but more economic freedom, ability to open businesses easily and keep the profits.

In this regard, we should highlight businesses where ppl without much education are earning a lot. After all, only 4% of U.S. workforce is STEM graduates. Not everybody has to be IT engineer or a CA.

Peace out.
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Re: Indian Economy: News and Discussion (Apr 1 2011)

Post by shyam »

Theo_Fidel wrote:Just Talking myself down of the cliff. Just frustrated that all this effort and hard work by the South & West is not able to keep India moving. It seems to be getting harder and harder every year....
Think twice before you wish for this ;-). Once North Indian states really start rocking, current tiger states will have to struggle hard to attract capital, raw material and labor. It is more like, when China started roaring, old Asean tigers/cubs started meowing (except for SoKo).

I am not discounting the enterprising nature of people of TN, but government policies make things happen. TN had a peculiar political advantage over other states as it is ruled by two regional parties. In the last so many decades, the ruling party always was a member of central government (or a close partner of INC during INC rule days) and always held few powerful ministries. Unlike ministers from other states, TN ministers are very vocal in getting special benefits for TN and that provided an extra economic advantage to that state. This also can be seen in the disprortionate amount of money from 2G scam that went to TN. Some people were commenting that money to give free DMK goodies to electorate came from 2G scam.

This is where I have respect for Modi. He had everything going against him ever since he came to power, but he made things happen in his state.

Yesterday, my parents were saying that companies are now shifting to Andhra due to power shortage in TN (may be, AP should thank Koodamkulam protesters).
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Re: Indian Economy: News and Discussion (Apr 1 2011)

Post by harbans »

I said in in the Urban thread that in dense urban cities a car is more or less a status symbol with low utility. Harbans took exception as he thought I was condemning Indians to JNU style socialism. Shrug. :(
Theo Ji..this is what you said:
The Socialists are right on this one. Cars are needless status symbols in India.
Kakkad Ji, i was referring to the above. I disagreed with Theo ji's contention. When planners think Cars are needless, they do tend to plan cities and make master plans with inadequate consideration to road space. When one additionally says..
Whether you like it or not India will never look like TFTA west or even Singapore.
It reflects the sharp contrast between the aspirations of normal people and those that are making master plans on idealism and inbuilt notions of inferiority that India can never get as developed.

This indeed has taken a toll as later stage building through congested areas is difficult if not impossible and certainly more expensive.
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Re: Indian Economy: News and Discussion (Apr 1 2011)

Post by Gus »

I would disagree that cars are 'status symbols'. I prefer the bike if I am out on my own in the city. But there's just no way anybody who can afford a car, can take the family out on the public transportation in Chennai.
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Re: Indian Economy: News and Discussion (Apr 1 2011)

Post by gakakkad »

w.r.t cars , the point that TF wants to make is that cars should be banned from some regions of the city...like the old city regions which typically have narrow streets...Several European cities have such pedestrian zones /car free zones in which cars are not allowed...

There are several regions in Indian cities that should be declared carfree /pedestrian zones...
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Re: Indian Economy: News and Discussion (Apr 1 2011)

Post by Vipul »

India's lost decades?

A listing of India’s real ills would read thus: profligacy and an emphasis on entitlement-driven government programmes without a corresponding focus on reforms and the lack of political and administrative leadership.

Ours will be the generation that saw India break out of the Hindu rate of growth and then return to it.”

One of the 227 people I follow on Twitter said this and the probability of the statement coming true increases by the day.

Not surprisingly, some pundits are already beginning to speak of India’s lost decade. I believe the situation is far more serious; if things do not change, the 20 years to 2014 could well become India’s lost two decades. Then, there’s no telling what lies in store after 2014, the year the next general elections are scheduled.

Here’s a quick litany of India’s troubles: a rapidly depreciating currency; falling stock markets; rising inflation; declining factory output; a slowing economy; and low investor, consumer and business sentiment.

These, though, are merely the symptoms. A listing of India’s real ills would read thus: profligacy and an emphasis on entitlement-driven government programmes without a corresponding focus on reforms and the lack of political and administrative leadership.

These are the real issues about which everyone, including the worthies in Parliament, should be worried. Instead, what we have is an obsession about the sensational (in government and media circles) that, unfortunately, comes with a complete obliviousness to the substantive.

On Friday, some of our politicians and the TV channels were outraging about cricket, specifically the Mumbai Cricket Association’s decision to bar Shah Rukh Khan from entering the Wankhede Stadium for five years after an expletive-laden exchange between officials of the association and the actor, who is part owner of Indian Premier League (IPL) team Kolkata Knight Riders (or Team Kolkata as it is referred to by a media company that will now probably look for a similar non-brand descriptor for Nike, Apple, and other brands). The TV channels and some other politicians were focusing on the alleged assault of a US citizen by a member of another IPL team, Royal Challengers Bangalore. The minor matter of consumer price inflation in India entering double digits was overlooked (the new data series was launched in January). So was another minor matter, an emerging stand-off between the rural development ministry and a Parliamentary standing committee on the critical land acquisition bill. A few days ago, it was spot-fixing by some inconsequential cricketers in some inconsequential matches that was the focus of everyone’s attention. And before that, it was a 63-year-old cartoon.

But to return to the economic crisis that now looms large, it is becoming increasingly clear with every passing day that radical measures are needed. If there ever was a time for incremental measures —there may have been, briefly, in 2009, after the United Progressive Alliance returned to power, stronger, yet, as it is now evident, strangely dysfunctional—it is long gone. What we need now are bold steps.

Not as bold as replacing the Prime Minister and the finance minister (they are both wrong men for their respective jobs) and disbanding the National Advisory Council. Not even as bold as shutting down Air India. But bold enough to bring down both deficits (fiscal and current account) and control inflation; reassure investors, both domestic and foreign, about the stability of policy regimes in India; create jobs; and send out the message that someone (anyone) is in charge and the country isn’t being run by activists and courts (not that this is an entirely bad thing). To be sure, it won’t be easy and there are no off-the-shelf solutions, but it is debate around issues such as these that should be occupying Parliament and the media. Surely, the future of the country matters more than a spat between an actor and some cricket administrators?
Last edited by Vipul on 20 May 2012 22:26, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Indian Economy: News and Discussion (Apr 1 2011)

Post by Arjun »

Vipul wrote:Ours will be the generation that saw India break out of the Hindu rate of growth and then return to it.
Stupid quote, with all due respect...Better would be 'Ours will be the generation that saw India revert from Hindu rate of growth of the noughties, to the Eurozone rate of growth, courtesy Jean Dreze and Madamji'

Just our luck that when Eurozone has become a global dirty word - India gets Yooropians to run her economy.
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Re: Indian Economy: News and Discussion (Apr 1 2011)

Post by Yogi_G »

It is the leftist goons with their imported German barbarian ideology which kept India down and these god-less Stalin musharraf kissers have the gall to call the growth "Hindu growth"? To hell with these $cum!

Hindu growth is the growth and advancement India has given mankind for thousands of years when the same $cum who came up with leftisit/communist theories were still hunter gatherers in Europe.
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Re: Indian Economy: News and Discussion (Apr 1 2011)

Post by Supratik »

@Yogi

Go easy on the race thingy. The "Hindu rate of growth" was coined by a Hindu. The sewer is within.
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Re: Indian Economy: News and Discussion (Apr 1 2011)

Post by member_20317 »

Theo_Fidel wrote:South and Western India has taken us as far as we can go. With bigger GDP's these states will naturally slow to 5%-6% growth. We need the Bihars & UP's & MP's & NE & WB's of India to start growing at 10%, to start increasing their GDP size. Even Bihar needs to bulk up before it crows about its 13% growth rate. I think we are at the mercy of the North & East now. They need to get their Musharraf in gear else we are in trouble...
:rotfl:
You are asking for the moon. UP ka bhaiya just elected SP. These guys like the earlier ones want mullah. But unlike the earlier ones these guys dont even want to work for it. MP has its own difficulties w.r.t. supporting Industry. Bihar as you said is too small. NE is well NE. Bengal... well Didi is good for road shows only it seems. I think things are going to go worse for next 1-2 years. Modi in Delhi in 2014 is the only quick fix. 2014 is a quick fix. But then Modi will in all likelihood, not be at Delhi in 2014. So the Janata Janardan will have to think hard.
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Re: Indian Economy: News and Discussion (Apr 1 2011)

Post by harbans »

w.r.t cars , the point that TF wants to make is that cars should be banned from some regions of the city...like the old city regions which typically have narrow streets.
GK' ji relax. I know exactly what TF intends to say. I had these kind of arguments in the 80's and 90's. I had people catching my throat literally that i want to sell the country when i said we needed to do away with govt controls on most aspects of the economy and encourage competition to allow industries to gain strength. The arguments 2 decades later, by a similar set are the same. They hate we come into the Nuclear fold, they detest Retail reforms..anything that isolates India more is game. No clear vision at all. NO they don't want town centers clear of cars. They want and they have done so..plan cities with barely 8% space towards roads. They planned it so, because they did not even imagine SDRE can really do a TFTA. That i see in TFs post, an inherent resignation that India can never be as developed. I detest that streak in a BRFite. TF and city planners till date share the same dislike for cars. This is not the same as decongesting a city..they call this congestion good. 200k people spilling into a street is good congestion. 20 cars on the same is bad congestion. That is the planning that went into India cities so far. That mindset has to be discredited if we are to move forward.
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Re: Indian Economy: News and Discussion (Apr 1 2011)

Post by Theo_Fidel »

There is a difference between prosperous/developed vs appearance based TFTA. We don't have to make this choice. We can have both. It is possible to live in dense cities and be prosperous. In future I think it will become a necessity in India. The population density projections are quite sobering. Our cities will be super crush dense with metro's & public transport, limited private vehicle access surrounded by suburbs with cars and freeways and factories. Things decongest as people become prosperous. Paris or Munich or Tokyo or Seoul for instance are as dense as Indian cities in the core. Yet the prosperity of their people has allowed them to build a dense network of Public transport.

I have yet to hear how exactly we get 16 lane freeways through say Triplicane or Paharganj. I'm all ears. People condemn with out having any ideas of their own and call this constructive comment. Esp. for people with a confessed agenda of their own. Here is the full quote since cherry picking continues. The offensive comments are there for people to read as well. The bizarre thought that Indian cities are planned to be this way or that planning has control over density is so out of touch with reality, I'm at a loss for words.
The question is what to do now. It is too late to bulldoze, the only option is to revert to a walkable city with full public transport and a ban on cars within most areas. So get out of your car and learn to walk. Its coming one way or another. This business of trying to do open heart surgery just so cars can get into our cities is hopeless and in crowded India pointless. The Socialists are right on this one. Cars are needless status symbols in India.
In America 90% of all pssenger trips are by car, even in dense cities. Demonstrate to me how we go from present 2% to even 40% passenger trips by car in a dense city and your argument will be won.
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Re: Indian Economy: News and Discussion (Apr 1 2011)

Post by harbans »

I have yet to hear how exactly we get 16 lane freeways through say Triplicane or Paharganj. I'm all ears.
Theo Ji, reply in Urban development thread.
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Re: Indian Economy: News and Discussion (Apr 1 2011)

Post by tejas »

Hindu rate of growth is really the Gandee rate of growth as it was IG's unbelievable incompetence in economic affairs that bleeds India even today. The industry killing labor laws we have today were the product of her slow witted imagination. BTW Homi Bhaba after meeting her was less than impressed with her intelligence.
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Re: Indian Economy: News and Discussion (Apr 1 2011)

Post by gakakkad »

the topic of hindu growth rate has come of often here. Many,including yours truly are offended by it . IMHO we should use the term "socialist growth rate" or "nehroo growth rate" instead..that would offend no one..
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Re: Indian Economy: News and Discussion (Apr 1 2011)

Post by Advait »

I am also surprised that a BRFite is using the term "Hindu rate of growth" when it is clear that it was the socialist rate of growth with economic wrecker IG at its helm.
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Re: Indian Economy: News and Discussion (Apr 1 2011)

Post by Sri »

Hindu pulls punches here
There are, of course, several kinds of austerity. My pick would be the variety practised by Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia. No one can challenge Dr. Ahluwalia's commitment to austerity. Look at the way he's stood up to the populist demand for a poverty line that makes sense. No pampering people here. Spend Rs. 29 a day in urban India or Rs. 23 in rural India and you are not poor. He's even asked the Supreme Court to uphold the imposition of such rigour on hundreds of millions of his fellow citizens. One affidavit filed by the Planning Commission defended a line of Rs. 32 (urban) and Rs. 26 (rural) a day. Since then, the Padma Vibhushan awardee and some of his colleagues have stuck their necks out to lower that further.
Dr. Ahluwalia's global forays between May and October 2011. In that period, he undertook “four trips covering 18 nights [which] cost the exchequer a sum of Rs. 36,40,140, an average cost of Rs 2.02 lakh a day,” says the SNS report.

At the time this happened, that Rs. 2.02 lakh would have been worth $4,000 a day. (Gee! Lucky for us Montek was into austerity. Imagine what his expenditure might have been otherwise). That is a daily spend almost 9,000 times greater than the 45 cents cut-off point at which rural Indians would be doing okay, in his view. Or over 7,000 times greater than the 55 cents cut-off point for urban Indians that Dr. Ahluwalia would find “normatively adequate.”
Now his spend of Rs. 3.6 million (or $72,000) in 18 days might well have been his personal stimulus to global tourism in that year. After all, the industry in 2010 was still recovering from the ravages of 2008-09, as the United Nations World Tourism Organisation points out. The U.N. agency found, on the other hand, that 2011 saw global travel revenues cross $1 trillion. The largest revenue increases were seen in the U.S. and Europe (where most of those 18 days were spent). The Indian public can rejoice over its money playing a humble part in that recovery even while scorched by austerity at home.

The stats from the Shyamlal Yadav's RTI are fascinating. To begin with, his findings show Dr. Ahluwalia made 42 official foreign trips and spent 274 days overseas during a seven-year tenure. That is “one in every nine days” abroad. And that's excluding travel days. The India Today story found that his excursions cost the exchequer Rs.2.34 crore. However, it points out that they received three different estimates of the costs of his trips and charitably went with the lowest. Also, said the India Today story, “it is not clear whether the figures include the expenses incurred by Indian embassies abroad on frills such as hiring limousines. The actual costs could be a lot higher.”

Since the post he holds does not require so much foreign travel — all of it done, though, with “the permission of the Prime Minister” — this is puzzling. That 23 of the 42 trips were to the U.S., which does not believe in planning (but then, perhaps, neither does Dr. Ahluwalia), is even more puzzling. What were these trips about? Spreading global awareness on austerity? If so, we'll have to spend more on his travel: look at those revolting Greeks killing the Cause on the streets of Athens. And even more on his trips to the U.S. where the austerity of the affluent is striking. CEOs in that country took home billions in bonuses even in 2008, the year Wall Street tanked the global economy. This year, even the media journals of the super-rich in the U.S. write about CEOs destroying their companies, jobs and more — and gaining personally from it. Millions of Americans, including many who suffered home mortgage foreclosures, saw a different kind of austerity. The kind the French increasingly fear and have voted against.
When Dr. Singh pleaded for austerity in 2009, his Cabinet rose handsomely to the call. Each member added a modest million rupees a month thereafter, on average, to his or her assets over the next 27 months. All the while, hard at work as Ministers.
Praful Patel excelled, adding on average, half-a-million rupees to his assets every 24 hours in that period. Workers in Air India, under a Ministry he headed much of that time, struggled to get their salaries for weeks on end.
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Re: Indian Economy: News and Discussion (Apr 1 2011)

Post by vijayk »

http://www.firstpost.com/politics/why-u ... 15851.html
At the risk of oversimplifying the analysis, I would say UPA-2 failed by following voodoo politics and voodoo economics, based on voodoo belief that politics and economics can be permanently divorced.
The 2009 results confirmed two things to the Congress party: that heavy social spending is the way to install Rahul Gandhi in power in 2014; and that the country may soon be ready to give one party complete control of government. What started as a brief dalliance with aam aadmi politics in 2004 (which the Congress unexpectedly won) gathered more steam after 2009.

What remained unchanged after UPA-1 was the belief that the Sonia-Manmohan division of power – where the former influences all major political-economic decisions and the latter keeps a semblance of administration going without doing much – was good enough to ensure a Rahul Gandhi victory in 2014.

In short, far from seeing 2009 as a mandate to govern, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul saw 2009 as an incentive to start planning for 2014. Stated differently, the political efforts for winning 2014 began as early as 2009. This was how UPA-2 squandered its mandate.
This is why the National Advisory Council (NAC), which had been disbanded in 2006 after the office-of-profit controversy, was revived in March 2010 to devise pork-barrel entitlement schemes that would pay off politically in 2014.
This was also why Rahul Gandhi kept playing compulsive populist at regular intervals – turning up suddenly among Orissa’s tribals to claim he was their soldier in Delhi in August 2010, announcing a Muslim quota before the UP elections.
The BJP’s failure has facilitated the emergence of voodoo politics, where governance has been given the go-by on the assumption that the First Family’s magic and heavy social spending are enough to give the party a win.
At the core of voodoo politics is the First Family’s reluctance to play a political role in UPA-2, with both Sonia and Rahul surfacing in public only when it suited them. Leaving politics to sycophants and trusted retainers like Ahmed Patel or Digvijaya Singh meant that neither Sonia nor Rahul engaged with politics directly – except at election time.
Voodoo politics in UPA-2 was aided by voodoo economics – where no reforms are ever deemed needed. This was partly the result of UPA-1’s undeserved economic success. Thanks to a successful first term where the economy averaged over 8 percent growth, the Congress developed a naïve belief that everything will fall into place due to our demographic advantage or social spending. One merely has to keep redistributing income (to the poor, the rural areas) and things will work out fine.
The economic uptick, which came after years of small reforms carried out during the United Front and NDA years, and which was aided by very high global growth during the George W Bush years, started in the last year of the NDA and continued till 2007-08 – five solid years.
If the initial buoyancy was pure luck that had nothing to do with the UPA’s own policies, what followed in 2008-10 was even more luck. This is how it played out. The UPA’s spend-spend-spend policies created rampant inflation and by 2008 (August 2008) the wholesale prices index (WPI) was hitting a 13-year high of 12.44 percent. The Reserve Bank was feverishly pushing up interest rates. If this had continued, UPA would certainly not have won its big mandate in 2009.

This is where dumb luck helped again. When the Lehman crisis broke cover in September 2008, the world economy went into a tailspin and oil prices crashed. Even though GDP growth fell, UPA-1 reaped a huge windfall in the form of a dramatic fall in inflation (despite huge spending) that had nothing to do with any policy effort. By June 2009, inflation, in fact, turned negative (and let’s remember, May 2009 was when the UPA won re-election).

The year 2008-09 was the UPA’s sweet spot that coincided with election-time. Thanks to fears of recession, the government did what it does best – spend mindlessly – and several spending or economic giveaway schemes were unleashed: a Rs 1,80,000 crore stimulus package (which was needed, of course), a Rs 70,000 crore farm loan waiver, huge increases in pre-election minimum support prices for farm products, and huge spends on schemes like NREGA. To top it all, UPA-1 also provided urban and rural consumers huge subsidies in petro-products and fertiliser.
If you take the combined effect of oil and fertiliser subsidies so far, the farm loan waiver, the post-Lehman economic stimulus, the big increases in social spending, and the proposed spending on the Food Security Bill in the run-up to 2014, the amount spent would not be less than Rs 10,00,000 crore – yes, ten lakh crore – since the UPA was first elected in 2004. :oops: :cry: :x :evil:
By focusing on 2014 in 2009, and refusing to acknowledge the role of luck in 2004-09 in its economic performance and political rejuvenation, UPA-2 compounded voodoo politics with voodoo economics.

The result is stagflation – which we have called Rahul-flation in the past since voodoo economics has been unleashed by the need to elect him PM in 2014.
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Re: Indian Economy: News and Discussion (Apr 1 2011)

Post by wig »

http://pib.nic.in/archieve/others/2012/ ... 052101.pdf


the link above will lead to the white paper on black money tabled in parliament.
disappointing in its lack of vision and depth.
Singha
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Re: Indian Economy: News and Discussion (Apr 1 2011)

Post by Singha »

we have a friend and his family in ghana who are doing quite well.

http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2012 ... b-seekers/

Career Journal: The Hot New Destinations for Indian Job-Seekers

By Shefali Anand


If you are looking for jobs abroad, countries in Africa and Southeast Asia are some hot new destinations to lookout for.
Indian job-seekers looking for work abroad have newer destinations to choose from.

The typical Indian dream has been to work in the West, but the U.S. and countries in Europe have lately been struggling to provide employment to their own people.

The Middle East also has been a big draw for Indians in recent years, but recruiters say that options for Indian job-seekers are broadening.

Countries in Africa and Southeast Asia, which are expanding their businesses and starting new industries, are increasingly open to hiring globally skilled talent for mid-level to senior jobs. Professionals from India are uniquely suited for these jobs because they have the experience of working in an emerging market, say recruiters.

In addition, as Indian companies expand their footprint abroad, they often bring talent from India to fill many of their senior positions.

“Demand for Indians has gone up definitely from African markets, and to some extent Asian countries,” says Sunil Goel, managing director of Delhi-based executive search firm GlobalHunt India Pvt.

Of course in recent years, foreign jobs haven’t had the same charm for Indians as they did a decade ago, partly because Indian salaries have risen tremendously.

Still, jobs for senior professionals overseas can pay much better and can be a good career move because they provide international exposure.

“If you have experience working in other countries, understanding the cultural nuances etc., you are preparing yourself for a much better future,” says Sanjay Modi, managing director India, the Middle East and Southeast Asia for online jobs site Monster.

Companies in Africa and Southeast Asia typically hire foreigners, including Indians, for jobs in relatively new industries in which they don’t have enough talent at home.

To get these jobs, “you should have worked for six to eight years minimum, whereby you can bring some skill, expertise,” says Mr. Modi.

In Africa, “there is a huge demand for professionals in oil and gas, mining, fast-moving consumer goods, commodity, trading, manufacturing, telecom and banking sectors,” says Mr. Goel, of GlobalHunt.

To be sure, working in these countries may require you to bear some hardships. Pay attention to the old adage: Look before you leap.

Moving to Africa may feel like you have “stepped back in time, in terms of the infrastructure, the facilities,” says Jai Varshney, 37 years old, who moved to Lagos in Nigeria from Mumbai earlier this year, for a job at a telecommunications company.

There are limited high-quality medical and educational facilities, making it hard to bring families. Also, in some countries theft and mugging can be a problem. “The security concerns make you feel restricted,” says Mr. Varshney.

Nigeria is also notorious for a level of corruption that even exceeds India’s. As an example, Mr. Varshney says that in Nigeria even a bank teller expects some kind of “appreciation” for handing over money from your bank account. :shock:

Mr. Varshney mulled over these challenges for more than eight months before deciding to take a job in Nigeria as a marketing manager. He was lured by the opportunity to get international exposure, enhance cross-cultural learning, and the high pay.

“In two years you would save as much as you would save in six years in India,” says Mr. Varshney.

Jobs in Africa can be a great option “for a middle-level professional, maybe who’s stuck for growth here,” says Shiv Agrawal, managing director of recruitment firm ABC Consultants.

Mr. Agrawal says Indians have a good track record of working in Africa because they are already used to working in a difficult and grey environment compared to a Western expat. “It’s easier for us to be able to adjust into almost any place in the world,” says Mr. Agrawal.

In Southeast Asia, while the safety concerns are not as high as in Africa, there may be other issues like difficulty in getting work permits. In this region, some of the biggest demand for Indians comes from Singapore, for finance and technology jobs, and pockets in Malaysia and Thailand for jobs in communications, information-technology and retail.

But finding foreign jobs is a tough and time-consuming process.

One way is to work with a few recruitment consultants who have a history of placing candidates abroad, such as ABC Consultants and GlobalHunt or reputed firms in your city.

These recruiters work with companies who have operations in foreign countries, and they may be your best bet, particularly for jobs in Africa, where there aren’t many well-established jobs websites.

Another option is to look for jobs with Indian companies which have operations abroad. Bharti Airtel, for instance, has telecom operations in more than a dozen African nations via its acquisition of some assets of Zain. Tata Chemicals has operations in Kenya, and engineering firm Larsen & Toubro has a presence in Malaysia.

For jobs in Southeast Asia, you can try to find openings on jobs websites. Monster.com has an international site, while jobs portal Naukri.com has a Singapore site.

Leading local jobs sites in these countries include http://www.jobstreet.com; http://www.jobsdb.com/ and http://www.eFinancialcareers.com for financial jobs.

Job-seekers can also try to find jobs through social media and networking websites like LinkedIn.com.
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Re: Indian Economy: News and Discussion (Apr 1 2011)

Post by abhischekcc »

wig wrote:http://pib.nic.in/archieve/others/2012/ ... 052101.pdf


the link above will lead to the white paper on black money tabled in parliament.
disappointing in its lack of vision and depth.
What did you expect? The truth??
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Re: Indian Economy: News and Discussion (Apr 1 2011)

Post by Supratik »

Aditya_V
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Re: Indian Economy: News and Discussion (Apr 1 2011)

Post by Aditya_V »

[quote="shyam This also can be seen in the disprortionate amount of money from 2G scam that went to TN. Some people were commenting that money to give free DMK goodies to electorate came from 2G scam.

.[/quote]

THis pure INC propoganda that 2G scam is coalation compulsions, if anything most of the money went to foreign tax havens, seriously, INC big bosses were holding lamps(valakku) whent the scam which required 9 ministry to approvals happenned?? :lol:
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Re: Indian Economy: News and Discussion (Apr 1 2011)

Post by nachiket »

The articles from Hindu and firstpost and the 2G scam basically highlight the double-whammy perpetrated on the Indian economy by the UPA. They are spending huge amounts of money which the country doesn't have and looting the money that it does. After all this, even a 6% growth rate is remarkable.
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Re: Indian Economy: News and Discussion (Apr 1 2011)

Post by RamaY »

^ they have to create these never ending programs so their looting channels are open for ever.

How much of that Food/work security programs are being skimmed by the trinity - 2G, Businesses and the Maoists?
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Re: Indian Economy: News and Discussion (Apr 1 2011)

Post by Singha »

do people think interest rates will be lowered further as a prelude to 2014 elections to keep the middle class and small businesses pacified and under control?

realtors are a big source of funds for elections and a big sink for political black money laundering investment.....they would love a new boom in the housing market as the pound of flesh. at present in blr atleast there is hardly any activity in realty scene. a few projects in devanhalli belt, smallish projects being completed here and there, most of the big builders seem content to sit back and wait .
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Re: Indian Economy: News and Discussion (Apr 1 2011)

Post by Prem »

Manmohan to visit Pakistan at “appropriate time”: Indian press
Vasleen lagga ke rakhna,position lagga ke rakhna, ayengee appropriate time pei terre desi Sajjna
KARACHI: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday said he would visit Pakistan at an “appropriate time”, Press Trust of India reported.“They have extended the invitation. I have accepted it. They are keen and I am waiting for an appropriate time,” said the premier while speaking to media representatives.The Indian prime minister had promised President Asif Ali Zardari for the visit during his tour to India in April.“President Zardari has invited me to visit Pakistan and I’d be very happy to visit Pakistan at a mutually convenient date,” Manmohan said at a joint press conference in April.Manmohan also had a “very good meeting” with Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani at the second nuclear summit in Seoul earlier this year.he Indian foreign secretary had informed media representatives after the summit that the Prime Minister Singh wanted to visit Pakistan.“When PM Gilani asked Singh about his plans to visit Pakistan, the Indian premier showed his willingness for the visit and said that he wants to make some concrete developments in the India-Pakistan relationship which would make people of both countries happy,” the foreign secretary added
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Re: Indian Economy: News and Discussion (Apr 1 2011)

Post by vina »

Singha wrote:do people think interest rates will be lowered further as a prelude to 2014 elections to keep the middle class and small businesses pacified and under control?
No. Not now. Will depend on how the commodity prices and global growth plays out and what the so far all bark and no bite "we need to bite the bullet" and "need to take some tough decisions on both revenue and expenditure" pan out. This is the UPA's absolute chance to get the fiscal and financial scene back in order and get growth going and inflation back under control.

If they blow it now, it is curtains to Yuvraj running 2014 on a "Bojitiv Newj" campaign. So I guess, somethings will get done. If things work out REALLY well, expect the long expected big bang "Right to Food" stuff rolled out in earnest in Jan 1st week of 2014, some 6 months before the election . It is an extended version of NTR's Re 2 rice scheme, which I think Didi in West Bengal has adopted wholeheartedly and that along with MNREGA handouts and other devil's thoughts cooked up by the National Advisory Council , might what bring Yuvraj in triumphantly to the throne in Dilli.
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Re: Indian Economy: News and Discussion (Apr 1 2011)

Post by member_20283 »

Do any of you read Jas Jain's posts ? What do you think about the "stock" of India (Rupee) falling so rapidly in the past 6 months ?

Jas Jain says Re will go to 90-100 to the dollar. I'm perturbed because he has a knack for calling macro events years in advance.
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Re: Indian Economy: News and Discussion (Apr 1 2011)

Post by gakakkad »

@Vina saar , it is highly unlikely that right to food would ever be rolled out ... We just don't have the fiscal depth for that.. 200b worth of loan is due for repayment next year..inflation will not be controlled ...By 2014 there will be massive takleef on the economic front , if at all the gober-mint survives...there is nothing they can do now...CON party is between the devil and deep blue see.... It is likely that splits would emerge within the party...Many CON party workers in UP are openly speaking against the first family and UPA gober-mint ... so I expect the current state of doing nothing to continue till some econ massive takleef happens ...


@ Inder Jas Jain is more of a CTwala .. It is highly unlikely that INR would fall to 90 or 100...the fuel consumption would massively reduce by the time INR reaches 65 and gold consumption would virtually halt by the time INR reaches 80-85 level ...so that would drive it back towards the 50-55 range...

I expect foreign repatriation to increase massively this year...
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Re: Indian Economy: News and Discussion (Apr 1 2011)

Post by Austin »

Petrol prices to go up by Rs. 7.50 per litre
Petrol will cost Rs. 7.50 more per litre starting at midnight. This is the steepest petrol price hike in nearly a decade.

The hike comes as the rupee hit an all-time low of Rs. 56 against the dollar.

In Delhi, prices will climb from Rs. 65.64 to Rs. 73.14 per litre. In Mumbai, the hike means petrol will climb from Rs. 70.8 to Rs. 78.34 per litre.
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