Indian Economy: News and Discussion (Jan 1 2010)

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 01 Sep 2010 20:50

It's just as well that someone is holding CSO/MOSPI's feet to the fire. For years they've grossly under-reported our GDP growth because of their out of date base year and ad hoc jugaad data collection mechanisms. The thread oldtimers would be familiar with all the anti-CSO tirades from 3-4 years ago

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 02 Sep 2010 00:44

Rediff reports:

enqyoob · Post by **enqyoob** » 02 Sep 2010 01:42

If manufacturing is up 12%, construction up 8%, and electricity, water and gas is up only 6%, that means either there is not much manufacturing and construction, or we are hitting a severe resource crisis.

Vipul · Post by **Vipul** » 02 Sep 2010 10:17

Govt corrects GDP data issued on Tuesday.

The government today admitted there were mistakes in the gross domestic product (GDP) data released yesterday and issued a correction to the first quarter demand-side numbers.

Overall economic growth, measured at factor cost, was however retained at 8.8 per cent during the quarter ended June.
“Inadvertently, there have been use of inappropriate deflators in converting ‘Quarterly estimates of expenditures of GDP at market prices in Q1 (April-June) of 2010-11 (at current prices)’ to ‘Quarterly estimates of expenditures of GDP at market prices in Q1 (April-June) of 2010-11 (at 2004-05 prices),” the ministry of statistics and programme implementation said in a late-evening statement, hours after admitting there were discrepancies in the numbers released yesterday afternoon.

Growth revision
Following the changes, GDP growth at market or 2004-05 prices was revised to 10.02 per cent, as against 3.66 per cent estimated earlier.While calculating GDP at market prices, the government uses 2010-11 data, which it has to deflate to 2004-05 prices, using the inflation parameters. GDP at factor cost or national income by type of income is a measure of national income based on the cost of factors of production, instead of market prices. This allows the impact of any subsidy or indirect taxes to be removed from the final figures. GDP at market prices includes indirect tax and subsidy provided by the government.

In a note, Nomura India economist Sonal Verma said the GDP deflator for market price was assumed at 20.4 per cent, but for factor cost it was 11.8 per cent. Except for the quarter ended June, the two deflators have historically moved in tandem. “In our view, since WPI (wholesale price index-based) and CPI (consumer price index-based) inflation averaged 11 per cent and 13.7 per cent, respectively, the deflator assumed for estimating GDP at factor cost is the more accurate one,” she said. For calculating GDP at factor cost, the government uses the WPI data, while it uses CPI for calculating GDP at market price.

A ministry official said the deflators used were because of a combination of factors but did not explain the reasons.

In addition, the export and import numbers were corrected in the statement issued this evening, which officials attributed to tabulation errors.

On account of yesterday’s error, there was a five percentage point difference between the GDP numbers at factor cost (8.8 per cent) and at market prices (3.7 per cent).Economists said the revised data once again shows the momentum in domestic demand had not weakened by as much as the expenditure-based measure of GDP had suggested.

The earlier numbers indicated government subsidy had increased during the quarter, with significant decline in indirect tax collection. However, data from government departments painted a different picture, as indirect tax collections had gone up by 40 per cent during the first quarter and, even after using the deflator, a decline could not be explained. Similarly, with the government trying to prune subsidies, an increase in share of subsidies in the GDP was seen to be unlikely.

One-Off
Government officials, however, maintained that the mistakes did not affect the credibility of data. "CSO (the Central Statistical Organisation) corrects the figure sometimes because they are on the basis of random surveys. Therefore, there are some errors here and there and the revised figures will be given," finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said on the sidelines of a conference in Mumbai.

“Some criticism has been made that projections from the demand side are not matching with the growth projection. That will have to be examined,” he said, while sticking to the 8.5-8.7 per cent GDP growth estimate.

“Such things might happen sometimes. The figure on the demand side is coming closer to the 8.8 per cent stated in the constant prices parameter,” said S K Das, director general, Central Statistical Organisation, the agency which collates the data for national accounts.

vish_mulay · Post by **vish_mulay** » 02 Sep 2010 11:40

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/new ... 475809.cms

India loses $65 bn annually due to poor logistics: Report
The report released today also said supply-chain costs in India are about 12-13 per cent of the GDP as compared to 7-8 per cent in developed countries. Hence, the country loses out arouund $65 billion annually.

It further said the challenge also lies in the country's demography, geographical spread, distinct consumer preferences and differential taxation laws, which needs to be addressed.

krisna · Post by **krisna** » 03 Sep 2010 02:42

Is red-hot India too hot?

While most of the world is worried about the prospects of a double-dip recession, India is facing just the opposite problem – managing supercharged growth. The Indian economy, oblivious to the meager recovery in the West, is roaring. GDP surged 8.8% in the April-June quarter, the fastest clip in two-and-a-half years.

comparing china-

India has achieved its lofty growth rates without the potentially dangerous stimulus shenanigans Beijing used to keep growth going during the downturn. To compensate for slumping exports, Chinese policymakers flooded the economy with credit -- building up possibly unsustainable levels of debt at local governments, potentially eating away at the health of the banking sector and fueling nosebleed-territory property prices. India didn't have to take such drastic steps to survive the Great Recession, and thus isn't suffering with the fallout. .

why no stimulus in India

That's because the sources of India's growth are much more balanced than China's. India isn't as dependent on exports and investment as China, while private consumption in India plays a much bigger role in GDP growth

side effects-
Inflation

Unlike other Asian markets, which are more tied to the global trade cycle, India is grappling with risks of overheating.

In short, unlike other economies that are starring at the risk of a double dip, India, with its vast internal market and limited export exposure, is grappling with the opposite problem. Both fiscal and monetary policy needs to be tightened in India to prevent the economy, already red-hot, catching fire.

what does author want India to do-

Yet India's policymakers will now have to navigate through very tricky waters. They'll need to cool down the economy enough to curtail inflationary pressures and prevent overheating – but, with the global recovery stalling, not too much, since India will have to rely on domestic sources of demand and investment to generate growth.

vish_mulay · Post by **vish_mulay** » 03 Sep 2010 07:49

Has this been posted before?

http://www.heritage.org/Research/Report ... ng-Economy

India: Fast Growth Does Not Mean a Strong Economy.
Indian growth, driven for more than a decade by market reform initiated in 1991, is now being achieved the old fashioned, unsustainable way: through intense fiscal and monetary stimulus. Growth thus stems in part from New Delhi deliberately choosing to risk high inflation. Inflation is a tax that erases apparent wealth gains and redistributes income, hurting the poor in particular.

Monetary policy is worse. There is an ongoing debate over whether interest rate increases are coming too fast. This borders on ludicrous. India has large negative real interest rates, a terrible financial distortion by any standard. The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) August hike brought the rate at which the central bank lends to banks to 5.75 percent. This left the real price of loans, after inflation, over negative 4 percent, a perverse incentive to borrow as much as possible.

Yet government and businesses complain that RBI is being too aggressive by modestly raising the world’ lowest real borrowing costs. Because RBI is not fully independent, negative real rates should be expected to persist—the federal government needs low interest rates to keep its own borrowing costs low. With this amount of combined stimulus, it is no wonder growth is rapid and likely to remain rapid for several more quarters.

Not a Sign of Prowess

India’s present growth is not a sign of economic prowess; it is a choice most countries do not make because the concurrent high inflation typically targets the poor.

Derek Scissors, Ph.D., is Research Fellow in Asia Economic Policy in the Asian Studies Center at The Heritage Foundation.

Mort Walker · Post by **Mort Walker** » 03 Sep 2010 07:52

Here's one from the Heritage Foundation, which sometimes has some good articles, but here I think they are flat out wrong by the author who is Pee Ech Dee:

India's Fast Growth Does Not Mean a Strong Economy

The only point I agree with is the IT visa issue.

vish_mulay · Post by **vish_mulay** » 03 Sep 2010 08:00

Hey Mort are you following this Scissors guy? I think he is one of those dragon lovers who can not see anything good about Indian economy. I am not an expert and hence cant comment on his article but BRF economics gurus can shred some light on his writing.

Mort Walker · Post by **Mort Walker** » 03 Sep 2010 08:08

^^^Not really. He's one of the HF members who are the "expert" on Asia. What they want is market liberalization for US corporate interests, who in turn are paying these "experts" at the HF.
Here's another older article from March 2010:
http://www.heritage.org/Research/Commen ... -Its-Shine

Now there is truth to the fact that the Congress is spending more on populist measures and infrastructure development is shoddy/substandard, behind schedule and over budget.

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 03 Sep 2010 08:46

Poorly argued article. No substantiation of various claims. Repeats the point about high fiscal deficits affecting growth, despite the fact that it has been a chronic aspect of the Indian economy. No explanation for why the much higher savings/GDP and investment/GDP today despite a high deficit does not matter. Sounds like another PhD in technology strategy type, or (more probably) agenda driven.

ashi · Post by **ashi** » 03 Sep 2010 18:53

India's disappointing government
Much less than promised

http://economist.com/node/16953189

svinayak · Post by **svinayak** » 03 Sep 2010 23:52

ashi wrote:India's disappointing government
Much less than promised

http://economist.com/node/16953189

Why such articles are not written for china and PRC govt in Beijing. Very strange!

krisna · Post by **krisna** » 04 Sep 2010 01:02

India's Number of Slum-Dwellers Surges as Economy Draws People to Cities

As many as 93.06 million people will live in urban areas by 2011 in India, the world’s second most populous nation, a government committee set up by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation said in a report today. It estimated the country’s slum population has risen 23 percent from 75.26 million in 2001.

India’s cities could generate 70 percent of net new jobs created up to 2030, by when they will produce around 70 percent of gross domestic product and have driven a near fourfold increase in per capita incomes across the nation, McKinsey & Co. said in an April report.

Although urban India has attracted investment on the back of strong growth, its cities are still failing to deliver basic standards of living for their residents after years of chronic underinvestment, McKinsey said.
India needs to invest $1.2 trillion in urban infrastructure over the next 20 years, equivalent to $134 per capita per year, almost eight times the level of spending today, it said.

krisna · Post by **krisna** » 04 Sep 2010 01:05

India May Raise More Tax Revenue as Growth Quickens, Mitra Says

India’s tax revenue may exceed the target this year if current collection trends continue, helping cut government borrowings, a finance ministry official said.

Indirect taxes including customs and excise levies have jumped 45 percent in the four months through July from a year earlier as economic growth accelerated. Personal and company taxes rose 20 percent in the period. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee forecasts a 28 percent increase in indirect taxes and an 11 percent rise in direct taxes in the year ending March 31.

India’s 10-year bond yields held near the highest level in a week after the government sold 120 billion rupees ($2.6 billion) of bonds today as part its record 4.57 trillion borrowing program.

Strong consumer demand and a rebound in manufacturing are helping boost tax revenue, Mitra said. He said India’s economy could expand by as much as 9 percent in the current financial year, the fastest pace in three years. India’s $1.3 trillion economy grew 8.8 percent last quarter, the most since 2007.

Mukherjee aims to narrow the government’s budget deficit to 5.5 percent of gross domestic product by March 31 from 6.9 percent in the previous year.

krisna · Post by **krisna** » 04 Sep 2010 01:14

Cricket has a history of approaches to players from Indian bookies

It is estimated that upward of US$1-billion is bet on big matches, such as those at the World Cup, and some feel that betting should be legalized in the country.
Former Indian cricket board president IS Bindra was in favour of legalizing betting around the time the Indian Premier League (IPL) was launched two years ago amid fears of Twenty20 cricket providing more opportunities for fixing matches.
"This (legalizing betting) will not only eliminate things like matchfixing but also generate revenue in millions," Bindra said. "It is in the interest of the government."
Magazine says legalizing betting may not eliminate attempts to fix matches, but it could help trap fixers.
"Trends of matches can be traced if the system is legal. In such a scenario, one can zero in on those with odd bets and suspected to be privy to information," Magazine added.

The reason I am posting here is because of the enormous revenue govt can collect with legalising betting.
Illegal means no revenue to govt.
Moral ethical issues are redundant because they dont feed people. These issues are raised by idealists who do not see the reality of life. some do say people will go bankrupt betting. We do have smoking/alcohol/gambling/horse racing/lottery etc. some are legal some are not.
we should legalise betting and stream line it so that legally people can bet and govt gets revenue for a growing economy.
JMTs.

edited- thanks Rahul

Rahul M · Post by **Rahul M** » 04 Sep 2010 01:20

you forgot lottery. definitely betting should be legalized, we are simply kicking away the massive revenue for no reason.

Theo_Fidel · Post by **Theo_Fidel** » 04 Sep 2010 02:37

This is always my fear. That we will run out of time.

Nothing else matters. Not the CWG, not the deficit, not the corruption, not even external enemies.
My number one fear is that we waste this one time dividend by not growing fast enough.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/opi ... 483058.cms

Some among us look wistfully at 10% and wonder why with our demographic dividend we do not do significantly better than 8%. Others argue that even the current 8% growth is jobless in nature and that what we need is a lower rate coupled with jobs creation. Then there are the inclusive growth mandarins in the ruling party who simply want funds allocated to relevant vote banks irrespective of whether the extra funds are the product of faster growth or higher allocation from a smaller pie.

Therefore, those willing to settle for 8% are selling this country short. We cannot settle for anything less than the best we can do — nothing short of 10% annualised growth for the next several decades. Consider that our trillion dollar economy today, growing at a rate of 8% over 20 years to 2030, would attain a size of $5.6 trillion and the per capita income would be $4,200 (up from $1,000 now).

Good — but not good enough — because we can do better. Assuming a 10% growth rate however, the GDP would be $8 trillion and per capita $6,200 —an increase of almost 50% over the 8% scenario ! Stretch the calculation out to 2050 and the numbers are even more stark — the difference is a full 100% in both the size of the economy and in per capita GDP.

At a per capita of around $5,000 India would still be a middle income country with a very large mass of poor people. So can we afford not to grow at 10%? The usual arguments about more inclusive growth are applicable and relevant whether the number is 8 or 10, but inclusiveness and growth are not mutually exclusive — in fact they are self reinforcing. It’s not as if if we do 10%, growth will be more or less inclusive — more participative growth must be achieved regardless of the rate of growth. We do need policies that improve living standards in our poorest areas and bring more of our population into the mainstream and provide them with basic amenities and social support.

Mort Walker · Post by **Mort Walker** » 04 Sep 2010 08:31

Rahul M wrote:you forgot lottery. definitely betting should be legalized, we are simply kicking away the massive revenue for no reason.

I understand the revenue purpose, but at the end of the day the lottery and gambling is in essence a tax on people who are bad at math. You and I wouldn't do it, and neither would we want our families and friends to do it. So why the rest of the public? The ones who play the lottery are typically those who can least afford it. Gambling has an entertainment aspect and you can tax it, but the government shouldn't promote it anymore than p0rn0grapy.

abhischekcc · Post by **abhischekcc** » 04 Sep 2010 10:22

Rahul M wrote:you forgot lottery. definitely betting should be legalized, we are simply kicking away the massive revenue for no reason.

No, not for any reason - there is a good reason why betting is illegal in India.

Keeping it illegal keeps the revenues flowing into the criminal economy - from which the politicians take their cut. They have a vested interest in keeping betting/gambling illegal for this reason.

Vasu · Post by **Vasu** » 04 Sep 2010 10:30

I feel the same way with prostitution. Of course, the social benefits of that move far, far outweigh its economic benefits (other than cutting out the neta's, pandu's cut)

abhischekcc · Post by **abhischekcc** » 04 Sep 2010 10:49

How does prostitution have social benefits? It is simply organized rape industry

The only solution to prostitution is to cut off the offending male organ of the perpetrator.

As Aruna Irani says in the movie Jakhmi Aurat - Na rahegaa baans, na bajegi baansuri.

Tanaji · Post by **Tanaji** » 04 Sep 2010 14:56

abhischekcc wrote:How does prostitution have social benefits? It is simply organized rape industry

Neither does drinking alcohol have any social benefits, yet it is allowed. Both come under the category of social norms, which should not be legislated.

If someone wants to get off with a prostitute why should the government be concerned? There is another aspect: bans on prostitution do not work. It is the world's oldest profession, and it is still around and will always be around. Just because GoI bans it doesnt mean it will go away, it hasnt in the last 2000 years.

Instead make it legal, make them register and put mandatory health screening of them every 3 months. *That* will have social benefits and will stop spread of diseases and reduce avenues for pimps and police to make money.

JE Menon · Post by **JE Menon** » 04 Sep 2010 19:48

>>How does prostitution have social benefits? It is simply organized rape industry

While "organised rape" may be a notion that is applicable in some aspects of prostitution, it is in fact a very lucrative and well regulated industry in many countries of the world. It is by no means "organised rape" any more than competitive gymnastics these days is organised child abuse (in fact the case may be stronger in the latter).

A detailed discussion on the subject would be OT however.

rsingh · Post by **rsingh** » 05 Sep 2010 00:25

abhischekcc wrote:

How does prostitution have social benefits? It is simply organized rape industry

The only solution to prostitution is to cut off the offending male organ of the perpetrator.

As Aruna Irani says in the movie Jakhmi Aurat - Na rahegaa baans, na bajegi baansuri.

Used to think on same lines . Some body explained that prostitution bring down rape related crimes.

sanjaykumar · Post by **sanjaykumar** » 05 Sep 2010 03:34

Prostitutes have brought more solace to men than all the politicians put together-it may be low but only for want of a suitable metric.

Mort Walker · Post by **Mort Walker** » 05 Sep 2010 03:38

This discussion is now going off on a tangent.

The point is that the government has a right to tax goods and services sold including entertainment. The lottery and gambling fall in to the entertainment category. There are other "service" related categories that are immoral in all cultures and civilizations around the world. Namely murder, slavery and prostitution.

krisna · Post by **krisna** » 05 Sep 2010 21:29

krisna wrote:Cricket has a history of approaches to players from Indian bookies
The reason I am posting here is because of the enormous revenue govt can collect with legalising betting.
Illegal means no revenue to govt.
Moral ethical issues are redundant because they dont feed people. These issues are raised by idealists who do not see the reality of life. some do say people will go bankrupt betting. We do have smoking/alcohol/gambling/horse racing/lottery etc. some are legal some are not.
we should legalise betting and stream line it so that legally people can bet and govt gets revenue for a growing economy.
JMTs.
edited- thanks Rahul

Rahul M wrote:you forgot lottery. definitely betting should be legalized, we are simply kicking away the massive revenue for no reason.

India mulls legalising gambling amid cricket scandal: report

The Indian government is looking at proposals to legalise the country's multi-million-dollar underground gambling market to tackle corruption in cricket, according to a newspaper report Sunday

Legal sports gambling in India could prove a major tax revenue for the government, as well as allow for official regulation.

Good that GOI is looking into it. hope they do legalise it.

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 05 Sep 2010 21:40

rsingh wrote:abhischekcc wrote:

How does prostitution have social benefits? It is simply organized rape industry

The only solution to prostitution is to cut off the offending male organ of the perpetrator.

As Aruna Irani says in the movie Jakhmi Aurat - Na rahegaa baans, na bajegi baansuri.
Used to think on same lines . Some body explained that prostitution bring down rape related crimes.

It's a social safety valve. Perverts and child molesters do their thing. Keeps many of them off the streets, hopefully.

Carl_T · Post by **Carl_T** » 06 Sep 2010 07:44

I think steady access to sex on demand is always beneficial. The only problem being the uh disease transmission. I have heard that legalizing it would reduce transmission, not sure I buy it.

As for lottery and betting, the problem is that the industry doesn't create any wealth, rather it just moves it around from one person to other. I think we should continue restricting it.

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 06 Sep 2010 08:19

Wet spell boosts prospect of record kharif harvest

Intensification of the monsoon in August, as reflected in six per cent excess rainfall during the month, and continuation of the wet spell in the first week of September has strengthened the optimism about a record kharif harvest. Besides, the weather office’s prophecy that the monsoon will not start withdrawing before mid-September has boosted the outlook for the next rabi as well.

Overall, 96.64 million hectares had been brought under crop cover country-wide till September 3, clocking an increase of 8.27 million hectares over the last year’s corresponding position. The farmland under paddy, coarse cereals and pulses, together, has expanded by nearly 7 million hectares.

Standing crops in most parts are reportedly in excellent shape and no major outbreak of diseases and pests has been reported till now. Agricultural pundits are expecting the kharif grain output this year to not only exceed last year’s 103.8 million tonnes but also to surpass the record 118.1 million tonnes bagged in 2008-09.

The output of commercial crops, including oilseeds, cotton and sugarcane, too, is anticipated to register handsome gains. The agriculture ministry has put the likely production of cotton at all-time high of 35 million bales of 170 kg each, prompting the government to lift curbs on cotton exports from October, when the new cotton year begins.

This year's kharif crop should significantly bring down inflation over the rest of the year. The 2Q (Jul-Sep) GDP data may be muted due to the high base effect as well as the effect of the harvest not being fully visible then. However, the 3Q (Oct-Dec) quarter may report a significant spike in GDP growth, due to the record crop output in addition to the low base of last year (~6% growth in 3Q 2009-10) - GDP growth may approach or exceed double digits in 3Q.

abhischekcc · Post by **abhischekcc** » 06 Sep 2010 12:34

Carl_T wrote:I think steady access to sex on demand is always beneficial. The only problem being the uh disease transmission. I have heard that legalizing it would reduce transmission, not sure I buy it.

As for lottery and betting, the problem is that the industry doesn't create any wealth, rather it just moves it around from one person to other. I think we should continue restricting it.

So gambling, in which there is no exchange og body fluids, no transmission of disease, no exploitation should be banned. And whoring, which is the last remnant of slave trade still left in modern society, is socially beneficial????

I don;t know whether to

or

here.
So I'll just

abhischekcc · Post by **abhischekcc** » 06 Sep 2010 12:35

Used to think on same lines . Some body explained that prostitution bring down rape related crimes.

If men can't control their testicles, it is men's problem. Why should women have to pay t he price?

JE Menon · Post by **JE Menon** » 06 Sep 2010 14:12

>>So gambling, in which there is no exchange og body fluids, no transmission of disease, no exploitation should be banned.

Not at all. I see no reason why gambling should be banned, anymore than alcohol consumption.

Prostitution is a complex subject, and OT here. So I will not get into it. It is not easy to describe the phenomenon, and the attendant industry, through the a singular perspective.

nandakumar · Post by **nandakumar** » 06 Sep 2010 14:57

JE menon wrote
quote
Prostitution is a complex subject, and OT here. So I will not get into it. It is not easy to describe the phenomenon, and the attendant industry, through the a singular perspective.
unquote

let me confine my take on this to the purely economic aspect. it seems every economic activity involving producers and consumers seem unable to get the two to meet and transact without involving some intermediary even in this internet and e-commerce age. but that hasn't had the society changing its fundamentally anti-intermediary social attitude. despite mounting evidence to the contrary it is somehow seen as a non value creating activity to be avoided wherever possible and kept to the barest minimum where it can not be. for instance in the case of farm produce the government has gone to the extraodrinary degree of banning commerce in agricultural produce outside the area of a designated area of a market yard. only if commerce happens in the designated area the government feels it can watch over what goes on and by implications foil the predatory designs of the artiyas/commission agents etc. in the case of prostitution society's abhorence of intermediaries finds full expression. because the nature of the trade is such that the intermediary practically walks away with the entire value with only the crumbs being left with the producer namely the woman who offers her body for somebody's sexual gratification.
incidentally in the case of lottery the intermediation costs just are overwhelming as much as 70-80 per cent. the so called larger public good that is sought to be served with the government conducting the lottery is therefore a bogus claim.
sorry if this off-track. beg the indulgence of the moderators as newbies are entitled to some latitude!

abhischekcc · Post by **abhischekcc** » 06 Sep 2010 20:34

Personally, I have nothing against gambling being legalized. Especially because I have/had been working on a new sports gambling algorithm some years ago. I can implement it and make a bundle if gambling is legalized.

Carl_T · Post by **Carl_T** » 07 Sep 2010 00:12

Idk about OT but it is certainly a serious field of economic inquiry.

No one is advocating forcing prostitution on women, it is their choice. (Not to mention, legalizing prostitution would also give a lot of power to prostitute labor unions who would probably force consumers to cut down on abuse).

Gambling provides neither goods nor services and simply moves wealth around. Prostitution at least provides a service. Quite seriously, I think the way to model a system in which prostitution is legal is to think of it like a set of firm that provide tutors.

The problem with prostitution apart from disease is cartels or corporations trafficking children and raising them to be prostitutes (exactly the way professional football teams develop young players!

). But I think it is possible to deal with that. I suspect corporations wouldn't work because their main assets are their employees and like tutors they can always branch out on their own.

Legalizing also implies regulation, as a result you'd need to produce some sort of birth certificate to be able to prostitute legally and openly into the larger market.

Manishw · Post by **Manishw** » 07 Sep 2010 00:19

^ Good Idea, at least if not whole India start can be made from say Delhi and Mumbai.

Nihat · Post by **Nihat** » 07 Sep 2010 02:47

India pips US in FDI hot spot race

putnanja · Post by **putnanja** » 07 Sep 2010 05:24

Not everyone engaged in prostitution is there due to human trafficking. Many are there on voluntarily too, especially the ones in mid-to-high level markets. There are many college going girls engaged in it with high-level pimps as they make as much as Rs 2000-3000 for one night. There was also a news report in some magazine a few years back.

Legalizing prostitution and making the sex workers undergo medical exams once a month, pay taxes etc will create a safe working enviroment for both sex workers and the customers. In a sex starved country like India, it also provides a safety valve. It reduces the number of rapes and crime against women.

Gambling is addictive and leads to one losing the shirts on their back, and bringing their family on the streets. And gambling can be easily manipulated. Look at how the bookies knew the number of no-balls being bowled in the paki match. Unsuspecting abduls would bet against them and lose money. It is difficult to ensure that there is no corruption involved in gambling.

However, if there is enough teeth in the law to ensure that there is no corruption and contacts between players/managers/teams and bookies are cut off, I see no need to ban gambling either