Do it yourself

Thought for the day “O wise man! Give your wealth only to the worthy and never to others. The water of the sea received by the clouds is always sweet.” -           -Chanakya (Indian, 350-275BC) Word for the day Solipsism (n) Extreme preoccupation with and indulgence of one's feelings, desires, etc.; egoistic self-absorption. (Source: Dictionary.com) Teaser for the day Paid media! AK is absolutely right. Ashutosh, Manish Sisodia, Shazia Ilmi, Ashish Khaitan… AAP has rewarded all journalists who unduly propagated AK & associates with election tickets. What the crystal ball says? In 2HFY14 Indian equity markets have been generally buoyant. Benchmark indices have gained ~24% from lows of September 2013. I find four notable elements in this rally. First, during this period foreign investors have been more bullish on Indian equities, whereas domestic investors...

Thought for the day “Markets don’t exist simply to enrich people.” -           Seth Klarman (American, 1957 - ) Word for the day Claptrap (n) Any artifice or expedient for winning applause or impressing the public. (Source: Dictionary.com) Teaser for the day Why dissent is always a “big deal” in India? Are we more conformist, feudal or hypocrites? We stay put with our strategy The sound of an angry text message on my hand phone woke me up little early this morning. I knew it was angry because it was unusually long (split in 5 SMS’) and untimely. It was serious reprimand from a dear friend who is apparently feeling “left out”. The text shouted “while you were busy dreaming your Utopia markets have run up sharply to new all time high level”. At first I found it particularly provocative and hence worthy of an immediate reply. An hour later, however, I am feeling empat...

Thought for the day “Fame has also this great drawback, that if we pursue it, we must direct our lives so as to please the fancy of men.” -           Baruch Spinoza (Dutch, 1632-1677) Word for the day Fervent (adj) Having or showing great warmth or intensity of spirit, feeling, enthusiasm, etc.; ardent. (Source: Dictionary.com) Teaser for the day Disappearance of Malaysian aircraft highlights at least three things – (a) There are still many things that are not under US NSA watch; (b) possibilities of another 9/11 are not dead despite Osama’s elimination and (c) St. Google does not answer all your questions. Utopia: The economic solution-IV Focus on strengths At the risk of sounding irritatingly repetitive, I would like reiterate that in past 6 decades we have focused too much on our weaknesses and tried hard to overcome by importing technology, energy, intellectual proper...

Thought for the day “The duty of youth is to challenge corruption.” -           Kurt Cobain (American, 1967-1994) Word for the day Fallacy (n) A deceptive, misleading, or false notion, belief, etc. (Source: Dictionary.com) Teaser for the day Salim - Javed seem to be official dialogue writers for AAP leadership. T he most often used dialogue by AAP – Pehle Uska sign lekar aao … phir main bhi sign karoonga. (First tell other parties to refrain from wrong doing, then we will also do the things right way.) Utopia: The economic solution-III Enable the youth The young demography is famously the biggest strength of Indian economy at this point in time. However, if not managed properly this may as well prove to be the nemesis of the fabled India story, in our view. The pertinent fact is that Indian growth in past decade or so has miserably failed in creation of adequa...

We spoke to some farmers, farm produce traders, and agri scientists in Delhi, UP, Bihar and MP in past three days. The feedback is as follows:   (a)     The reported loss of crop due to freak weather is understated. Potato, Mustard, Channa, Moong, Wheat and green vegetable crops in particular have suffered substantial losses. (b)    Potato crop that is being warehoused suffers from disease and excess moisture. At least half of this stored quantity is expected to rot before it comes out. Expect sharp rise in potato prices in summer months. (c)     El Nino fears are real. Good storage levels in reservoirs should help the irrigated parts. The late rains should leave good moisture in land for early sowing of Kharif. But areas that have not received late rains and depend on monsoon should suffer. (d)    The expected boost to economy due to higher farm income from Rabi may not materialize. (...

Thought for the day “We are what our thoughts have made us; so take care about what you think. Words are secondary. Thoughts live; they travel far.” -           Swami Vivekananda (India, 1863-1902) Word for the day Cognizant (adj) Aware (usually followed by of). (Source: Dictionary.com) Teaser for the day Smearing ink and hurling shoes - are these methods of registering protest (a) violent; (b) non-violent or (c) neo Gandhian? Note that giving a ride on donkey - face smeared with black paint and garland of footwear is still the most popular method of social castigation in Indian folklore. Utopia: The economic solution-II Trust your people In my view, the most valuable resource for India is her people. In not implementing the recommendation of Balwant Rai Mehta committee (1957) on local self governance, our political system has been unable to develop an environment of mutual trus...

Thought for the day “History shows that where ethics and economics come in conflict, victory is always with economics. Vested interests have never been known to have willingly divested themselves unless there was sufficient force to compel them.” -           B. R. Ambedkar (Indian, 1891-1956) Word for the day Cockalorum (n) A self-important little man. (Source: Dictionary.com) Teaser for the day If we go by the opinion polls – presently Congress is the only party in “no loss” situation. Should Rahul Gandhi use this “advantage” or “let it go”? Utopia: The economic solution In my view, the sustainable solution for India’s economic problems could be found only by looking within. Borrowing from the thoughts of Mahatma Gandhi, economics needs to follow ethics and not the vice versa. The primary consideration needs to be “man” and not “money”. To achieve this means Gand...