Vijay Kumar Gaba

Thursday, January 21, 2016

Gandhi is not just a photo

Thought for the day

"For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst and provide for it."

— Patrick Henry (American, 1736-1799)

Word for the day

Salubrious (adj)

Favorable to or promoting health; healthful. E.g., salubrious air.

(Source: Dictionary.com)

Malice towards none

Raising of 15k strong Dharma Sena in UP reflects what?

(a) Growing intolerance

(b) Total lack of faith in law & order machinery

(c) Shape of coming state assembly elections.

(d) All of the above

(e) Others (pl specify)

First random thought this morning

If social media is any indicator of popular mood, Ranjit Katyal has emerged as the latest super hero in the country.

While there is no authentic record of this person and this could very well be a fictional character, his story is certainly inspiring lot of social media users to watch the movie Airlift.

I wonder whether the emergence of this new hero has anything to do with falling popularity of most politicians and male sportspersons.

Gandhi is not just a photo

To conclude the my point on the desirable socio-economic development model for India, I would like to reiterate what I have said earlier also.

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 Gandhi advocated trusteeship, decentralization of economic activities, labor intensive technology and priority to weaker sections. Many criticize Gandhian economic ideas based on altruism, self reliance, and non-violence, as an impractical alternative to free market economics. I believe this criticism is unfair and suffers from parochialism.

I believe borrowing blindly from the western economic models would not work in Indian context. The Indian model will have to be quintessentially Indian. It has to effectively tackle the problems of class conflict, unemployment and poverty while attempting to preserve the lifestyle and values of rural Indians, which are eroding fast with unmindful urbanization, industrialisation and modernisation.

A self-reliant, free, just and progressive society is integral to the traditional idea of India. Self-reliance in no way violates the need for technological advancement in the areas like healthcare, communication, etc. It just wants the scale to tilt in favor of ethics and ecology conservation if a conflict arises. Self-reliance also does not infringe upon the idea of free market. It just promotes non-violent and non-exploitive trade and commerce.

For those who find Gandhi completely irrelevant in the current context, it is pertinent to note that “the literature survey of Gandhian economic ideas gives similar conclusions. 258 thinkers, who have reviewed his economic ideas, have been taken into consideration. Among them, London group of Professionals and The Club of Rome are considered as individual thinkers. Even the opinion of 53 noble prize winners is also considered in this literature survey. 96% of these thinkers admire his economic thoughts. They consider his ideas practical, useful and relevant in the present world.

A growth model for economic development is shown on the basis of Gandhi economic thoughts. This model is applicable to developing economies and India. His ideas are helpful for backward and developing economies in the world. His ideas are also useful for solving problems in capitalist economies. This proves Gandhi as a unique and practical economist of the world”. (see here for more details)

In short, the economic model of India, in my opinion, should be based on the following three principles:

(a) Develop an environment of equality and mutual trust through decentralization.

(b) Focus on the intrinsic strengths of Indian economy rather than overemphasizing the weaknesses.

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Do what you are good at

Thought for the day

"The liberties of a people never were, nor ever will be, secure, when the transactions of their rulers may be concealed from them."

— Patrick Henry (American, 1736-1799)

Word for the day

Sybaritic (adj)

Characterized by or loving luxury or sensuous pleasure. E.g., to wallow in sybaritic splendor.

(Source: Dictionary.com)

Malice towards none

All Bull Markets were born from the womb of Bear Markets.

First random thought this morning

The act of the Partition in 1947 was aimed at reservation of geographical areas and resources contained therein, for religious majorities on both sides of the border.

Post independence, creation of states on linguistic basis was an act of further sub-reservation for majority on the grounds of regional identity.

Then came further sub-reservations for the majority on ground of socio-economic status (poor and suppressed are still in majority).

Where is reservation and protection for minorities.

Do what you are good at.

I have been hearing the phrase "21st century belongs to India" for past two decades. Many politicians and analysts have used this cliché to emphasize the tremendous economic opportunities that India could offer in next few decades, given its young demography. The list of investors and global States seeking strategic partnerships who have been excited by the potential is long and impressive. The list of investors and Statesmen who have been disappointed in past two decades is also not small.

The point to evaluate critically is whether India sans its core ethos is viable as an economic and strategic power house!

In my view, it is definitely not.

Religion has been a major force in core Indian ethos. Traditionally it has been the influence of religion that has brought the concepts of scientific inquisition, righteousness, moral rectitude, social responsibility, environmental sustainability, debt management, HR management, and just & fair taxation, etc. in the trade and commerce.

Post Independence the State has been over focusing on micromanaging businesses and ignoring key social issues. This has weakened the core fabric of Indian society, inasmuch as that taking pride in our rich heritage has become synonym with bigotry for all - the so called "nationalist" who takes pride, the so called "secularist" who is too scared to take pride, and the so called "rationalist" who find nothing to take pride in Indian heritage.

Consequently, temples have degenerated from being center of learning & spiritual evolution to shelters for hatemongers, fearmongers, power seekers, and wealth hoarders. Many of these promote superstitions and block scientific inquiry to the detriment of society at large.

In my view, if we want to make this century belong to India, then Indian State—

(a) should leave business completely to private enterprise;

(b) play a much larger role in social awakening and create an enabling environment of mutual trust, self motivation, and compassion;

(c) make the Temple (of course including Mosques, Monasteries, Gurudwaras, Agiyaris and Derasars and others) play a larger evolutionary role in progress of the society, rather than continuing to de-generate further and stay a stumbling block in the path to socio-economic progress; (Taking their gold for managing current account deficit is not sufficient!)

Given this, I am sure, Indians could do the wonders, everyone expect them to do now.

The State must realize and accept that politicians and bureaucrats are naturally and seriously handicapped insofar as their understanding of business is concerned. They should just secure borders, maintain law & order and promote social harmony. So far they have focused on the former at the expense of the latter for the disastrous consequences.

Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Do you believe in what you know?

Thought for the day

"I know of no way of judging the future but by the past."

— Patrick Henry (American, 1736-1799)

Word for the day

Hebetude (n)

The state of being dull; lethargy.

(Source: Dictionary.com)

Malice towards none

Guess the market reaction if the Finance Bill 2016 provides for a 10% long term capital gain for equity shares sold after 3yrs!

(Note: Equity shares include shares of both listed and unlisted companies. 30% LTCG payable for sale before 3yrs of holding.)

First random thought this morning

The markets are witnessing a healthy correction. The excess flab that had collected in the middle and lower end of the market is melting fast; in a fashion very similar to seen in the past instances of market correction. As usual, with the flab some gold and silver is also melting.

The market commentators have suddenly developed strong love for large caps. I feel, it is time to break silos of size, sector and categories and look for bargains wherever these are available.

Do you believe in what you know?

Many years ago someone told me "believe in your strengths and weakness". I said, "I do!" He paused for a while and said calmly, "knowing is different from believing. For example, you know that you will die someday. But do you really believe it?"

Mingling with the crowd at the Haridwar Kumbh last weekend, I understood the meaning of what that person was trying to tell me many years ago.

We all, especially our politicians and social media activists, know the strengths and glorious past of our country. But do we really believe in that? In my firm opinion, no, we do not!

We all know, Religion is at the core of the Indian society. The Indian political and economic paradigms therefore must be constructed around religion.

Even a cursory study of Indian history, whether critically proven or mythological, would suggest that the best economic and political periods in the history of the sub-continent were when a righteous king was at the helm and he protected and promoted the religion. Conversely, the worst periods, economic and political, were those when some tyrant attempted to destroy the religious beliefs and knowledge.

Traditionally in India, education, research, arts, architecture, science, and the State itself, have all developed and prospered around religion. Religion was woven intricately with agriculture, which was the primary profession.

By adopting secularism as a major social construct, especially since 1970s, the Indian State has unfortunately equated religion with bigotry. This has not only made religion a divisive (instead of bonding) force, but has also led to the degeneration of strong traditions of pursuing spiritual, scientific and material knowledge for the larger welfare of human kind.

In past four decades we have reached a stage where religion is used to evoke fear & violent passion in people's mind and manipulate them. Money & power, and not the knowledge & evolution, seem to have become the primary aim of religion. Ignorance and superstitions are destroying people's life. It is commonly seen that the gullible people borrow money to feed illiterate and dirty persons, whose only quality is their surname.

Intelligentsia and academics are scared to explore and propagate the tremendous wealth of knowledge stored in traditional scriptures for the fear of being labeled "communal and bigot". Politicians are scared to promote the traditions of knowledge seeking and spiritual evolution.

The consequences are that the entire nation bothers about winning one medal in any global supporting event but does never bother about winning a Nobel in mathematics, physics or medicine.

Start ups are good. But PM Modi must believe that Apple, Facebook, Twitter and Amzon et. al. are outcome of a Society that promotes and cherishes knowledge seeking and freedom of thought. It is not the other way round.

In a country where most Magistrates seriously believe that God can be disparaged and insulted, something urgently needs to be done......to continue tomorrow

Monday, January 18, 2016

Nifty: Expect a stopover on the way to 7K

Thought for the day

"Fear is the passion of slaves."

— Patrick Henry (American, 1736-1799)

Word for the day

Reify (v)

To convert into or regard as a concrete thing. E.g., to reify a concept.

(Source: Dictionary.com)

Malice towards none

Youth in Congress Party must take one week break to study the history of the Party and contemplate if they need to change the path they have been trading since past one decade!

First random thought this morning

Unicorns and Black Swans have joined Bulls and Bears to make life of the market participants more interesting.

We are lucky to witness the figments of imagination acquiring some tangible contours at a time when inclination to deny the realty as unwarranted paranoia is very high.

Nifty: Expect a stopover on the way to 7K

As I have been expecting since August 2015, when Nifty completed bearish H&S pattern on monthly charts, Nifty is progressing well to test its long term rising channel support around 7000 levels.

In my view, this channel support may hold good, and Nifty should form a strong bottom in 6850-7350 range in next three months and begin the next leg of the up move that should see Nifty rising to the next peak of 10900-11300 in next 28-36months.

The premise should hold good even if Nifty falls to 6430-6750 range for 2-3weeks and bounces back to 6850-7130 range in next 10weeks. However, in the least likely situation of Nifty closing below 6850 by March 2016, the scaling of mount 10k could be delayed by another 8months, i.e., 36-44 months.

Besides, Nifty is deeply oversold on short term momentum indicators. So a brief relief rally could be expected this week.

Friday, January 15, 2016

It's nowhere close to 2008

Thought for the day

"I was really too honest a man to be a politician and live."

—Socrates (Greek, 469-399BC)

Word for the day

Bellwether (n)

A wether or other male sheep that leads the flock, usually bearing a bell.

A person or thing that assumes the leadership or forefront, as of a profession or industry:

(Source: Dictionary.com)

Malice towards none

How difficult it is to convince the Indian courts that God cannot be insulted (or respected for that matter).

Anyone who claims to be hurt by someone's supposedly blasphemous comments or acts, actually hurts the sentiments of millions who believe God to be Supreme.

First random thought this morning

An RTI petition has revealed that the "Make in India" logo and campaign has been designed and executed by a foreign firm.

On the face, this sounds logical, since the campaign is primarily aimed at encouraging foreign businesses to invest in building manufacturing capacities in India.

But the argument that the Make in India could be ill-conceived in the sense that it does not focus on key strengths of the country is also not without merit.

It's nowhere close to 2008

In past one month the number of market participants anticipating a repeat of 2008 in global markets has grown consistently. The arguments on the other side are rather feeble.

In my view, there is nothing like 2008 in the present scenario. The mere fact that so many people are expecting a 2008 like freeze in the market is sufficient to prove my point.

The following points are also worth considering in this context.

- 2008 events occurred with commodity cycle at the peak and forecast for further strengthening. This time commodity cycle has already moved a long distance towards south and forecasts are all bearish.

- Unlike 2008, the central banks now have a variety of new tools that have been successfully tested for preempting and liquidity freeze conditions.

- In 2008, bankrupt peripheral Europe and rough US derivative traders led the collapse. This time it is China, which is very much solvent, still growing over 5% (even if discount official numbers hugely) and continues to be a command economy. Moreover, China is on its way to Japanification - on the verge of ceasing to be a big influencer of global markets.

- Unlike 2008, this time growth expectations are moderate, and portfolios are positioned for a crash with EM and commodities underweight.

- India is one of the bright spots in global deleveraging in the sense it has managed reasonable growth without compromising debt to GDP ratio.

However, since the developed markets have not done much in past ten years. and India has massively outperformed - it is still possible for markets to correct 10-12% from current level, but it may not stay down for long. At the same time, I do not expect a rally like 2009-10 in 2016.

Thursday, January 14, 2016

Learn from history, please!

Thought for the day

"By all means, marry. If you get a good wife, you'll become happy; if you get a bad one, you'll become a philosopher."

—Socrates (Greek, 469-399BC)

Word for the day

Offing (n)

The more distant part of the sea seen from the shore, beyond the anchoring ground.

(Source: Dictionary.com)

Malice towards none

Indira Nooyi has become the largest alumni donor for Yale University of USA.

Earlier Ratan Tata had also donated large sum to a US university!

First random thought this morning

Adverse weather conditions for two years; difficult economic conditions; stressful financial markets; erosion in political support seen in 2014 general elections; and prominent division in society over issue of religious and cultural tolerance — PM Modi's luck appears to have taken a break.

Not sure, if he needs to seek divine intervention to set things right. But he may certainly want to have a serious re-look at his team.

Learn from history, please!

The election to the state assembly of UP are due in March 2017. The ruling Samajwadi Party has already kick started an aggressive election campaign. The principle opposition parties, BSP & BJP, appear bewildered by the media blitzkrieg of the state government. I saw 4-6 full page government advertisements in mainstream newspapers boasting about the road development plans of the state government. Besides, the FM channels are trumpeting the achievements of the state government rather annoyingly.

Akhilesh Yadav ostensible wants to set an agenda, his opponents would find it hard to challenge, i.e., all-round development of the state. There was no sign of the communal divide or negative commentary on the performance of the central government, the prime minister of BJP.

However, in most of the cities, towns or village we passed through the communal tension was ominously present just a couple of millimeters under the surface. A small prick would bring the monster out of the captivity. Even in larger towns like Hapur, Moradabad, Bareilly, Shahjhanpur, and Rampur - on numerous houses, flags have been hoisted to show the religious identity of the residents. Personal vehicles (even cycles and motorbikes) also support such flags. Even small children of a particular community could be identified easily from their attire.

This all raises doubts about the sustainability of the development agenda.

The ghost of Ram Mandir is already out of the bottle, setting the stage for a tense summer ahead.

BSP has not started yet. But the feeling is that Mayawati may desert the inclusive agenda that won her 2007 elections, in favor of a highly polarizing caste based agenda.

Leaving the politics aside, my point is that the country's development paradigm will have to change dramatically for the development to become a sustainable agenda in Indian context.

The state will have to leave the responsibility of the economic development to the private enterprise. The role of the state should be limited to setting the guiding principles and red lines that cannot be crossed under any circumstances. Rest will have to be left on the market forces.

The state will have to play a much larger and active role in the traditional and cultural arena. Historically, the development and promotion of art, culture, science and education has been the primary responsibility of the state. All the famous kings have excelled in this responsibility. And this excellence of the state in supporting and promoting the art and knowledge had only made India the golden bird, it used to be once.

The state needs to focus on that in substantive manner, rather than dissipating its energies on micromanaging the economy. Conferring ceremonial Padma and other academy awards is grossly inadequate.

On the sidelines, winter crop in UP and Uttrakhand is going to be poor. Wheat and sugar may not be a problem due to buffer stock, but potato could be hot this summer.

Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Growing like Ginger

Thought for the day

"Where there is reverence there is fear, but there is not reverence everywhere that there is fear, because fear presumably has a wider extension than reverence."

—Socrates (Greek, 469-399BC)

Word for the day

Kvell (v)

To be extraordinarily pleased; especially, to be bursting with pride, as over one's family.

(Source: Dictionary.com)

Malice towards none

Why is it so difficult to accept that in Pakistan government and are different establishments independent of each other!

First random thought this morning

The global markets are more integrated than ever. Various segments of markets, e.g., currencies, commodities, equities, credit and money, are more integrated than ever.

Portending divergence in performance based on historical behavior could be fraught with serious risk. In very simple terms - today if I lose a wager in commodities, the obligation may have to be settled by liquidating position somewhere else. Similarly, if my bets on Europe go awry, I may not be able to hold on to my positions on other jurisdictions. Vice versa, if I make good money somewhere, I am encouraged to take similar bets elsewhere.

Growing like Ginger

In past two weeks I travelled through many expressways, highways, lanes, by-lanes, alleys, and trails in Uttar Pradesh and Uttrakhand. The experience was, as usual, enlightening and enthralling.

During my journey, I observed many emerging trends and changes (some structural in nature) in occupational & consumption patterns that would have material economic implications in coming years. I believe it is critical for investors in Indian assets to comprehend and assimilate these emerging trends in their investment strategy.

Over next few days I shall be discussing some generic observations and their likely economic implications.

I have been writing about the consistent struggle between the degenerated traditions & unmindful culturalism on one side and aspirational modernism & pursuit for basic standards of life on the other. With each journey through various parts of the country, I find this struggle intensifying and producing results which are extremely encouraging at one end of the spectrum and potentially explosive at the other end of it. In between it traverse through the realm of ridicule, humor and disaster.

For example, consider the following.

A decade ago, Bareilly, a typical Tier-II town in UP had just three outlets that would accept payment through credit cards and there were two internet cafes to serve a population of 700k. Today, a proposed smart city, it has Shopping Malls, hundreds of small shops accepting payment through electronic means, over 100% penetration of mobile telephones, and almost all adults hooked to Whatsapp and Facebook. A myriad of private management, engineering and medical collages have mushroomed all over.

For a city which proudly burned down theaters for displaying movie posters in English, now Queen's language is the preferred medium of education of children even for domestic helps. Consequently, each street of the city boasts of its children working as managers, engineers and doctors in large metropolis and foreign countries. The proud parents travel frequently to Mumbai, Delhi, Benguluru, USA, UK, Dubai, Singapore and Australia.

The city is growing like ginger - in all directions and without any plan. Each marriage adds a new room to already crumbling and overcrowded house. A shop mushrooms from nowhere for every unemployed youth.

The city has virtually no industrial base to create employment. A small camphor factory and a matchbox factory are the only traces of industrialization in the city.

Bareilly was a major center of traditional arts like Kashidakaari, embroidery, Zardozi, bamboo art etc. But in last decade or so these arts have lost ground to professions like mobile & auto mechanic, catering, E-Rickshaw, etc.

The roads which were occupied by cycle rickshaw and cows are now a melee of young rash bikers, mini busses, cars, auto rickshaws, cycle rickshaws, and cows. Brawls over parking are common and frequent.

Each street, club and hotel had an elaborate New Year Party. The scale of festivities and fervor was something I never saw in Delhi or Mumbai.

There is little awareness about the rich historical past of the city amongst youth.

New Year celebrations in Bareilly city

Changing face of the city

....to continue tomorrow

Monday, January 11, 2016

Nifty: Hope prevails

First random thought this morning

This winter has been unusually bright and warm. This has certainly extended the Christmas festivities for the urban populace in North India. The farmers are though a worried lot. Wheat farmers in Punjab, UP and MP who have been braving drought for past two years appear to be throwing in the towel.

Many agricultural tenants have defaulted on their obligations and many distressed marginal farmers have put their land on the block.

Thought for the day

"Wisdom begins in wonder."

—Socrates (Greek, 469-399BC)

Word for the day

Unputdownable (adj)

(especially of a book or periodical) so interesting or suspenseful as to compel reading.

(Source: Dictionary.com)

Malice towards none

If you have to name just one, what in your view would be the most critical problem afflicting India presently?

Nifty: Hope prevails

As the benchmark indices tested the lows recorded in September 2015, the broader markets demonstrated remarkable resilience.

The current level of outperformance of mid and small cap is in fact widest since the current up move started from late August 2013.

Juxtaposed with the rising retail participation, strong response to new issues, improved market breadth and consistent domestic flows into the market, it is clear that:

(a) presently the equity is the most preferred asset class with domestic investors;

(b) despite uncertainty over economic reforms, and poor corporate performance the domestic investors have not lost faith in equities and remain mostly hopeful of a imminent recovery;

As I have been pointing out in recent months, historically, this outperformance of low quality and small cap has invariably marked the cyclical peak for the markets and is usually followed by a sharp correction.

It is though difficult to put a timeline on expected sharp correction in broader market, I will still hazard a guess - between 20th February and 20th May 2016.