Hazare, Hegde, Patkar won't attend India Against Corruption meet - Daily News & Analysis http://ping.fm/OMRxf
The Cost of Keeping Up With China
Comparisons between India and China are probably inevitable. The Asian neighbors both boast more than a billion citizens, and both enjoy giddy economic growth rates. Both are also touted as future superpowers, although China is a lot closer to that status than India. But the two nations are also very different: one's an autocratic one-party state; the other a flawed but functioning democracy. Those differences have a huge impact on the way the two countries are growing. In simple terms, if China's rulers want to build a new highway they do. In India, well, it's more complicated.
One such complication is the focus of an internal report of the ruling Congress party leaked to the Indian press last week. The alleged report, whose very existence is denied by Congress officials, contends that the government's policy on Special Economic Zones — India's version of investment enclaves that offer tax incentives, good infrastructure and other benefits — may cost the party votes in future elections.
At first glance the promotion of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) would seem unlikely to attract much controversy. Many developing countries have used such enclaves to encourage foreign investment and manufacturing growth. India was, in fact, the first country in Asia to demarcate a special economic enclave when it introduced an "export processing zone" in Gujarat in the mid 1960s. But in the past few years, the country has been playing catch-up with places such as China, which used SEZs to kick-start its own incredible economic expansion almost three decades ago. India attracts barely 10% of the foreign direct investment figure for China (although the two count investment in different ways), and wants to close the gap as rapidly as possible. Early last year, the Congress-led government passed a new SEZ law designed to speed up India's economy, in particular its manufacturing sector, by offering further incentives to prospective investors. Since then, hundreds of companies have applied to set up SEZs, with the government so far approving more than 200.
The problem is that many of the SEZs are on prime farming land. A few landowners are only too happy to sell up at a huge profit, but many poorer farmers and farm laborers are understandably opposed to having their livelihoods forcibly sold out from underneath them. Opposition to the SEZs is growing, and the consequences of that for the Congress, or any political party in India that hopes to win the rural vote — and given that a majority of Indians still live outside urban areas most parties do — could be particularly painful come polling day.
Although the Chinese authorities are mindful of the danger of a socially disruptive backlash by poor rural citizens, there are no national elections to worry about. "Voting is a much more immediate, more powerful threat," says Indian economic analyst Paranjoy Guha Thakurta. "And even when there's no election looming, Indians can put pressure on their representatives to have the bureaucrats transferred if they don't like them. In China you have a one-party state so that's a bit harder."
And it's not only farmers that India's politicians have to worry about. Opposition to the SEZs is coming even from free-market reformists. Most of India's newest investment zones are much smaller than China's and may not be economically viable in the long term. The tax breaks, which include a five-year holiday on profits tax and exemption from import and excise duty, are also much more generous than those in other countries. Critics of India's approach worry that its SEZs will not attract new investment but merely suck in investment already headed to India while hurting tax revenues. Also, India's Special Economic Zones have so far attracted mostly info-tech companies and not the employee-hungry manufacturers the country's unemployed had hoped for.
Perhaps stung by the mounting criticism, the Congress-led government this week decided to stop approving new SEZ applications until it can sort out some of the more contentious issues. There is talk that New Delhi will force any company operating in an SEZ to export at least half of its production. Whatever India's leaders do, you can be sure they will have one eye on public opinion, a handicap their Chinese counterparts rarely have to deal with.
One such complication is the focus of an internal report of the ruling Congress party leaked to the Indian press last week. The alleged report, whose very existence is denied by Congress officials, contends that the government's policy on Special Economic Zones — India's version of investment enclaves that offer tax incentives, good infrastructure and other benefits — may cost the party votes in future elections.
At first glance the promotion of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) would seem unlikely to attract much controversy. Many developing countries have used such enclaves to encourage foreign investment and manufacturing growth. India was, in fact, the first country in Asia to demarcate a special economic enclave when it introduced an "export processing zone" in Gujarat in the mid 1960s. But in the past few years, the country has been playing catch-up with places such as China, which used SEZs to kick-start its own incredible economic expansion almost three decades ago. India attracts barely 10% of the foreign direct investment figure for China (although the two count investment in different ways), and wants to close the gap as rapidly as possible. Early last year, the Congress-led government passed a new SEZ law designed to speed up India's economy, in particular its manufacturing sector, by offering further incentives to prospective investors. Since then, hundreds of companies have applied to set up SEZs, with the government so far approving more than 200.
The problem is that many of the SEZs are on prime farming land. A few landowners are only too happy to sell up at a huge profit, but many poorer farmers and farm laborers are understandably opposed to having their livelihoods forcibly sold out from underneath them. Opposition to the SEZs is growing, and the consequences of that for the Congress, or any political party in India that hopes to win the rural vote — and given that a majority of Indians still live outside urban areas most parties do — could be particularly painful come polling day.
Although the Chinese authorities are mindful of the danger of a socially disruptive backlash by poor rural citizens, there are no national elections to worry about. "Voting is a much more immediate, more powerful threat," says Indian economic analyst Paranjoy Guha Thakurta. "And even when there's no election looming, Indians can put pressure on their representatives to have the bureaucrats transferred if they don't like them. In China you have a one-party state so that's a bit harder."
And it's not only farmers that India's politicians have to worry about. Opposition to the SEZs is coming even from free-market reformists. Most of India's newest investment zones are much smaller than China's and may not be economically viable in the long term. The tax breaks, which include a five-year holiday on profits tax and exemption from import and excise duty, are also much more generous than those in other countries. Critics of India's approach worry that its SEZs will not attract new investment but merely suck in investment already headed to India while hurting tax revenues. Also, India's Special Economic Zones have so far attracted mostly info-tech companies and not the employee-hungry manufacturers the country's unemployed had hoped for.
Perhaps stung by the mounting criticism, the Congress-led government this week decided to stop approving new SEZ applications until it can sort out some of the more contentious issues. There is talk that New Delhi will force any company operating in an SEZ to export at least half of its production. Whatever India's leaders do, you can be sure they will have one eye on public opinion, a handicap their Chinese counterparts rarely have to deal with.
India's 'iPad': Will the $35 Tablet Sell in the U.S.?
India's version of the iPad may have been inspired by Apple's tablet but it costs a fraction of the price. Aakash, or 'sky' in Hindi, was developed by the Indian government as a learning tool and, thanks to a state subsidy, will sell for about $35. After a successful launch, the Indian government and its partner Datawind, a U.K.-based software and hardware company, have their eyes on the U.S., the world's largest consumer-electronics market. But will the discount device actually make it in America?
Although low-cost consumer electronics from Japan, Korea and China have found a ready market in the U.S., Indian innovations have so far witnessed a lukewarm reaction. There has been much interest in the Tata Nano, the world's cheapest car, but its American launch has been delayed until next year. The company is still trying to work its way around the stringent safety requirements in the U.S.
From: http://ping.fm/UAnmp
Although low-cost consumer electronics from Japan, Korea and China have found a ready market in the U.S., Indian innovations have so far witnessed a lukewarm reaction. There has been much interest in the Tata Nano, the world's cheapest car, but its American launch has been delayed until next year. The company is still trying to work its way around the stringent safety requirements in the U.S.
From: http://ping.fm/UAnmp
India's telecom story over? Top honchos hunting new jobs
NEW DELHI: Six top executives of mobile phone companies are hunting for new jobs, signalling bad times for a sector that was once touted as the symbol of India's growth story. Those looking for a career change include the CEO of one of India's largest telecom operators and the heads of two new entrants.
"India's telecom story is over. Industry revenues have not gone up in two years," admitted the promoter of one of the largest mobile phone companies.
Funds have dried up, expansion is on hold, profits and customer additions have slowed even as the 14-player industry battles to recover from the fallout of the 2G spectrum scam.
"Most companies are battling high debt and stagnant revenues. Banks have refused to lend. 3G is making very slow progress. Many top executives are looking at changing sectors," a chief executive of the mobile phone company told to ET.
Three independent sources, including two of the six officials mentioned above, confirmed their intention to move out of the respective companies if alternatives became available.
A leading headhunter, who is aware of three CEOs heading telecom companies looking for new jobs, said these officials now faced new challenges as the focus of their companies had shifted to cutting costs and increasing efficiencies, triggering job culls across the board.
"Instead of managing growth, expansion and rolling out new service offerings, most chief executives are confronted with reducing head count, restructuring exercises, merging verticals and businesses," this headhunter added. He declined to be named as he is working with some of these CEOs who are looking for greener pastures.
The two officials looking for new jobs who head new entrants face an additional complication because these firms bagged mobile permits in 2008 under controversial circumstances. Most of the companies that received their licences during the tenure of the former telecom minister A Raja have put their expansion plans on hold as they are battling high debt and also face the possibility of the Supreme Court cancelling their permits.
From: http://ping.fm/1QSo0
"India's telecom story is over. Industry revenues have not gone up in two years," admitted the promoter of one of the largest mobile phone companies.
Funds have dried up, expansion is on hold, profits and customer additions have slowed even as the 14-player industry battles to recover from the fallout of the 2G spectrum scam.
"Most companies are battling high debt and stagnant revenues. Banks have refused to lend. 3G is making very slow progress. Many top executives are looking at changing sectors," a chief executive of the mobile phone company told to ET.
Three independent sources, including two of the six officials mentioned above, confirmed their intention to move out of the respective companies if alternatives became available.
A leading headhunter, who is aware of three CEOs heading telecom companies looking for new jobs, said these officials now faced new challenges as the focus of their companies had shifted to cutting costs and increasing efficiencies, triggering job culls across the board.
"Instead of managing growth, expansion and rolling out new service offerings, most chief executives are confronted with reducing head count, restructuring exercises, merging verticals and businesses," this headhunter added. He declined to be named as he is working with some of these CEOs who are looking for greener pastures.
The two officials looking for new jobs who head new entrants face an additional complication because these firms bagged mobile permits in 2008 under controversial circumstances. Most of the companies that received their licences during the tenure of the former telecom minister A Raja have put their expansion plans on hold as they are battling high debt and also face the possibility of the Supreme Court cancelling their permits.
From: http://ping.fm/1QSo0
India's telecom story over? Top honchos hunting new jobs
NEW DELHI: Six top executives of mobile phone companies are hunting for new jobs, signalling bad times for a sector that was once touted as the symbol of India's growth story. Those looking for a career change include the CEO of one of India's largest telecom operators and the heads of two new entrants.
"India's telecom story is over. Industry revenues have not gone up in two years," admitted the promoter of one of the largest mobile phone companies.
Funds have dried up, expansion is on hold, profits and customer additions have slowed even as the 14-player industry battles to recover from the fallout of the 2G spectrum scam.
"Most companies are battling high debt and stagnant revenues. Banks have refused to lend. 3G is making very slow progress. Many top executives are looking at changing sectors," a chief executive of the mobile phone company told to ET.
Three independent sources, including two of the six officials mentioned above, confirmed their intention to move out of the respective companies if alternatives became available.
A leading headhunter, who is aware of three CEOs heading telecom companies looking for new jobs, said these officials now faced new challenges as the focus of their companies had shifted to cutting costs and increasing efficiencies, triggering job culls across the board.
"Instead of managing growth, expansion and rolling out new service offerings, most chief executives are confronted with reducing head count, restructuring exercises, merging verticals and businesses," this headhunter added. He declined to be named as he is working with some of these CEOs who are looking for greener pastures.
The two officials looking for new jobs who head new entrants face an additional complication because these firms bagged mobile permits in 2008 under controversial circumstances. Most of the companies that received their licences during the tenure of the former telecom minister A Raja have put their expansion plans on hold as they are battling high debt and also face the possibility of the Supreme Court cancelling their permits.
From: http://ping.fm/QzfKO
"India's telecom story is over. Industry revenues have not gone up in two years," admitted the promoter of one of the largest mobile phone companies.
Funds have dried up, expansion is on hold, profits and customer additions have slowed even as the 14-player industry battles to recover from the fallout of the 2G spectrum scam.
"Most companies are battling high debt and stagnant revenues. Banks have refused to lend. 3G is making very slow progress. Many top executives are looking at changing sectors," a chief executive of the mobile phone company told to ET.
Three independent sources, including two of the six officials mentioned above, confirmed their intention to move out of the respective companies if alternatives became available.
A leading headhunter, who is aware of three CEOs heading telecom companies looking for new jobs, said these officials now faced new challenges as the focus of their companies had shifted to cutting costs and increasing efficiencies, triggering job culls across the board.
"Instead of managing growth, expansion and rolling out new service offerings, most chief executives are confronted with reducing head count, restructuring exercises, merging verticals and businesses," this headhunter added. He declined to be named as he is working with some of these CEOs who are looking for greener pastures.
The two officials looking for new jobs who head new entrants face an additional complication because these firms bagged mobile permits in 2008 under controversial circumstances. Most of the companies that received their licences during the tenure of the former telecom minister A Raja have put their expansion plans on hold as they are battling high debt and also face the possibility of the Supreme Court cancelling their permits.
From: http://ping.fm/QzfKO
The war that still rankles China
On December 28, 2009, Akmal Shaikh, a British citizen of Pakistani ethnicity, was executed in China — the first European to be executed in China in almost 60 years, as Julia Lovell informs us in her well-researched book, The Opium War: Drugs, Dreams and the Making of China. The event unleashed a wave of reactions, on predictable lines, in Britain and China. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown was “appalled and disappointed” at the execution of the man who stood accused of smuggling four kilogrammes of opium into China. The reaction in China showed that, nearly 170 years after the Opium War, the issue still rankles its people. And it is not just a perceived sense of nationalism that comes to the fore, but also a feeling of hurt at the war imposed on the country as a culmination of the famous gunboat diplomacy.
Back then, the Opium War was considered a “traumatic inauguration” of China's modern history and, significantly, the Chinese were forced to defend themselves. Cut to 2009, and the opinion changes on both sides. As Guardian reminded its readers, “The Opium War is a pretty shameful story. Perhaps it slipped your memory? It certainly hasn't slipped [China's] and is still unravelling.” Reacting to Shaikh's execution in the face of British protests, the Chinese authorities said, “Given the bitter memory of history … the public has a particular and strong resentment towards it [drug smuggling].” And an academic commented: “The execution of Shaikh is like the burning of opium stocks in Humen in 1840 during the Opium War.”
Indeed, the Opium War has evoked almost as many opinions as the sacks burnt during that period — some shades of them do find their way into Lovell's book too, who even otherwise uses Anglophone accounts as well as the Chinese sources to give a multilateral presentation in this 450-odd page volume. Lovell walks a tightrope, trying to accommodate the British viewpoint by making out that the war itself — and indeed the trust deficit between the West and China — was the result of a lack of awareness about the Chinese ways of working, and the rulers' preoccupation with their domestic affairs.
From: http://ping.fm/NwGBU
Back then, the Opium War was considered a “traumatic inauguration” of China's modern history and, significantly, the Chinese were forced to defend themselves. Cut to 2009, and the opinion changes on both sides. As Guardian reminded its readers, “The Opium War is a pretty shameful story. Perhaps it slipped your memory? It certainly hasn't slipped [China's] and is still unravelling.” Reacting to Shaikh's execution in the face of British protests, the Chinese authorities said, “Given the bitter memory of history … the public has a particular and strong resentment towards it [drug smuggling].” And an academic commented: “The execution of Shaikh is like the burning of opium stocks in Humen in 1840 during the Opium War.”
Indeed, the Opium War has evoked almost as many opinions as the sacks burnt during that period — some shades of them do find their way into Lovell's book too, who even otherwise uses Anglophone accounts as well as the Chinese sources to give a multilateral presentation in this 450-odd page volume. Lovell walks a tightrope, trying to accommodate the British viewpoint by making out that the war itself — and indeed the trust deficit between the West and China — was the result of a lack of awareness about the Chinese ways of working, and the rulers' preoccupation with their domestic affairs.
From: http://ping.fm/NwGBU
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कितना ढूंढा हाथ न आया सच का एक क़तरा भी
कहने को उनके खत में बहुत कुछ लिखा थाभारतीय समाज में अनेक खूबियाँ हैं। कुछ अच्छी बातें तो सभी धर्मों में नायकों, संतों और उपदेशकों द्वारा कही और सही गयी हैं। बहुत सी भारतीय संस्कृति की अपनी अनूठी विशेषतायें हैं। लेकिन कई ऐसी भी हैं जिनमें भिन्न उद्गमों से आये विचार गड्डमड्ड से हो गये हैं और इस प्रक्रिया में सद्विचार की मूलभावना की ऐसी-तैसी हो गयी है।
कहने को उनके खत में बहुत कुछ लिखा थाभारतीय समाज में अनेक खूबियाँ हैं। कुछ अच्छी बातें तो सभी धर्मों में नायकों, संतों और उपदेशकों द्वारा कही और सही गयी हैं। बहुत सी भारतीय संस्कृति की अपनी अनूठी विशेषतायें हैं। लेकिन कई ऐसी भी हैं जिनमें भिन्न उद्गमों से आये विचार गड्डमड्ड से हो गये हैं और इस प्रक्रिया में सद्विचार की मूलभावना की ऐसी-तैसी हो गयी है।
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