Vijay Kumar Gaba

Friday, November 21, 2014

Maid in India

Thought for the day

"Every man is guilty of all the good he did not do."

- Voltaire (French, 1694-1778)

Word for the day

Flummox (v)

To bewilder; confound; confuse.

(Source: Dictionary.com)

Teaser for the day

Wonder why Salman Khan's sister's wedding is so much news!

Maid in India

For past couple of days many readers have been losing patience with me. They find me totally distracting. The common refrain is "why do you bother so much about decades. Tell us what the market will do between 9:15AM to 3:30PM today". They are not wrong. Neither am I. It's only matter of different approaches to achieve same goal.

Many live life as a series of discrete days. I see life as a continuous time series. I do not assign much importance to the discrete days, like last or first days of months, quarters, and years, in the infinitum of time. The random data points published on these days also do not bother me much. These data points, including daily prices, monthly sales and production numbers, quarterly profits, are relevant to me if they form a discreet pattern in a secular trend.

Now coming back to our discussion from yesterday, I believe that nurturing our youth well should be the top priority of the government. The incumbent government has in fact shown some promise by laying strong emphasis on skill development. But to me efforts so far look devoid of a conceptual framework. The objective appears to be limited to engaging youth in some sort of employment to keep them away from unlawful activities. This is not enough. In my view, youth should be educated and trained with the constitutionally mandated objectives of:

(a) Equality - regional, social, gender and economic;

(b) Dignity of life -self reliance and social status;

only then the effort will make a socio-economic and perhaps political sense.

Opening thousands of engineering and management colleges without a conceptual framework has yielded nothing in past two decades. Thousands of qualified engineers/management graduates churned out every year end up doing petty jobs adding unacceptable level of cynicism to the economy.

A better alternative would be to open a micro institute in each village which trains its youth to work as domestic help - 6month course in basic language skills and etiquettes, nursing child and old, attending phones and cooking.

If every year 20 youth from each village could be employed as domestic help in cities earning Rs7000pm, they can easily remit Rs100,000pm (5000x20) back to their families. This works out to be Rs7200cr annually for 600000 villages. This money will create sustainable demand for quality school, good health center, paid electricity, financial services, housing, travel and other civic amenities.

At this point in time, nursing colleges will make much more sense than medical colleges. Providing drinking water to each household will bring more girls to schools than mid-day meal.

And let me tell you, not dowry or pride but incest is the primary cause of skewed sex-ratio and gender inequality in many states. Any youth policy that does not address this problem will remain as ineffective as the efforts made so far have been.

Thursday, November 20, 2014

Broaden the horizon

Thought for the day

"Who serves his country well has no need of ancestors."

- Voltaire (French, 1694-1778)

Word for the day

Star-crossed (adj)

Ill-fated; Thwarted or opposed by the stars;

(Source: Dictionary.com)

Teaser for the day

Should the government consider setting up a regulatory body for the Business of Religion?

Broaden the horizon

Continuing from yesterday...

Now, if demographic rebalancing is going to be a critical factor in the transition of emerging global economic and market to a new paradigm, and Indian youth has to play a critical role in this process, most profitable business and investment themes have to revolve around him.

I know this is cliché. But the unfortunate fact is that Indian growth in past two decade or so has miserably failed in creation of adequate productive jobs for the burgeoning workforce of the country.

I feel in spite of fully recognizing the potential of the youth and the problems faced by them, successive governments have mostly failed in implementing an integrated youth policy that would focus on harnessing this tremendous reservoir of energy.

India has so far issued three editions of national youth policy. The first edition was a brief 5 page vision paper which recognized the importance of youth but did not provide any conceptual framework for the growth and development of this one third segment of the population.

The second edition was issued in 2003 and contained a detailed framework for the implementation. It recognized that “the question of employment is, at present, of very serious concern for the Indian youth and that several social issues arise out of widespread unemployment and under-employment of the youth”. The policy emphasized that “critical issues in this area include a mis-match between skills-requirement and employment opportunities, low technology levels, low wages and low productivity, occupational shifts in employment, under-employment owing to seasonal factors, excess labor supply in relation to demand, migration of the labor force from the rural to urban areas and limited participation of women in the work force, especially in the organized sector”.

The policy was supposed to be implemented forthwith and reviewed after every five year. The change in government in 2004 however meant that it was hardly implemented.

The previous government had issued a draft policy in 2012 with the goal of “empowering the youth of the nation by bringing holistic development”. The objective, inter alia, included “Through a sustained program of education and training and appropriate support services, help young people become economically self-reliant and productive units of the country, either by taking up employment or by setting up their own business enterprises.” The policy has yet not been adopted. I hear that the incumbent government is working on a new draft that may be released in next 6 months.

My issue with the government approach is that it is too parochial. The government appears more concerned with keeping youth engaged so that they do not indulge in unlawful activities. I want youth to be considered most valuable and scarce natural resource, more precious than gold and diamond, and prospected and marketed accordingly....more on this tomorrow.

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

For the fear of Viking age - II

Thought for the day

"He was a great patriot, a humanitarian, a loyal friend; provided, of course, he really is dead."

- Voltaire (French, 1694-1778)

Word for the day

Gravitas (n)

High seriousness (as in a person's bearing or in the treatment of a subject).

(Source: Dictionary.com)

Teaser for the day

Does MSY seriously believe that he can keep people in dark by not providing them free laptops?

For the fear of Viking age - II

Ever wondered why the leaders from most developed countries in Americas, Europe and Pacific rim are embracing PM Narendra Modi so tightly; especially in light of the fact that he was a persona non grata in many of these countries, including USA, just a year back!

Is it his oratory skills; his charming and warm persona; his popularity; command over a market of 1.25bn, or something else? I guess it is his receptiveness and responsiveness to the world leaders.

Even a casual study of Indian foreign relations in past few decades will highlight that the reception PM Narendra Modi is getting is not unprecedented. In past Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Atal Bihari Vaypayee and Manmohan Singh have all got such receptions. They were perhaps just not as responsive.

Indira Gandhi could not stay non-aligned in cold war; Rajiv Gandhi was too naive and got overwhelmed by poor economic conditions & internal politics; Atal Bihari Vajpayee exploded the Bomb and thus created an environment of mistrust with western powers; and Manmohan Singh was perhaps just too reluctant, reclusive and underwhelming.

Narendra Modi is experienced, free, confident, non-aligned and appears focused solely on economic agenda. The fact that Indian Diaspora in many developed countries has become increasingly prosperous and influential in their local context, also goes in favor of PM Modi. That is why he seems to be getting warm and positive vibes from many politicians.

But the moot point is why global leaders are looking keen to strengthen their relations with India, despite serious disappointment and setbacks in past few decades.

The transiting economic and market paradigms, I mentioned yesterday, perhaps would also provide answer to this inquisition.

In my view, demographics are playing a major role in the shift of the economic and market context this time. Most developed and even large developing countries are struggling with demographic imbalances presently. The problem is particularly severe in Europe and Japan.

In Europe on one hand population is aging fast and thus straining the fiscal and economic growth (pension, healthcare, lower income growth, low taxes and lower consumption); on the hand there is mounting concern over change in socio-religious structure of the population (see here).

In my view, it is not long when we will see radical and dramatic changes in immigration policies of many European and pacific rim countries, if not for anything else - for the fear of return of Viking age.

India, which has the largest pool of educated & skilled young English speaking people, is therefore naturally seen as the major partner in bringing the desired demographic changes....to continue

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

This set and game goes to US

Thought for the day

"Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is absurd."

- Voltaire (French, 1694-1778)

Word for the day

Celerity (n)

Rapidity of motion or action; quickness; swiftness.

(Source: Dictionary.com)

Teaser for the day

Have we learned any lesson from KFA that could be applied to SpiceJet and Air India?

This set and game goes to US

Continuing from yesterday...

I am increasingly inclined to believe that perhaps the paradigm is shifting in global markets. I am certainly not suggesting "it is different this time". What I am saying is "it is the same as always".

The global market paradigms have shifted every few decades. The shifts have been caused by a variety of factors. Sometimes it has been led by shift in strategic and geo-political power (spread of European empires in 17th and 18th centuries and strength of US post second War). Sometimes technology innovation (industrial revolution in Europe and US, Japanese manufacturing renaissance post WWII and then internet revolution in US) caused the shift. Rise of oil economies post 1970's in middle east Asia and Chinese and Korean manufacturing revolutions have also caused material shift in global markets. Nature has also played vital role in causing tectonic shifts in global power equations and market balances. Decline of great Roman empire is case for study.

In most of these market transition phases, currencies have played a key role. Therefore it is pertinent to evaluate the current transition in global market paradigm from this angle also. And this is where I see a difference. In most earlier instances the emerging currency (including gold and silver in earlier instances) has changed its relative global value during the course of the shift. Sometimes strength in the currency or gold & silver stock played a critical role, as in case of British and Portuguese dominance in earlier centuries. In some cases weakness in currency supported the shift, as in case of the rise of Korean and Chinese manufacturers causing decline of Japanese dominance.

The present case appears no different. Japanese are trying to regain their lost market share in global manufactured goods market by depreciating their currency. Germans are struggling to retain their market share by forcing the Euro down. While US has almost won the war to retain the supremacy of dollar.

Considering that US fiscal deficit is shrinking fast, Current account is favorable and monetary stimulus has been withdrawn - the supply of USD to the global market is declining at a rapid pace. On the other hand, the demand for USD shall rise at even faster clip as Japanese, Chinese and European mints work overtime to print local currency.

This all will happen, when most emerging markets are saddled with huge dollar denominated debts; and commodity producers who sell in USD are facing serious erosion in demand.

I have written earlier (see here) also that Uncle Sam may have lost a few battles, but it is certainly on course to win the war. At this point in time no challenger is in sight.

However, we may see some resistance emerging in next decade. More on this tomorrow.

Monday, November 17, 2014

Heads or tail - it's your call

Thought for the day

" Each player must accept the cards life deals him or her: but once they are in hand, he or she alone must decide how to play the cards in order to win the game. "

- Voltaire (French, 1694-1778)

Word for the day

Slubber (v)

To perform hastily or carelessly

(Source: Dictionary.com)

Teaser for the day

After so many decades, in Manohar Parrikar, we have a minister who is not a superman. He wants sometime to understand the complex issues of his ministry. Usually, ministers become authority on the subjects of their ministry the moment they sit on the chair for the first time.

Heads or tail - it's your call

Traditionally, the divergence of global markets from the real economic conditions is usually followed by a sharp correction that leads to convergence of realty with hopes.

I have not been able to derive a pattern in such corrections. But sentimentally I feel that the correction are sharper and more painful when hope runs much ahead of ground realty. Many more people lose money in this correction as compared to the people who earn supernormal profits the during the course of divergence.

In the reverse case, i.e., when real economy does much better than the markets, the corrections are protracted and less euphoric. Few people participate in the up move. A majority of investors join the party late, usually when all the fruits have been plucked by smart investors. What is left is either few scarred fruits at the top which are risky to pluck or the overripe rotting stuff scarred all around.

The key point to ponder this morning is what pattern market is forming today.

Is it a case of hope leaping much ahead of the realty? Are we thus heading toward a convergence correction that will be sharp and painful.

The recently concluded earnings season supports this hypothesis. Barring a few pockets, we have not seen realization of hope in any sector. Discretionary consumption demand has remained elusive. Investment demand is at multiyear low level. Global markets are showing distinct signs of deflationary conditions. Sharp fall in energy prices ahead of an expected severe winter in western part of the globe are telling a rather gloomy story.

On the other hand there are indicators which suggest that probably the markets have just completed a long protracted convergence correction, where the global markets have just converged with economic realty.

USD has recovered the entire loss it incurred post July 2007 when sub-prime concerns first spooked the global markets. The financial system looks reasonably stable. The households are cautious but out of deleveraging mode.

JPY has yielded all the gains made since 2007 majorly due to safe haven demand. Euro is converging to USD to reflect poor economic and fiscal conditions in the Europe.

Energy and other mineral prices are down as Chinese extraordinary investment cycle is coming to an end, the OPEC cartel and Russian mafia is on the verge of breaking due to a variety of reasons. Global inflation and wage hike cycle are not visible on the horizon. Food prices are at multiyear low and availability high. Geo-political tensions are palpable but the economics and demographics are completely against a war. No major country has enough youth and fiscal leverage to go into a major war at this point in time. Regional conflict are small and mostly immaterial in global context. The threat of ISIS and Ebola would hopefully come out to be a routine....to continue

Friday, November 14, 2014

My five cents - the Great Wall of India

Thought for the day

"I have become my own version of an optimist. If I can't make it through one door, I'll go through another door - or I'll make a door."

- Rabindranath Tagore (Indian, 1861-1941)

Word for the day

Shenanigan (n)

Mischief; Prankishness; Remarks intended to deceive; deceit.

(Source: Dictionary.com)

Teaser for the day

What is the best option for Shiv Sena?

(a) Claim the entire Hindutava space and become a national party.

(b) Merge with BJP.

(c) Fade into oblivion silently or boisterously.

(d) Turn secular and ally with Congress

My five cents - the Great Wall of India

Imagine would India be a global ITeS superpower without Y2K or technology bubble during late 1990s! Would we build so many houses, roads, malls, power plants, cement plants etc. during last decade but for a global credit bubble! Would capital be so easily and cheaply available to Indian entrepreneurs without a QE bubble in the west! The answer is obviously "No".

From my negligible knowledge of the laws of physics, I understand that we need much less force to stop an object which is falling from a cliff, as compared to the force we would need if we were to reverse the direction of the movement of the object upward.

In economic sense, I refer to this extra force needed to reverse the direction of an economy, as bubble. These bubbles are needed to neutralize the gravitational forces of unemployment, pessimism, poor demand, excessive indebtedness, deflation and poor fiscal health etc. that work to pull the economy down into recession.

In Indian context, our governments have used the force of bubbles rather reluctantly. We have mostly participated in global bubbles. Whether it was commodities bubble in early 1990's; dot com bubble in late 1990's or credit bubble in mid 2000's.

The Atal Bihari Vajpayee led NDA government did make a reluctant attempt to create a domestic bubble to fight the economic sanctions, by large scale investments in infrastructure sector especially roads and energy. In the process many government monopolies like coal, oil & gas E&P, telecom, roads, power, airports, ports etc. were divested. The bubble did get support from easy global liquidity post dotcom bubble bust. The consequence was super normal economic growth during 2003-08 period.

In my view, if the incumbent government wants to reverse the direction of the current economic cycle quickly, it must create a bubble almost immediately. I could think the following three ideas for creating this bubble:

(a) Initiate some ostensibly egregious construction project like Taj Mahal or Fatehpur Sikri. A statue of Sardar Patel is not enough.

One such project could be to construct a 15 feet high wall alongside the entire railway lines in the country. The construction may start simultaneously in all villages using MNREGA funds.

Local and aspiring artists, architects and sculptors could be engaged to give a distinct local cultural color to the wall. This wall when fully constructed will protect the railway line, facilitate faster speed trains, conceal the disturbing filth and garbage usually strewn on vacant land adjacent to railway lines, reduce noise pollution for the adjacent localities, and make rail journey more pleasant.

(b) Cut personal income tax rates and small savings interest rates by 50% to leave more money in the hands of consumers to spend.

(c) Abolish all restrictions on FDI in productive activities subject to each million dollar of FDI creating at least 2 new direct jobs.

Thursday, November 13, 2014

My five cents: Reforms -II

Thought for the day

"The water in a vessel is sparkling; the water in the sea is dark. The small truth has words which are clear; the great truth has great silence."

- Rabindranath Tagore (Indian, 1861-1941)

Word for the day

Suasion (n)

The act of persuading; persuasion.

(Source: Dictionary.com)

Teaser for the day

Kidnapping, rape and murder in Uttrakhand, "the Abode of God", is unfathomable.

Something is going seriously wrong somewhere!

My five cents - Reforms II

On my recent trip to the state of Uttar Pradesh, I had a chance to visit some villages in interiors of the eastern part of the state. As widely acknowledged, this region figures in the bottom 10% in terms of economic development. It was shocking to see that despite plenty of water, fertile soil, hard working people, and rich cultural & historical traditions, the people here live in pathetic conditions. Many are forced to migrate to large cities to work as laborers. The administration is callously indifferent and mostly absent.

Wandering through the villages I discovered that most upper caste households have milk yielding cattle in their home while dalits and backward caste people do not have such assets. I observed that in each household about 4-5 man hours are spent on tendering, milking and feeding the cattle. In many cases children as young as 8-10yeras were spending half their day taking cattle for grazing, instead of going to school. The average milk yield is not more than 5-6ltrs per day, which is mostly used for self consumption. The cow dung is a major source of cooking fuel.

In my view, the kind of economic reforms we talk about sitting at Raisina Hills or Nariman Point may not be of too much relevance to these people. To improve the lives of these people, we need to find local solutions.

Let me suggest an example that I worked on after coming back from this trip:

The government should motivate and facilitate a cooperative dairy in each village of the state.

(a) In this cooperative the Gram Sabha may contribute 100 acres of land.

(b) Each household in the village contributes its cattle.

(c) The household which do not have cattle may be subsidized (50% subsidy, 25% equity and 25% bank loan) to buy and contribute cattle. The optimum size of a cooperative dairy could be 1000 cattle.

(c) The land will be used for constructing a mechanized dairy, biogas plant, milk processing unit, growing cattle feed and a water reservoir. The construction work could be taken under MNREGA. The required plant and machinery may be financed at the prescribed concessional rate for agriculture loans (presently 7%).

(d) With proper feed and technique, the average yield of the cattle could be improved to 10ltr/day in two years and 20ltr/day in five years.

(e) Each dairy could thus produce 10,000 litter of milk every day. Each member household could be provided 2 litter milk at Rs10/ltr and rest could be processed and sold in the market. (CMP Rs40/ltr)

(f) The dairy will produce 10,000 kg of cow dung daily, that could be used to produce electricity for running dairy, biogas plant, milk processing unit, a water pump to fill water reservoir, a community kitchen where all villagers can come to cook their meal, and a charging station where villagers could charge their LED lamps provided by the government.

(g) In five years, the plant could supply electricity for basic needs (2 LED bulbs and 2 fans) to each household.

(h) The plant will produce 35-40000kg of organic manor every day, a part of which could be sold to members at subsidized rates and rest in the market. The income from this could be used to set up, run school and primary health center in the village and lay pipeline for supplying clean water from the reservoir to each household. In 10yrs, each dairy would be able to produce enough CNG to run two busses from village to nearest city for subsidized public transport.

(i) The government may support marketing of milk and milk products, establishing a breeding centre in each district to develop high yielding variety, and a veterinary hospital in each district.

(j) In each such dairy up to 20% of its productive population, stray cattle from nearby cities and towns could be housed.

To some this idea may sound little utopian or impractical, but my research suggests that it is financially viable and socially & politically feasible.

The advantages could be multifold.

· The project serves the primary purposes of economic development - self employment, self-reliance, prosperity, fiscal prudence, rise in household income, equality, improvement in quality of life etc.

· The sentiment of cooperation takes root over a period of time, promoting social harmony, and scope for more cooperation say in the areas of farming, cottage industry and trade.

· Children could go to school instead of rearing and tendering cattle and fetching drinking water.

· Women could work at the dairy, biogas plant, milk processing unit rather than milking cattle, managing cow dung and fetching drinking water.

· Villagers get clean water and energy at home, sufficient milk and decent income, besides good basic social infrastructure in the village.

· Agri productivity and income could be enhanced by using organic manor at a reasonable cost.

· The cleanliness of villages and nearby towns is improved as all cattle (including stray) are managed at a central place and their waste processed profitably.

· Regional disparities get resolved over a period of time.

· Resources are used optimally.

· With self reliance growing - the fiscal pressure eases structurally, over a period of time.

Lest the primary message is lost, I may reiterate that my suggestion here is that reform need to change the status quo, which may not be the same in Banda and Bengaluru.

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

My five cents - Reforms

Thought for the day

"Don't limit a child to your own learning, for he was born in another time. "

- Rabindranath Tagore (Indian, 1861-1941)

Word for the day

Boisterous (adj)

Rough and noisy; clamorous; unrestrained

(Source: Dictionary.com)

Teaser for the day

Are "Science & Technology" and "Law & Justice" much lesser problems in India as compared to "Health" and "Railways"?

If no, how an underachiever in one is suitable for the other?

My five cents - Reforms

As stated yesterday, when faced with the task of catapulting the economic activity to a higher orbit it is imperative for the policy makers to distinguish between "administrative corrections", "systemic efficiencies" and "reforms".

The businesses, investors and consumers also need to assimilate that economic reforms do not necessarily result in more profit and convenience in the immediate term. To the contrary, economic reforms are more likely to cause pain and inconvenience in the immediate term as these involve fundamental changes in the processes and practices of doing business and consuming goods and services.

For example, consider the following:

(a) 100% FDI in insurance does not qualify as a reform, in my view. It merely enhances the capacity of insurers to take more business on a larger capital base. It may change little for a large section of consumers. Making health and accident coverage compulsory for all employees and petty service providers, including domestic helps, drivers, porters etc., compulsory would be a reform.

(b) Transfer of de jure power to fix prices for transportation fuel to IAS officers at the helm of public sector oil marketing companies from IAS officers assisting the Prime Minister and Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs is merely a administrative change. A 30% rise in global crude prices will most likely cause this change to reverse, as was the case in 2003-04.

A reform in this area would be implementation of an integrated energy policy that motivates and (where necessary) forces changes in the consumption patterns. Reducing energy intensity of water, improving quality of public transport, and improving fuel efficiency of roads would provide a sustainable solution.

(c) Cutting on some travel cost, curtailing number and place of meetings, stationary expenses etc. is a cost management exercise. Empirically, all these expenses tend to rebuild as the fiscal situation eases with the economic cycle. Labeling this as expenditure or fiscal reform might be a mistake. A small reform in this area could be to identify routine government jobs that do not involve public dealing or matters of national security; and allowing the employees to perform these jobs from their homes with use of technology.

(d) Food security programs have been integral part of the government agenda since independence. Despite leakages and inefficiencies, the public distribution system (PDS) has helped millions. Similarly mid-day meal schemes have also worked well. Now bringing the prices of food down to Rs1 or Rs2 per kg for BPL families may not qualify as major reform to the current system, in my view.

Defining the upper bound in terms of accumulated money and wealth (Upper Richness Line or URL) may though bring dramatic changes in the business models and CSR functions....to continue tomorrow

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

My five cents

Thought for the day

"Emancipation from the bondage of the soil is no freedom for the tree."

- Rabindranath Tagore (Indian, 1861-1941)

Word for the day

Sinistral (adj)

Left handed: Of, pertaining to, or on the left side; left (opposed to dextral).

(Source: Dictionary.com)

Teaser for the day

I ask the PM and all his ministers in the cabinet - "Do they act without "Fear or Favor" and "Affection or Ill-Will", in accordance with the Oath of office and secrecy they take before assumption of office?

My five cents

Reportedly, the government has set the ball rolling for budget preparations little early this year.

From public utterances it appears that the Team Modi wants FY2016 union budget to be a stepping stone for delivering the election promise of good governance and faster & inclusive growth.

I believe, like all good citizens, it is my duty to contribute my five cents for this good cause.

Many of my suggestions may sound repetitive; which these are indeed. I strongly believe in the doctrine of "perseverance pays". Therefore, I am persisting with them. I would request my regular readers to bear with me for few days.

1 Introduce "reforms"

I believe that it is high time the government, businesses, investors and people start distinguishing between "administrative corrections", "systemic efficiencies" and "reforms". Reforms, in my view, involve fundamental change in the ways and means by which an objective is sought to be achieved.

2 Put more money in the hands of consumers

Given the current economic situation, the fastest way to return to potential growth is to motivate domestic consumption demand. Putting more money in the hands of consumers is therefore imperative. Employment, lower taxes, DBT, small ticket large scale schemes - drinking water to all homes.

3 Focus on divestment against disinvestment

The government needs to accept that 62% or 52% government holding in public sector banks changes nothing on the ground. It just helps fiscal accounting or provides some more capital to be lost for the banks. The government needs to work on completely divesting most of its monopolies and businesses, including commercial banking, railways and civil aviation.

4 If you cannot beat them, join them

The government needs to evaluate whether it is feasible to stop people travelling to Las Vegas, Macau, Bangkok, and Phuket etc. or stop students going abroad to second rate universities even in countries like Russia, China, Australia etc. If it is found infeasible, why not allow a Vegas or Macau or Phuket or Harvard to be created on Indian shores?

5 Focus more on services than manufacturing

"Make in India" is a commendable thought. However, at this given point in time, a capital intensive and material resource intensive program such as this may not be commercially feasible to implement fast. On the other hand, focusing on services which are more labor intensive and require less capital and material resources may be more suited to Indian conditions.

I shall be elaborating on these thoughts in next few days. In the meantime readers are welcome to contribute their few cents.