Their Dreams, My Dream

Posted on October 16, 2007 by indra

Three Delhi finalists-Sanjiv Kaura, 42 Aseem puri, 28 and Satyam Darmora, 27- of ‘Lead India’ initiative of Time of India have a dream of their own:

Sanjiv Kaura:
I have a dream… a dream of removing poverty in India. But that is only one half of my dream. If all the women and men in India are prosperous, I will be happy but only partially. My dream will be complete only if the removal of poverty is accompanied by the creation of an enlightened and humane society.

Aseem Puri:
I have a dream… to see no child sleeps hungry, to ensure that every glass of water in India is safe, that no Indian is deprived of a doctor when s/he needs one, that each person in the country gets a level of basic hygiene, lives in a house s/he can call home and is given a chance to earn a respectable living.

Satyam Darmora:
My dream is… to see an India that is better than china in manufacturing, better than Italy in fashion and better than USA in quality of life. I wish to se an India where Ferrari is made in Faridabad, Harley Davidson in Hardwar and Boeing in Bokaro- an India that is socially developed and also an economic superpower.

Let me tell Satyam I do feel one day Harley Davidson or a better product may come out of Bajaj Plant in Hardwar, and Boeing like aircrafts will get produced from HAL, Bangalore, and let Ferrari wait some more time.

I have a dream too and I keep on writing about my dream. I wish India developed itself in a way that becomes a benchmark for all other countries and its people. The people of other countries including those of the developed ones begin to envy India in every field of activities. Can it happen? Certainly it can if the people start dreaming and working real hard to see their dreams realized.

But I have another dream. I expect Arun Jaitley and Renuka Chowdhury who were among the juries, to convey the dreams of these young men to their political bosses. Let the politicians not go on killing the dreams of the younger India. Let them use the talent and ideas of young India in building this nation fast enough. Let the opinions of these men and women on certain critical national issues such as Nuclear Deal or essential reforms for the economic growth be respected. Let us not keep on missing the buses every time one opportunity comes for one reason (read excuse) or the other. The Gen Next may not tolerate it for very long.

But I do also wonder if ‘Lead India’ too is becoming another ‘Idol India’ or ‘Biswavijeta’ shows. I wish I were wrong. And all these young men and women contribute effectively by implementing their ideas.
Will my readers start dreaming and share some of their dreams that are related to the country we are proud of?

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Booming and Bubbling India- XXII

Posted on October 15, 2007 by indra

India’s place in the global economy has been best covered in an article in the latest Mc Kinsey Quarterly: “Real GDP growth averaged 8.6 percent over the past four years, and the country’s economic planners expect it to grow by an average of 9 percent a year through 2012. India boasts companies with world-class capabilities in sectors such as automotive, information technology, manufacturing, and pharmaceuticals. Net capital inflows topped $46 billion in fiscal 2006-07, compared with only some $24 billion a year earlier.”

Rupee end at 9-1/2-yr high against US dollar: The rupee on Thursday continued its upward march against the greenback and ended at yet a fresh 9-1/2 year high of 39.30/31 on sustained capital inflows amidst a feeble attempt of intervention by the central bank. Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensex closed 155.82 pts up at 18,814.07 while National Stock Exchange’s Nifty ended 83.40 pts up at 5,524.85. India best performing market in Asia: Based on the current bullish momentum, investors are betting that the Sensex will touch 19,000 in a week, unless the political scenario worsens and there is no major slowdown in company earnings.

India’s Executives show Confidence: The economic boom that has lifted India’s growth rates has also buoyed the spirits of executives based in the country. Research conducted by The McKinsey Quarterly over the past four years highlights just how much more optimistic they are than their global counterparts.

IIP is back to double-digit growth: The rebound came on the back of robust manufacturing production, especially in capital goods.

Mukesh & Anil Ambani combined become world’s richest. The Indian stock market boom has made the Ambani brothers arguably the richest in the world if one clubs the fortunes of Mukesh and Anil, which at $ 91.41 billion is far ahead of even the Walton family of Wal-Mart.

Bharti joins Rs 2 trillion Mcap club, Mittal 4th trillionaire: Bharti Airtel on 10 October entered the coveted Rs 2 trillion club, joining the likes of Reliance Industries and state-run ONGC, while its Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal became India’s fourth trillionaire in rupee terms joining the league of trillionaires Mukesh Ambani, Anil Ambani and Azim Premji.

‘Among BRIC nations, India is the future’. If you go by John J Dooner Jr, the CEO and chairman of McCann Worldgroup, India is the most happening BRIC among BRICs. And yes, an Indian can aspire to the top creative position of a global ad agency – “The time is now”.

IITians plan a new IIT: Rajat Gupta is founding member and chairman of the board of directors of PAN-IIT, an alumni group of heavyweights. Gupta headed worldwide operations for consultancy major McKinsey until recently. He has recently initiated the idea among members to get established an IIT.

Airtel announces launch of 8 Mbps broadband: India’s leading integrated telecom service provider, Airtel, announced the launch of eight Mbps broadband service, becoming the first service provider in the country to offer such high speed broadband service.

Polish biotech firm coming to India: Bioton SA, Poland’s largest biotechnology company, will invest $35 million (about Rs 140 crore) in a joint venture that will operate in India, Finland, Russia and the UK.

Hiranandani bags second residential project in Dubai: Hiranandani Constructions has bagged second residential project in Dubai, after their 90-storey tower of 1 million sq ft. Hiranandani’s first project 23 Marina in Dubai is considered to be the world’s tallest residential structure.

Travel & tourism to create 7 mn jobs: “A revolutionary growth is being witnessed in the Indian travel, tourism, airline and hospitality industries. It will lead to the creation of over seven million new jobs in India in the next 10 years,” according to Elixir Web Solutions’ Business Intelligence Team. The tourism sector in India employs as many as 41.8 million people directly or idirectly.

Private equity bets big on infrastructure sector: The trickle of private equity money into the country’s infrastructure sector is now turning into a deluge, with a slew of billion-dollar funds dedicated to core sector financing on the anvil.

‘My mobile is me’ India is one of the world’s hottest mobile design locations today. The Bangalore studio “reflects India’s status as one of the hottest countries for design,” according to Nokia’s Chief Designer, Alastair Curtis.

‘Made in India’ to challenge China: Made in India’ could be the next big economic story with the country challenging China’s position as the leading global manufacturing hub within five years.

Microsoft targets bigger share: With over 5,000 people currently employed by the company in India, investment plans include an infusion of over $1.7 billion over next four years.

Government proposes to start 1,000 new polytechnics: Government proposes to start at least 1,000 new polytechnics to increase additional two lakh seats in diploma courses. “It is proposed to give a big boost to Polytechnics whose present intake capacity is only about 2.5 lakhs as against six lakhs for degree level engineering courses.” Ideally, there should be an intake capacity of over 20 lakhs in Diploma courses, even on a conservative basis, for six lakh engineers.

Two Indian design institutes among top global schools: Industrial Design Centre of the Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai and Ahmedabad’s National Institute of Design are among the 60 schools named in the second annual survey of the best design schools in the world compiled by Businessweek magazine, which is part of the McGraw-Hill Companies Inc.

India becoming top global innovator: India is increasingly becoming a top global innovator for high-tech products and services, says a World Bank report recommending new ways be explored to leverage the entrepreneurs and technologists of its diaspora. As each invention, service or product reaches maturity and saturation, the next phase of growth can only come from a radical change, an innovation. This does not have to be limited to a product: in fact, exciting innovations often take place in processes or in business models.

Indian firms raise $2.7 bn on AIM in 2006: India-related companies and investment funds raised to the tune of 2.7 billion dollar on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) in 2006.

India to formally join TAPI project next month: India will formally join US-backed Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan gas pipeline project next month for importing natural gas from the Central Asian nation to meet its growing energy needs.

India can sustain 10% growth rate: India’s economic growth can reach a sustainable 10 per cent and be spread more evenly across the country if the government pursues ambitious and wide-ranging economic reforms, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has said in a survey. Economy to grow by 9% in ’07: International ratings agency Standard and Poor’s expects India’s economy to grow by 9 per cent in 2007 and 8.8 per cent in 2008.

Gold hallmarking to be made mandatory: Gold purchasing will soon be more comfortable experience without the nagging doubt about its purity, as the Government is set to make it mandatory from January 2008 to emboss all gold sold in the country with Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) hallmarking.

Bluetooth scales up in India: Malls across Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Pune are deploying bluetooth-enabled servers to reach out to customers in a more direct and personal way than a loudspeaker and a stage in the public mall area.Bluetooth is a technology specification for wireless communication. And bluecasting, a term used to describe direct marketing using bluetooth-enabled servers, is not new to India.

Punjab Chem acquires 30% in US-based firm: Agrochemicals company Punjab Chemicals and Crop Protection (PCCPL) has acquired a 30 per cent stake in the US-based Source Dynamic. Indian pharma company Lupin has acquired 80 per cent stake in Kyowa Pharmaceutical Industry (Kyowa), one of the top ten generic pharmaceutical companies in Japan.

Gitanjali Gems to add 150 stores in US: Gitanjali Gems, an integrated diamond and jewellery manufacturer, is planning to add 150 stores in the US, taking the total there to 250 by next year. In November last year, it had acquired a 97% stake in Samuels Jewelers Inc, a Texas-based chain that has 97 stores in the US and a turnover of $100 million.

Infosys revenues cross $1 billion in Q2: Software major Infosys achieved a milestone by crossing one billion dollar revenue for the quarter ended September 30, registering an year-on-year growth of 18.4 per cent. The Bangalore-headquartered company earned a net profit of Rs 1,100 crore after tax during the period, against Rs 929 crore for the same quarter last year.

Foreigners flock to India for good jobs: After middle and senior level foreigners making it to India it is now the turn of professionals who are at the beginning of their career to flock to the country, as the work environment throws them a huge challenge, both professional as well as personal.

Wipro to take over Nokia Berlin unit: Wipro Technologies has taken over the business and assets of Nokia Siemens Networks’ radio access related R&D activities in Berlin.

McCann chief pictures India as export hub: According to McCann Worldgroup Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John J Dooner Jr. India is a maturing market and the time has come to export ideas out of the country instead of importing them,

India, Aus join hands to increase wheat output: The Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) have jointly drawn up short and medium term strategies to increase the yield of wheat to an optimal level.

3Com Looks to India for Growth: The bulk of 3Com’s investments will be directed at India, which is its largest potential market in Asia.

RIL to invest $8-9 bn in Jamnagar over next 3-4 years: Reliance Industries will invest $8-9 billion in the next three to four years in the Jamnagar ‘Super Site’. RIL would build the world’s largest petrochemical complex at Jamnagar with an annual capacity of two million tonnes of olefins, with matching downstream capacities. It will also be one of the most competitive ethylene crackers in the world and with this complex.

Microsoft inks research pact with IISc: Microsoft Research on 12 October announced a research and collaboration agreement with the Indian Institute of Science (IISc). Under this agreement, Microsoft Research is committed to providing funding and research expertise in the next two-three years to assist with major projects in life sciences research and advanced high-performance computing platforms based on Microsoft Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003.The pact is aimed at accelerating the scientific discovery process by increasing the computational power in scientific and engineering research.

Ratan Tata most influential businessman in Asia-Pacific: Tata Sons chairman Ratan Tata has been ranked the most influential business person in the Asia- Pacific by Asia Money in its annual poll of 100 most influential people in Asia-Pacific.

And Finally one Indian, Rajendra Pachauri heads the panel that has been awarded Nobel Peace Prize this year jointly with Al Gore, the former US vice-president.

Another good news is regarding the irrelevance of politics in the Indian growth story. Globally it must get recognition. Growth is taking along social sector with it. For, infant mortality has declined to a never-before rate of 57 per thousand births, from 68 a couple of years ago, according to the National Family Health Survey-III (NFHS-III).

Perhaps, the booming economy makes every other sector to pull up its shocks.

Posted in economy, industry | Leave a comment

Business Week And Economist on India

Posted on October 13, 2007 by indra

Business Week has some very informative reports.

How India Clusters Growth: A slew of new manufacturing hubs, or “clusters,” developing across India, from Chennai in the south to the hosiery and knitwear capital of Ludhiana in the north take advantage of the traditional skills of a community, transforming local groups of workshops and small factories into a modern industry. For instance, the Ambur area has been home to leather workers for over a century, and the state of Tamil Nadu is India’s leather capital: Of the $3 billion in annual leather exports from India, 40% to 45% comes from Tamil Nadu, and a total of $750 million comes from the Ambur area alone. The cluster strategy is one reason that India is in the middle of a manufacturing boom. These clusters will be the bases of India’s manufacturing revolution.

Yahoo! Hosts ‘Hack Day’ in India: The one-day event attracted some 100 Web developers, who toiled over 24 hours to create new software using the company’s application programming interfaces. This was the third in a series of Open Hack Day held over the past year, and the first in Asia. In the software parlance, hacking refers to the “modification of a program or device to give users access to features that were otherwise unavailable to them”. Thus, hacks are not necessarily always conducted with malicious intent. At the end of the 24-hour deadline, there were 31 submissions and a member from each participating team had 90 seconds to showcase their hacks. The “Best in Show” award went to an application called “Maps Doodle”, which integrated Yahoo Maps with a canvas overlay. The “Brainiest Hack” award went to an application dubbed “YaHealer”, a Yahoo Widget that allows doctors to collaborate and share medical files and photos online.

Economist, as usual has a different style and focus too.

A Himalayan challenge– THE Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has now produced its first economic survey of India, which once had some of the world’s most interventionist economic policies. India wins much praise for its reforms over the past two decades, but the OECD reckons that the country still has a long way to go: on many measures India scores badly relative to both member countries and the other emerging giants. The OECD estimates that on today’s polices, India can sustain annual growth of more than 8%.

87% of employment in Indian manufacturing is in firms with fewer than ten employees, compared with only 5% in China. Small firms cannot reap economies of scale or exploit the latest technology, and so suffer from lower productivity than big firms. State-owned firms still account for 38% of output in the formal non-farm business sector, yet the OECD estimates that private firms are on average one-third more productive than public-sector ones. States with looser labour- and product-market regulations enjoy higher labour productivity.

Adding sugar -Indian computer-services companies await Japanese customers. HCL, one of India’s biggest computer-services firms, has been trying hard to win Japanese outsourcing contracts for a decade. Its Japan Business Unit in Noida employs 25 fluent Japanese speakers who cater to visiting Japanese businessmen and supervise training in Japanese language and culture for the firm’s other employees. Around 250 software engineers are proficient enough in Japanese to converse with Japanese clients, albeit with laughably poor pronunciation. Last year India’s computer-services companies exported around $350m-worth of goods and services to Japan, representing 1.5% of the industry’s total exports. Japanese firms that have taken the leap have liked it. For example, Shinsei Bank works with numerous Indian firms to run an innovative corporate network, which avoids using mainframe computers and so allows it to launch new products faster. “It’s not just a cost thing, it is also a quality and service thing,” explains Thierry Porté, Shinsei’s chief executive.

Can dinosaurs dance? Alan Lafley who ran some of Procter & Gamble’s Asian businesses before getting the top job at the American company, sees Indian firms shaking up the way foreign companies operate, and not only with back-office services where many began. Hours after he uttered those words, Wipro, an Indian pioneer of software services said it would open a new development centre in Atlanta, Georgia, that will report to its headquarters in Bangalore.

Revving up – India’s software innovators were once sniffed at as merely low-cost offshoring and back-office operations. But firms like Infosys, Wipro and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) have become world leaders in business-software services. S. Ramadorai, TCS’s chief executive, says his firm sees “innovation as a key enabler of its productivity edge”. He points out that his firm has been investing in R&D for 25 years and holds several dozen patents and copyrights. Navi Radjou of Forrester Research, a technology consultancy, applauds TCS’s “global innovation ecosystem” which brings together academic labs, start-ups, venture-capital firms, large independent software firms and some of its most important customers.

Innovation is also changing the pharmaceuticals industry. Small biotechnology firms, using networked approaches, are getting ahead of Big Pharma. This too opens the way for Asian competitors, like Ranbaxy and Dr Reddy’s Laboratories. These firms were once copycats, trampling on Western patents to make cheap generic versions of drugs. But increasingly they are shifting to process innovation and even new drug discovery.

Media abroad are taking notice of the silent revolution going on in India’s industrial arena. Today’s New York Times has one on how India is going to lead in

Posted in economy, industry | Leave a comment

Urban Development Drives Rural Growth in India

Posted on October 13, 2007 by indra

Some media reports provide some hope and delight me. Lead India initiative of ‘Times of India’ has selected some 24 leaders out of 32,682 applicants from the 8 cities of India. It is heartening that many are already working for the transforming and improving the quality of life of the rural India. Oulook’s recent anniversary issue presents some examples of excellence, in unlikely places. After going through those stories, I came across this study by an economist on the website of Knowledge Wharton that is India-related. Every Indian who is concerned about rural India must read and appreciate this.

Roopa Purushothaman, a U.S.-trained economist first gained prominence as a co-author of the famed BRIC report published in 2003 by Goldman Sachs. Purushothaman is now the chief economist for Future Capital Research, part of Future Group, a fast-growing Indian retailer. Here is some data and views from a paper titled, “Is Urban Growth Good for Rural India?” written by Purushothaman and two colleagues — Saurabh Bandopadhyay and Anindya Roy.

Rural India has diversified significantly into non-farm activities — and this has brought India’s cities much closer to their hinterlands than people might imagine.

Most of the discussions on the rural-urban divide are based on anecdotes about rural India, but if we look at the data, the story in rural India is a lot more dynamic that it gets credit for.

A 10% increase in urban expenditure is associated with a 4.8% increase in rural non-farm employment.

A Rs. 100 ($2.50) increase in urban consumption expenditure leads to an increase of Rs. 39 (just under $1) in rural household incomes.

A sustained urban household consumption growth rate, similar to that seen over the last decade, could lead to 6.3 million non-farm jobs in rural areas and $91 billion in real rural household incomes over the next decade.

Three urban myths about contemporary rural India
1.faster economic growth in urban India — as compared to rural areas — is driving rapid urbanization
2.rural India is still an agricultural economy
3.rural-urban inequality is on the rise.

During the past decade alone, the rural economy is estimated to have grown on average by 7.3% as compared to 5.4% in the urban economy. The latest Central Statistical Organisation figures show that the rural economy accounted for 49% of India’s GDP in 2000. This is a significant increase from 41% in 1981-82 and 46% in 1993-94.

With agriculture only growing at 3.2% on average, much of this growth is driven by the rural non-farm sector. As of 2000, agriculture accounted for 51.8% of rural economic activity. This represents a significant decline from 64% in the early 1980s and 72% in early 1970s. Moreover, services — which accounted for 21% of rural activity in 1981 — now account for 28%. In addition, manufacturing, utilities and construction have nearly doubled their share in the rural economy, from just under 10% in 1971 to 18% in 2000.

According to Census data, while rural-urban migration as a share of total rural population was 6.5% in 1981, in 2001 it fell to 2.8%. “The slow rates of rural-urban migration along with declining rates of natural increase in urban areas” indicate that the process of urbanization in India is actually slowing down as a result of economic growth.

The urban-rural income gap (or the ratio of mean urban to rural incomes) has decreased since the early 1990s. “Though this [change] is not very dramatic, it is happening in a very different way from what we see in other economies. In China, for instance, rural and urban inequality has increased as a result of growth.”

Between 2000 and 2005, rural agricultural employment growth was as low as 1%. This indicates that growth in the agricultural sector has not really resulted in a significant increase in jobs in the countryside. In contrast, during the same period, non-farm jobs have gone up by 20%.

India’s average yield per hectare today is roughly half that of China, although the agricultural sector in India employs roughly six million more people.

In contrast, India employs just seven million people in the formal manufacturing sector compared with more than 100 million in China. “In a situation where agricultural capacity is limited and the urban economy is not fully able to absorb a growing labor force, the rural non-farm sector could act as an outlet for surplus semi-skilled labor. Urban demand, therefore, could be an important and largely overlooked engine helping to drive this shift from farm to non-farm employment in rural India.”

Rural supply chains lack sophisticated infrastructure, and they mostly deal with food and other agricultural products, handicrafts, toys and apparel. Though these supply chains are underdeveloped, they are still extremely important because they provide food and clothing to urban India. Moreover, 70% of India’s population depends on the production and distribution activities of these networks for its livelihood.

India’s retail sector has a market size of some $300 billion, of which barely 2% to 4% is in the organized sector. The industry, however, is going through a massive transformation and the share of the organized sector is likely to increase to 20% to 25% by 2010. “India is all set for a retail revolution. As rural supply chains are integrated with those of organized urban retailers, this will be a critical driver of rural growth.”

But the recent violent protests by the associations of middlemen, and traders supported by the unscrupulous politicians can spoil the retail sector party of the big corporate houses that wishes to enter retail sector. A real smart marketing among farmers and consumers will be essential to bring them on its side. But the objective of the corporate houses must be genuinely helping of farmers in rural India. And that can make a lot of difference in making their life better.Thrust must be on creating non-farming employment in rural India.

Posted in economy | Leave a comment

Kolkata Marwaris Control Government Machinery

Posted on October 11, 2007 by indra

Last Sunday I was watching NDTV programme “We, The People” aired directly from the premises of St Xaviers College in Kolkata. The subject was the love story of Rizwanur, a graphic designer with an established industrialist Ashok Todi’s daughter, Priyanka and sad filmy end of Rizwanur: “Muslim boy meets Marwari girl. They fall in love. The girl’s family is vehemently opposed to the match. Boy and girl get married and the couple moves into the boy’s house. When pleas and threats fail to bring the girl back home, her father calls the cops and ensures that she is sent back to her parents for seven days. Ten days later, the boy is found dead near the railway tracks.”

While Barkha Dutt was at her best, it appeared she could get every representative young persons and intellectuals of Kolkata They appeared to be really sad and to a very little extent angry. It reminded me of Nitish Katara and Bharati case. Rizwanur’s brother Rukbanur, with her mother was also there in the crowd and beyond my imagination, Rukbanur was very rational in all his views he expressed and appeared to be very mature. As expected, I couldn’t hear the mother’s view.

Kolkata is very alive to such issues. The incident has already brought the Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharya, Jyoti Basu, Chief commissioner of police Kolkata, and other senior police officers in dock. While CID has been asked to investigate, a judicial enquiry also has been ordered. But the aggrieved family is seeking CIB probe and the people are with them. As usual, with the money power, the girl father has brought the police officers on his side. Priyanka has not appeared or has not been allowed to come out and speak publicly on the case. Her father, it appears is too big, in the industrialist-friendly West Bengal to be called by the police to express his views on the death of Rizwanur. Can someone imagine what he would have done if he would have been party to the marriage of his daughter and his son-in-law would have meted a death like one Rizwanur had to?

Marwaris are generally conservative. However, many are today much more modern than many from other communities. But what is that animal instinct that makes one take such an extreme step? Most of the people present in the programme didn’t believe that Rizwanur would have killed himself. I feel even if he killed himself it was because he was agonized to that extent. In both cases, the killer is someone else and he must be punished. But most importantly, Priyanka must come out on her own from the family of her parents and show the grit that she showed in marrying Rizwanur. The society must support her living independently and facilitate her to come out with the name of the conspirator if she knows. She should not repeat the story of Bharati Yadav who was transported to UK and made to tell a lie.

For many years, marwaris are in control of the politicians and officers, particularly police of West Bengal. How could a police commissioner declare the killing of Rizwanur as suicide without any investigation unless he knows what he is to conceal for his financier marwari friend? It reminds me of one of my own nightmares with my marwari tenant in Kolkata. The community shows extreme unity when one marwari rises against someone of other commuity. It is unfortunate but a reality. It was very much evident when Barkha snubbed one such marwari present among the people.
It hurt me when someone present in the programme remarked: “If Rizwanur would have been from an industrialist family such as Premji, Priyanka’s father perhaps would have never objected to the marriage.”

This is certainly ‘Shocking India’ that simultaneously lives in many centuries with many customs, traditions and social values of the Stone Age still continuing. But it becomes more disgusting if the politicians and police get into the business of saving criminals in garbs of rich men of the society.

Once Rizwanur is not there, the story is taking the usual turn. It is clear from a report in Telegraph: A state women’s commission team met her today, and according to them, “Priyanka said she did not know if it was suicide or murder, but she wanted the truth to come out. Priyanka still loved Rizwanur but would not speak a word against her father Ashok or the police.” Suicide story will get confirmed from reports and findings. Priyanka will forget Rizwanur and Ashok Todi will carry on with his business and keep on supporting the influentials that may be helpful someday.Who will bother about the poor old mother who lost her son in the process?

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Noida: Promote New Type of Temples

Posted on October 11, 2007 by indra

Sakti Temple-Sector 40 and a battle for Prasad

Samvada, Sector 41 in its October Issue has a lead story, “Let’s Rethink of The New Move Of Constructing A Temple On The H-Block Vacant Land”. Samvada’s concerns against the move of constructing a temple in sector 41 are very rational. I came to know of the proposal of the temple through Dainik Jagaran’s Community Plus on Sunday September 2007 that had carried the news. As it appears, the RWA president wishes to provide this temple service to the residents so that some more persons with vested interest can get engaged, and keep the sector politics alive. Unfortunately, whether we like it or not, a temple mostly thrive on black money and all its ill effects.

I wonder why should every sector have a temple. Will it not be better if Noida could have just one temple grand enough to be its landmark on a big plot of land with its ambience providing the desired peace and tranquility that can serve all classes of the citizens? The best solution is to have temple in each house and that all believers are already having it.

Perhaps many of the residents don’t know that in India the number of temples is more than that of residential houses. It is unfortunate that most of us blindly follow whatever someone tells us about religious practices and rituals. We never try to think a bit about it. Every Saturday I see many young men from the nearby villages collecting fees from vulnerable households to escape the curse of God Saturn. Why can’t the residents discourage this begging or extortion? Will that not help those young men to go for some better work to earn for the living? Do we know how they use that easy money in buying drugs? Can’t they be the chain snatchers in the sector too in their other roles?

Ninety percent or more of so-called ‘sadhus’ that we see today are just fake ones. Even Tulsidas has written about them- ‘Nari mui ao sampati nasi, mund mundai bhaye sanyasi.’ I keep on appealing to all the acquaintances to stop giving alms. We must try to find out how our charity would be used. On the same line, let us look at the Sakti Mandir and Sai Temple of Sector 40. While Sakti Mandir encourages the begging, Sai Mandir educates through its school. Distribution of Prasad in all forms dirties the place and must stop. Can’t some one innovate some other form of ‘prasad’ but the eatables? Why should we assume that giving some coins to those beggars could get rid of all our sins and provide us a place in heaven?

Let me come back to the proposal of building a new temple in Sector 41 for the salvation of its residents. Years ago, some people took initiative and had come to me too for donation. Later on, I was told that some unscrupulous ones in the group have misappropriated the money collected and have disappeared.

But why are we trying to build the traditional type of temple? Can we build a temple that will have a mosque, a temple, and a church integrated in one as something that can make our sector unique? Will the residents agree for that? If not why can’t we build a very good school for the underprivileged or a very good library and name it a ‘Knowledge Centre’ with all facilities for kids, young and old men, and professionals with a convention hall too, that can become a landmark of the sector and can attract the whole of Noida to visit our sector.

As I understand one young man took that initiative but because of the lack of the necessary support from the influential residents, the president and his executive members, he couldn’t pursue the project. I am sure the funding for the Knowledge center will not be a problem with so much of thrust for it by National Knowledge Commission, once the residents agree to go for that. Will this not be a better temple for the posterity and also a better meeting place for all knowledge seekers providing cultural and social entertainment programmes too if integrated in the scheme?

However, I get some satisfaction and a pleasure too when I find younger generation visiting temples in good numbers, even school going children bowing in front of the temple. But I still prefer one or few good temples instead of mushrooming of temples in every sector.

Let us bring a change in our mindset and have one or the other option of new temples suggested here or one if some other residents suggest.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Manufacturing India-I

Posted on October 10, 2007 by indra

India can compete with China only with a booming and competitive manufacturing sector. India has the talent and skill. A change of mindset among the techies will be necessary to appreciate its need. India can switch over to hardware sector with the ease it went into software. And it is happening.

India to challenge China as the manufacturing hub: A survey of 340 companies worldwide by consulting and outsourcing major Capgemini and ProLogis suggested that India could challenge China as the manufacturing hub of the world in the next three to five years. “India is on the threshold of an exciting opportunity in the manufacturing outsourcing space…respondents indicated that they see manufacturing activities as the primary activity to be offshored to India in the next 3 to 5 years, surpassing even IT and BPO activities.” India is all set to challenge China in manufacturing.

Firing Up India’s Factories: In the past two years manufacturing has emerged as the country’s new rising star. Industrial production jumped by 12.5% in the year ended in March, the highest rate in years. With its huge market, productive workers, and-finally-a government that is starting to help rather than hinder investment, India is becoming an attractive alternative to China for making everything from sneakers to SUVs. India generates fewer than 1 million new manufacturing jobs annually, but needs to create at least five times that. And to really lift hundreds of millions of people out of poverty, India, like China, must build up labor-intensive export industries such as textiles, toys, and electronics. Many of the new plants are intended to serve India’s growing market, but they’re also targeting sales overseas.

While technology giants build vast outsourcing operations in India, manufacturing investment far outweighs theirs. In the verdant hills near Mumbai, Volkswagen, Hyundai Motor, General Motors, and a joint venture of Fiat and local automaker Tata Motors are all building new factories, for a total investment of $4 billion. Korean steelmaker Posco is planning a $12 billion plant in the eastern state of Orissa, while Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal plans to invest $20 billion in two steel mills in Orissa and neighboring Jharkhand. In March, Hewlett-Packard Co. opened a factory near Delhi, its second Indian operation. And bathtub, sink, and toilet maker Kohler Co. is planning a $200 million plant in Gujarat. 40% of 340 multinationals surveyed by consultant Capgemini plan to establish manufacturing operations in India by

Tata small car is not just about price: According to sources in the auto industry, the car will sport the world’s first 800 cc, turbo-charged, CRDi diesel engine. The company is working on two engine options for the Rs 1-lakh car. The petrol version with a 600 cc engine will debut first in 2008. The diesel version will follow later, probably in 2009. For Tata Motors, coming out with the Rs 1 lakh car is both a social and business responsibility. “The Rs 1 lakh small car would bring down the carbon dioxide emission.”

Cranking up a new growth engine: Bharat Forge will shortly become the world’s largest forging company. In five years, a burst of growth and globalisation will see it whiz past its German competitor as the No 1 maker of tough-to-make metal components like axles and crankshafts used in automobiles.

Auto majors race to India for component sourcing: The domestic auto component industry is expected to witness a boom with global car majors drawing up plans to source from Indian suppliers. The big players include DaimlerChrysler AG, Chrysler (owned by Cerberus), Volkswagen, General Motors, Renault-Nissan, Volvo, JCB, and Caterpillar amongst others. According to the Auto Component Manufacturers Association (ACMA), the apex body of component makers in India, global sourcing of components from the country will double from $2.95 billion to $5.9 billion in 2008-09, and is slated to hit $20 billion in seven years.Volvo may outsource components worth $99 m Volvo Car Corporation, Sweden, has forecasted outsourcing of components worth $99 million from India this year. According to ACMA, more than a third (36 per cent) of Indian auto component exports head for Europe, with North America a close second at 26 per cent.Auto component cos turn to product engg, design: With India increasingly becoming a hub for global car makers, companies are looking to enhance their component engineering and designing capabilities to increase their share in the automotive knowledge-based business.

India may become Sandvik’s global mfg base: Sandvik Asia, the Indian subsidiary of Swedish precision tools and mining equipment major Sandvik AB, confronted with significant opportunities thrown up by the Indian infrastructure sector – notably mining and petroleum – in addition to the boom in manufacturing sector, is poised to benefit from the latest technology of its $10 billion Swedish parent as the latter is preparing to introduce newer products in India and also considering the option of making India its global sourcing base.

Schneider plans big: Schneider Electric, a French global major in medium to low voltage electric equipment manufacturing, has planned a big part of industrial investments to come to India.

India base for Hyundai small car Pa: India will be the exclusive manufacturing hub for Hyundai’s small car code-named Pa. HMIL has also set an ambitious target of exporting 2.5 lakh cars from the country in the next two years, up from 1,13,339 units which were exported last year. Hyundai’s new manufacturing facility to be operationalised by October this year would have a production capacity of 3,00,000 units per annum, thereby scaling up HMIL’s overall capacity to 6,00,000 units per annum.

ABG Shipyard completes Rs1, 439 cr German order; ABG Shipyard has completed the construction order for 12 Handysize bulk carriers from a German company for $360 million (Rs1, 439 crore). With this order from Germany’s Bereederungsgesellschaft H Vogemann GmbH & Co KG, the company’s aggregate order book now stands at Rs7,121 crore, ABG Shipyard said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange. Bharati Shipyard, Apeejay in shipbuilding JV: Bharati Shipyard and the Apeejay Surendra group have proposed to set up a ship-manufacturing unit in Orissa ar an estimated investment of Rs 2,200 crore in the project.

Godrej targets Rs1, 000 cr turnover by 2012 from security biz: Gordrej Security Equipment, a division of Godrej and Boyce Mfg Co, is the largest manufacturer of security gadgets in the country and has over 75% share in the domestic market and dominates the banking segment for physical security products.

Videocon plans semiconductor, LCD complex near Mumbai: Videocon Industries Ltd is planning to set up a semiconductor and LCD complex near Mumbai that is estimated to entail an investment of Rs 8,000 crore.

BHEL strategises to take on Chinese competition: BHEL is already in the process of expanding its manufacturing capacity by spending Rs 1,000 crore and has asked its sub-contractors too to go for capacity addition to match its capability.BHEL will up headcount by 20,000: Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd will raise its headcount by a massive 20,000 in the next five years as part of its expansion programme to increase manufacturing capacity. “We shall be inducting 18,000-20,000 people in the next five years in almost all product lines at our various plants QCs Spread: At present, the QCs cover 14 areas like manufacturing and production, quality improvement productivity, cycle time and cost reduction, and safety. QCs would also be set up in non-manufacturing areas such as outsourcing, human resources activities, vendor development, engineering and design and also for canteens and medical services.

Honda plans powertrain facility in Rajasthan: Honda Siel Cars India (HSCI) is planning to set up a powertrain facility in the country. The Japanese company has got allotted 600 acres for this unit. According to market estimates, the cost for building a powertrain facility will be over Rs 600 crore.

Suzuki to make India export hub: Suzuki Motorcycles India (SMI), a 100% subsidiary of Japanese auto major Suzuki Motor Corporation, will make India an export hub for two-wheelers, both motorcycles and scooters to emerging two-wheeler markets where the annual demand is over a million units.

Car that will drive you crazy: First things first… German Tier One component major Bosch is developing “a brand new” common rail direct injection (CRDi) solution that will be compatible with the Tata Rs 1 lakh car. “For the first time, Bosch is developing CRDi systems at that cost to suit the configuration of an extremely low cost vehicle.” The company, he said, is supplying “alternators, brakes and gasoline and diesel en-gine management systems for the one-lakh car from Tata” and in four months, Bosch’s local engineers have “developed viable technical concepts and solutions” for the project.

Japan and India: The two countries have complementary skills and needs. With 1.13 billion people, India will always have a large manufacturing sector and an abundance of low-cost labour. Japan, on the other hand, has superb skills concentrated in manufacturing sectors, ample surplus capital and an aging population that is beginning to decline.

Foundry Industry: The foundry industry, considered the mother of all industries such as engineering, automobile, oil and cement, is expected to post around 9 per cent annual growth. Over 5,000 foundry units are currently operational in the country, with installed capacity of around 7.5 million tonnes a year

Moser plans Rs 2,000cr PV plant near Chennai: New Delhi-based leading optical storage media manufacturer Moser Baer (India) has chosen Chennai to set up a Rs 2,000 crore solar photovoltaic fabrication facility.

Caparo to set up manufacturing base in TN for Rs 750 cr.: Caparo group, which has acquired several companies in the UK and India, is all set to establish a manufacturing base in the upcoming 125-acre Caparo industrial complex at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu at a cost of Rs 750 crore.

Skoda to set up turbine facility: Czech power company Skoda Power AS is setting up a turbine manufacturing facility at Hyderabad at an investment of around Rs2, 000 crore that will be set up in four phases, and will be completed by 2011 to help the fast growing power generation sector on the equipment supply front, as India has been coping with shortfalls in power generation equipment.

Benetton to make India major hub: Apparel major the Benetton Group, which has a presence in 120 countries around the world and produces 130 million garments every year, will make India its major sourcing hub for fabrics to cater to markets like South America, Russia, Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia and Japan.

Louis Vuitton to build shoe plant in India: French luxury goods label Louis Vuitton is considering building a shoe plant in India and will have the manufacturing facility located near Pondicherry.

India new launchpad for auto giants: India is turning out to be the new launch pad for global car models as major carmakers prefer India to Europe and the American markets.

Electronics hardware exports up 30% in FY07: The country exported electronics hardware worth Rs12,500 crore in 2006-07, up 30% from 2005-06, with North America accounting for more than a quarter of it at Rs3,410.95 crore.As per estimates of Department of Information Technology, 125 countries imported software while 191 countries imported hardware from India in 2006-07. In 2005-06, the electronics hardware export was worth Rs9,625 crore.

India must build its manufacturing right from grassroots level using the innovative talents of the people.

Posted in industry, management, manufacturing | Leave a comment

Will Caste Keep on Dividing?

Posted on October 9, 2007 by indra

Last week has been terrible because of the news of the social evils. In Kolkata, a young woman had to lose her husband, as he was poorer and of different faith. Her industrialist father got her husband eliminated with help of the police chief. Even if the husband committed suicide, it was due to the mental agony he had to undergo because of police pressure and threat.

The news of conviction of Bihar’s politicians attached with the killing of Gopalganj DM, G. Krishnaih provided some hope. However, the politicians of Bihar live on the caste fodder. How long it will go on? The news of George Fernandes visiting the convicted politician in jail to lend his support was just disgusting: ‘Thakurs bosses from parties ranging from JD (U), to BJP and LJP accompanied Fernanades including one independent MLC.’ Why can’t the politicians and caste biggies fight the legal battle with evidences and appeals in higher courts rather than showing their affinity and affection for the caste of the convict by massive support in courtroom or visiting jail showing their might? And then why can’t Fernandes retire and leave Bihar to its people? Did he ever visited Mrs. G. Krishnaih and her daughters or did he provide any assistance to see that the family could have a respectful living once her husband and the father of the kids was murdered? Why should Fernandes keep on taking the people of Bihar for granted to support him for all silly things that he had been famous for since the days he banished IBM and Coco Cola? Like all other politicians of the state, Fernandes also have hardly done anything for the benefits of the people of Bihar who kept on electing him though he was an alien. I wish he had shown some magnanimity and kept Nitish out of his criticism. Are Lalu and Ram Vilash not good enough to do that?

I do also have some sympathy for the convicted couple. After all they are from respectable family background. I feel really hurt when such persons leave behind some real bad examples for the other young men and women of the state. The convicted leader alone could have certainly persuaded and stopped the mob because of his leadership quality from lynching Krishnaih for no fault of his own except that he was a government officer.

People of Bihar are feeling proud that Bihar is becoming the first state that has come out heavily on the politicians who are criminals too in real life. The court verdict if anything has provided a landmark. Fast Track court is doing fine job. It must go on like that till the law and order is restored and people of Bihar as well the investors feel confident of a peaceful living in Bihar. No rally or political gimmickry of Ram Vilash, Lalu, or George should slow the process. Bihar needs ruthless handling aiming for having no place for criminals in public life, be it Sunil Pandey, Chandrabhan, Shukla or Pappu or Sahabuddin. They must be behind bar or in the other world.

Let the lords of the land be humble and forget for ever the feudal habits and practices. Let the law and order prevail at all cost. Let the caste system die forever and a new order be born and get established fast for a lasting peace and prosperity in Bihar.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Booming and Bubbling India- XXI

Posted on October 8, 2007 by indra

Sensitive Index (Sensex) is flirting with a new record high of 18000. If it had closed at that level, it would have been the fastest 2000-point rise in the recent history of any stockmarket. In the past few weeks, the story has dominated the headlines of newspapers here and overseas. But does the sensex tell the whole story? Many are skeptical and asking, ‘Is India headed for a slowdown?’ Is India making a transition from from a demand-led growth of the past three years to strong investment-led growth? However, the activities at the level of enterprises are exciting and keep the booming story alive.

Surge in India’s Markets Creates Some Overnight Global Giants: Skyrocketing stock markets and a surging rupee are creating publicly traded behemoths in India. These new giants have swiftly overtaken some long-established Western competitors, in terms of market value. Their lightning-fast growth may usher in a new round of foreign partnerships, overseas takeovers and competition for resources and talent.

Rural India moving towards a better future: “Most of the states in India are peaking at the right time. The government initiative and role of rural Indians in the field of sanitation and poverty alleviation is showing its results,” said Lizette Burgers, chief of water and sanitation, Unicef India.

Kolkata brothers ‘scrabble’ Facebook’s hottest game: Jayant and Rajat Agarwalla have built a free online scrabble game that has 800,000 registered users on Facebook – which had 33.7 million unique visitors last August and was ranked the 14th most popular website on the Net by market researcher comScore.

Indian brain to guide GE’s innovation drive: Vijay Govindarajan, the Earl C Daum 1924 Professor of International Business at Dartmouth Colleges Tuck School of Business, will soon join General Electric (GE) as professor in Residence and chief innovation consultant to help the company advance its innovation agenda.

Sanofi-Aventis plans vaccine hub in India: India’s status as a global pharmaceutical manufacturing hub is all set for another booster shot with the Euro 28 billion French pharmaceutical major Sanofi-Aventis exploring the possibility of setting up a vaccine manufacturing hub in the country either through an acquisition or a joint venture.

IIM grads become crorepatis: Five students at Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow, still to complete their study, have got pre-placement job offers with an average salary of Rs one crore, all coming from global investment banks.

Queen Nooyi rocks American business world: Indra Nooyi, the Indian-origin Queen of the American business world, kept her crown intact for the second year in a row as Fortune magazine named her the most powerful businesswoman in the US.

Ruia Group acquires Malaysian firm: The Ruia Group announced the buyout of controlling stake in Industronics Berhad, a Malaysian player in electronics and engineering, for an undisclosed sum.

Real estate market to touch $90 bn by 2015: The growth of the realty sector would touch $90 billion from the current level of $14 billion and would help the economy continue to grow between 9-10 per cent, according to a recent report by industry body, Assocham.

Realty to attract $10-20 bn investment: Leading Private Equity (PE) players feel $10-20 billion would pour into the country’s real estate sector in the next three years.

Airtel joins global top 10 in telecom: Bharti Airtel’s customer base has crossed the 50-million mark to make it the 10th largest player in the global telecom industry.

Tatas biggest Indian employer in UK: Tatas’ British connection is set to get even stronger with the group expecting a significant surge in its employee strength in the UK as it expands operations and buys more firms. Presently at 30,000, it is a little less than 10% of Tata group’s entire headcount of about 3,30,000 people across the world.

Consultancy business to cross Rs 17,000 cr by 2010: Rising opportunities and growing consultancy spectrum as a result of high demand, consulting industry in India is poised to grow at CAGR of 28%-30% to carry forward its size to over Rs 17,000 crores as against current size of nearly Rs13, 000 crores, according to a paper on ‘Opportunities for Consultancy’, brought out by Assocham.

Mobile phones raise incomes for rural poor: The mobile phone is enabling people at the bottom of the pyramid such as balloon sellers and water melon vendors to do business in a wider geography. While the former reaches out to a potential market much faster because of the timely information he gets about crowd gatherings on his cell phone, the latter isn’t worried any more about the nine-month-long off-season as he can easily find alternative work as a repairman.

DLF to create new Bangalore @60k cr: DLF, the country’s biggest realty firm, plans to develop a huge integrated township spread over 9,178 acre on the outskirts of Bangalore at an estimated investment of up to Rs 60,000 crore over the next seven years.

GAIL plans $2.3 billion petrochem plant in Iran: Government-owned GAIL India, the country’s largest transporter and marketer of gas, plans to set up a mega $2.3 billion petrochemical plant in Iran.

Thermax Ltd inks deal with Georgia-Pacific Chemicals: Thermax Ltd, a global solution provider in energy and environment engineering has entered into a technology and manufacturing license agreement with US-based Georgia-Pacific Chemicals LLC for performance enhancing chemicals which find extensive applications in the paper industry.

Reliance launches cheapest colour phone: Reliance Communication launched ‘Classic 732’ at a price of Rs999, the lowest in Indian market. Earlier in May, the company had launched the Classic monochrome phones at a price of Rs777.

India top talent destination for World Inc: Global corporates are looking at India to get the right talent. “India is topmost on the list of preferred destinations for countries facing an internal talent crunch situation,” global management consultancy firm Boston Consulting Group (BCG) partner and director James V Abraham said.

Indians compete with Russians, Chinese for prime London homes: Many Indian buyers are “keen to uncover bargains,” looking for properties or neighbourhoods where there is “improvement potential,” said the Knight Frank report. Many Indians are seeking properties priced between £750,000 and £1 million, with St John’s Wood a preferred part of the city.

Bengal to privatise 10 public sector units: Reviving its privatisation initiative, the West Bengal government has decided to go in for restructuring of five Public Sector Enterprises (PSEs) and to hand over the operation of five other PSEs to joint venture partners, setting a six-month timeframe for the process.

Indian IT firms are teaching US, UK students: Certain Indian software companies like Educomp Solutions, Core Projects and Technologies and Everonn Systems are now making forays into developing software for the education sector to aid students in areas like online tutoring, classroom management, web-based learning and aiding students with learning disabilities.

India beat China in overseas M&A deal growth: Indian companies have surpassed their Chinese counterparts in making cross border merger and acquisitions with a 126% annual growth, while the Asia Pacific region registers a 36% rise in overseas M&As. So far this year, India has recorded a 126% jump in the amount spent on M&A deals outside the Asia Pacific region, compared to the previous year’s figure. China posed a 82% growth during the period.

India to set up Diaspora Knowledge Network: The “Diaspora Knowledge Network” will enable the 30- million-strong diaspora, spread across 130 countries, to work on projects in India without having to relocate themselves. The Ministry will also establish a “Global Indian Foundation” to channelize the philanthropic activities of the overseas Indian community to causes like education, health and rural development.

India Attracts 30 Firms Vying for Mobile American-Style Licences: The Indian government has received about 300 applications from about 30 companies vying to tap growth potential in the world’s hottest wireless market. India, now adding about 8 million mobile users every month, is forecast to top 500 million subscribers in five years, from 200 million now, making it an attractive market for investment.

India Electronics Poised for Takeoff: From 2006 to 2011, India’s revenue from electronic equipment production will rise at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19.3%, according to iSuppli. Though the base is quite small, this is nearly double the rate of China, and four times the rate of the Americas. India is set to undergo much faster growth in semiconductor revenue than the other regions, with a CAGR

Private Equity Parties Hearty in India: Private equity deals are hitting record levels: $10.8 billion in the eight months of 2007, way above the $7.8 billion invested in all of 2006, according to Grant Thornton International, one of India’s oldest accounting firms.

Essar Global to spend $2b on oil fields: Essar Global Ltd, which has interests in energy, steel and telecommunications, plans to spend a record $2 billion (about Rs 8,000 crore) on developing oil and gas fields in India, Myanmar and Nigeria to benefit from high fuel prices.

Gems and jewellery shine for exporters: The gems and jewellery exports in the first half of the financial year increased by 27 per cent to touch $9.4 billion from $7.4 billion in the corresponding period last year, according to the Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) data.

Nano Centre: Renowned scientist CNR Rao, who is the president of the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, will head the ‘Nano Centre’, a nano technology park being set up in Bangalore. The state government will invest Rs 100 crore in the first phase of the project.

Rs 31,000cr investments lined up in a day: The government of West Bengal today lined up projects worth Rs 31000 crore in the form of two integrated steel and power plants to be built by the Videocon and the Jai Balaji groups.

Small cities outsmart metros: Direct tax collections maintained a growth of over 40% for the first six months period of this fiscal and stood at Rs 1,11,055 crore, up from Rs 79,208 crore during the same period last fiscal. According to official data released by the government, small towns have registered higher growth in tax collections compared to the big cities.

‘India will need 1,000 planes over 20 years’: The market outlook released by Boeing this July projected India would require 911 new planes over the next 20 years. On Thursday, Airbus gave its outlook for the country and said India will need over 1,000 new planes in the same period.

India to get $13.5 bn PE funding in ’07: Study India will receive $13.5 billion in private equity funding during 2007, ranking it among the top seven in the world, concluded a study undertaken by Evalueserve, a global research and analytical firm. This funding is projected to rise to $20 billion in 2010, representing a thousand fold increases in just 14 years.

Forex reserves up by $11.8 bn at $247.7 bn: The country’s foreign exchange reserves shot up by a whopping $11.871 billion to $247.762 billion for the week ended September 28, according to the Reserve Bank.

Core sector gets a bagful Despite the finance minister’s worry over a slowdown in key infrastructure sectors, the six core industries have registered a growth of 9% in August 2007 as against 6.6% in August 2006 riding on a buoyant performance by cement, coal and electricity sectors.

Orissa tribal boys are rugby world champions: At first glance it’s hard to believe that the group of 12 shy boys huddled together in a corner of a central Kolkata hotel lobby are world champions. The odd bunch, including some who first wore shoes a few years ago, are led by a gawky 14-year-old-Bikash Chandra Murmu-captain of the India under-14 team that lifted the International School Rugby Tournament in London on Saturday. The team, Jungle Crows, won the tournament, the de facto World Cup at that level, beating a more experienced South African team, Langa Lions, 19-5.

Chak De! India

Posted in economy, industry | Leave a comment

Incredible India@60: A Shadow PM

Posted on October 8, 2007 by indra

After the rift with leftists on Indo-US Nuclear deal, it appears that Manmohan Singh has lost his prime ministerial role. All the photographs where Manmohan appears with Sonia Gandhi clearly show who is the boss. Since Rahul got into Congress’ general secretary chair, in some photographs with Rahul, Manmohan doesn’t appear again as the effective head of the country. Is it his humility or does the facial expression show the obligation to all the members of the royal family? In many a full-page advertisement, one can see only Sonia Gandhi’s photograph with the cabinet minister. One such appeared today where Sonia and Lalu were in two top corners. The way leftists talk about Manmohan Singh is to a great degree derogatory for the prime minister of India, and it seems the leftists know where the power lies.

As the head of most of the ‘groups of ministers’, Pranab was more like a de facto prime minister. Very lately, Pranab seems to be in main role so far Indo US relation is concerned that earlier was with Manmohan exclusively. Sonia and Rahul attended UN general assembly that declared Gandhi’s birthday, October 2, as the International Antiviolence Day. Actually, the honour would have gone to Manmohan, the Prime minister. Perhaps Manmohan Singh has been the nearest to the definition of prime minister provided by Parkinson among all our prime ministers till date.

At one time when Manmohan got his throne, may be due to the mercy of Sonia Gandhi, I was still excited in a hope that it might work as a good new model of governance in the democracy of India and would become effective. After all a professional and globally respected economist with a record of super performance as finance minister of India in a critical period had become the prime minister of India for the first time. Every one and me too expected him to bring in some wonders with his knowledge and experiences. But nothing remarkable happened. He tried with some projects such as Bharat Nirmaan, but on execution side, nothing significant got executed. Even the projects such as GQ and NSEW corridors expressways linger on till date.

I doubt if the Manmohan picked some key priorities for him to work on and focused sufficiently to get that executed or to get even some essential reforms completed. What could have held him from getting the ranking of doing business in India improved to a respectable standard? Doing Business 2008 report issued by the World Bank and IFC ranks India at 120 out of 178 countries. India requires entrepreneurs to go through 13 procedures- double the average fro developed nations and 59% higher than its regional peers. It needs 33 days to start a business. Why can’t it be done in 5 days? Why can’t with all the might of IT and ITeS, the tax payment systems and property registrations be completed fast enough? Why can’t the Prime Minister appoint a group of ministers to improve the country’s ranking on some of the globally accepted indexes that are perceived as the indicators of good governance and growth?

Manmohan Singh could have also contributed in education sector but unfortunately he had an arrogant rival there in Arjun Singh. From the Red Fort on the Independence Day, he has announced the government plans for setting up of a large number of educational institutes. If all get established, that will be certainly something great for the country.

Once Chidambaram said, “I do know what India can learn from China. India can learn from China how to be extremely focused on goals. India can learn from China in the area of project implementation; the Chinese implement projects ahead of time. India can learn from China about dreaming big. China is now planning the world’s tallest building, the world’s largest deep-sea port, and the world’s largest airport. I think we, too, should learn to dream big, like China.” Manmohan Singh too has talked highly about the China’s performance. I wonder if Indians can ask the two major drivers of the nation what have they done actually to make India learn what that they expected?

Why should the PM look at China to get the lessons of execution? If Patel can get aviation sector on track and some other minister can do the same wonderful work in telecom, why can’t it be repeated in other ministries? It only says that the PM is not able to make his ministers and bureaucrats perform. And that is the responsibility of the PM.

To many, and me Manmohan Singh would have understood the risk of sitting in the Prime Minister chair without the public mandate in a democracy. Alas! He can be only a shadow prime minister in history.

Posted in governance, indian politics | Leave a comment