"There is not much danger that
real talent or goodness will be overlooked long; even if it is, the
consciousness of possessing and using it well should satisfy one."
-Louisa May Alcott (American,
1832-1888)
Word for the day
Lackadaisical (adj)
Without interest, vigor, or
determination; listless; lethargic
(Source: Dictionary.com)
Malice towards
none
Heard on Raisina Hills about
Bihar strategy - "MSY will contest all seats allocated to JDU in Bihar
alliance to garner the Yadav and Muslim votes. Post elections, both Yadav
relatives (LY and MSY) will form a majority government and show the door to
Nitish Kumar!"
Crisis far away, but govt pressing the pedal hard
The more the government sings "All is Well", the more
the people are getting suspicious about the real health of the economy. Though
the situation is still miles away from being qualify as "crisis", the
distance could be covered in no time if a global contagion propels the Indian
economy down.
At this point in time like most of my friends, I am not too sure
about where the problem actually lies. It could be that the government—
(a) has access to specific
information about economic progress in the country, but not able to communicate
it properly; or
(b) is mostly oblivious of
the conditions at the ground and just indulging in complacent conjecturing
based on random data like monthly IIP numbers or car sales; or
(c) is well aware of the
slack in the economy and rising discontentment, but has chosen to live in
denial, hoping the problem will get resolved on its own with the passage of
time; or
(d) is struggling to find
effective solutions around which consensus could be built; or
(e) knows the problem well
but has no clue about the solutions.
Whatever be the case, it would leave lot of space for skepticism
and caution in investment.
Another thing that never fails to intrigue me is the government's
fixation with China.
The finance minister, said in a recent interview with the BBC: “An
economy which can grow at 8 to 9 per cent like India certainly has viable
shoulders to provide support to the global economy.”
In one of the strongest “move-over-China” remarks, Jayant Sinha,
minister of state for finance, said Delhi was ready to “take the baton of
global growth” from Beijing. He chirpily told an audience in Bihar, one of
India’s poorest and most benighted states: “In coming days, India will leave
China behind as far as growth and development matter.”
We all know that in the context of global economy, to compensate
for 1% fall in China's GDP, India would need to add 4% to her GDP.
Instead of indulging in shenanigans over slow down in Chinese and
making rhetorical claims, the government needs to put its head together and seriously
re-work its China strategy.
This is the time when we could strengthen our economic ties with
China. This may not only pave way for resolution of geo-political issue in due
course of time, but also help India overcome its primary of capital inadequacy.
We could use idle factories of China to produce for Indian markets
at much cheaper cost, till the time our manufacturing capabilities are
adequately augmented.
There is a major risk - that cheaper sourcing from China may lead
to miscarriage of PM's "Make in India" baby. But ain't this risk too
obvious to worry about?
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