Boom to Gloom: Indian Economy Saw it All in 2008

No other year in recent times saw such wild mood swings in the Indian economy than 2008, which started on a strong note but ended on a weak wicket in the wake of a general global slowdown and severe recession in some of the richest countries like the US and Japan. From economic expansion to performance of equity markets, and from export growth to industrial production, all indicators had the same story to tell: The year had started with a strong economic performance, but the momentum was lost as the months passed, as India faced the ripple effects of the gloom in the global economy. The indicator that captured the trend best was the 30-share sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), often seen as a barometer not only for investor mood but also the overall performance of the Indian economy and its corporate sector. On Jan 10 this year, the Sensex was ruling at an all-time intra-day high of 21,206.77 points. But as the year is drawing to a close, it is languishing at around the 9,000-point mark - a fall of over 50 percent in the year. Last year, the index had gained nearly 50 percent.

The Sensex apart, exports fell in October for the first time in seven years. Indirect tax mop up was down eight percent in October. Industrial production, which was among the main drivers of the economy, fell 0.4 percent. The rupee fell below 50 to a dollar in November to an all-time low. And, as per the government's own admission, some 65,000 jobs were lost between August and October.

The high cost of crude oil, which jumped from under $40 per barrel a year ago to nearly $150 per barrel in August, added to the country's woes in terms of higher import bill and accentuated the losses of state-run fuel retailers, which had to bear the burden of having to sell hydrocarbon products below cost.

As a result, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, which at the beginning of the year said the Indian economy would continue to grow at over nine percent this fiscal, had to tone down its target sharply, hoping to achieve an overall increase of 7-7.5 percent in gross domestic product (GDP).

"Two key sectors, agriculture and industry, were unable to maintain the pace due to the global economic slowdown. This will have a serious effect on our overall growth," said Dalip Kumar, head of projects at the National Council of Applied Economics Research, an economic think-tank.

The only notable saving grace was on the price front, where the annual rate of inflation fell from a 16-year high of 12.63 percent for the week ended Aug 9 to 6.84 percent for the week ended Dec 6 - but not without taking a toll on industrial growth on account of the tight monetary policy of the central bank during the months before.

"Inflation is not a concern any more. If the Indian government does not think in terms of long- term measures to contain the slowdown, the medium-term growth projection of 8-9 percent will be difficult to achieve," said Biswa N. Bhattacharyay, Tokyo-based special adviser with the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

As India Inc. cried hoarse, saying the credit squeeze due to the policies of the central bank was affecting its day-to-day business, policymakers appeared to be in a denial mode initially, with the prime minister maintaining that India remained largely insulated from the goings-on in the world economy.

But that was not the case. As official data on a host of areas started confirming the worst worries articulated by India Inc., Manmohan Singh had to himself intervene and unveil a Rs.30,000-crore (Rs.300-billion/$6-billion) package in December to bail out the corporate sector.

There is a fear now that the major pump priming of the economy by the government, the large-scale spending on infrastructure and the relaxation of the monetary policy by the central bank to open the purse strings for the corporate sector may threaten the country's fiscal deficit, which was kept at a moderate level during the past five-six fiscals.

The year, nevertheless, did not pass without some high points.

India Inc. came under the global media glare when the Tata group, the country's largest industrial house with annual turnover of $62.5 billion, showcased its little car 'Nano' in January, that would cost all of $2,500 at factory gates. Time magazine named it the most important car of the century since Ford's revolutionary Model T.

It was a different matter that the industrial house had to shift the production site for the small car from Communist-ruled West Bengal to Gujarat following violent protests by a section of farmers that claimed their land was acquired forcibly without adequate compensation.

The same Tata group announced a few months later the acquisition of two iconic British automobile brands, Jaguar and Land Rover, from Ford Motor Co for $2.3 billion in what was yet another high-notch buyout by a globally ambitious Indian group.

The international investor community also continued to bet on the Indian market. Norway-based Telenor, the world's seventh largest telecom operator, bought a new-generation telecom company Unitech Wireless by paying $1.29 billion for a 60 percent stake.

Similarly, another start-up, Swan Telecom, which did not have a single subscriber, sold a 45-percent stake to the UAE's Etisalat for $900 million, taking the company's book value to $2 billion.

In fact, the inflow of foreign direct investment between April and September amounted to $17.21 billion, representing a growth of 137 percent over $7.25 billion in the like period last fiscal. The services sector attracted the maximum foreign investment, followed by construction, including roads and highways, housing and real estate, and computer hardware and software.

The year also saw a record number of seven Indian firms make it to the list of Fortune 500 companies - two from the private sector, namely, Reliance Industries and Tata Steel, and the rest from the public sector.

This apart, the Indian telecom industry also witnessed unprecedented growth and started adding 8-10 million new mobile phone users each month to make the country's subscriber base of more than 300 million, the largest after China's, displacing the US. The stage is now set for the launch of 3G, or third generation services.

Looking ahead, economists and industry experts alike predict some tough times for the Indian economy, at least during the next two-three quarters. But they also maintain that India stands on a much better wicket compared with many other countries to weather the storm, particularly because of the strong push from some key drivers of growth, like savings and investment.

As Reserve Bank of India Governor D. Subbarao remarked recently: "A period of painful adjustment is inevitable. But once the crisis is behind us and calm and confidence are restored in the global markets, economic activity in India will recover sharply."

Key Business and Economic Milestones for India in 2008

Following are some key economic, business and financial milestones in India during 2008:

Jan 10: Tata Motors unveil Nano, the jelly-bean shaped small car touted as the world's cheapest, costing all of $2,500 at factory gates.

Jan 10: Sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchanges touches all-time, intra-day high of 21,206.77 points.

Jan 16: Supreme Court paves way for Reliance Power's initial public offering.

Jan 21: Investors lose $170 billion as Sensex crashes over 2,000 points to register steepest ever intra-day fall.

Feb 20: Report says Indian companies have invested $10 billion in US, creating 30,000 jobs.

Feb 20: Anil Ambani's Reliance Communications acquires Ugandan telecom firm.

Feb 23: PepsiCo's Indian-born chief executive Indra Nooyi among Forbes' list of 10 best women CEOs.

Feb 26: Railway Minister Lalu Prasad announces across-the-board cut in fares and projects record profits in his first fifth rail budget.

Feb 29: Finance Minister P. Chidambaram presents national budget with most ambitious loan-waiver scheme amounting to Rs.600 billion (Rs.60,000 crore) to benefit 40 million farmers.

March 2: Richard Branson's Virgin Mobile enters Indian telecom market.

March 11: A fresh graduate of the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad offered record pay packet of Rs.14.4 million.

March 31: India's external debt rises to $201 billion.

April 1: International Monetary Fund warns of spiraling inflation and cooling of Indian economy.

April 11: Official data says India has second largest telecom subscriber base of over 300 million, ahead of the US and behind China.

April 29: India imposes export tax, bans overseas sales of some commodities like steel and cement to calm prices.

May 6: Bharti Airtel and South Africa's mobile phone giant enter consolidation talks.

May 11: Ratan Tata named by Time magazine among 73 biggest brains in business for conceiving small car Nano.

May 24: Bharti Airtel and MTN call off consolidation talks.

May 26: Reliance Communications and MTN say they have started talks for possible consolidation.

May 30: India's economic growth rate for 2007-08 revised upward to nine percent against provisional estimate of 8.9 percent.

June 2: Tata Motors formally takes over two iconic British automobile brands Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford Motors.

June 4: As crude prices spiral, India allows Rs.5 a liter increase in prices of petrol and Rs.3 on diesel.

June 11: Japan's Daiichi Sankyo says it is buying majority stake in India's largest pharmaceuticals company Ranbaxy for $4.6 billion.

June 20: India's annual rate of inflation scales the double digit level and touches 11.05 percent.

June: Heightened protests by farmers against Tatas' Nano project at Singur in West Bengal who claim their land was forcibly acquired.

July 11: International crude prices touch all-time high of $147.27 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

July 12: Vodafone and Airtel say they will launch Apple's 3G iPhone in India.

July 13: Anil Ambani's wife Tina Ambani and L.N. Mittal's spouse Usha Mittal named by Forbes among top 10 billionaires' wives.

July 16: Hindustan Computers Ltd acquires British outsourcing firm for undisclosed amount.

July 17: Survey says revenues of top 20 Indian IT firms fell 24 percent in 2007-08 due to global slowdown.

July 18: Air India announces 15 percent cut in airfares to Gulf.

July 19: Reliance Communications stops consolidation talks with MTN.

July 29: India's central bank tightens monetary policy to tame inflation by hiking key lending rate and cash reserve ratio.

Aug 12: India's industrial growth halves to 5.2 percent in first quarter of current fiscal.

Aug 18: India's telecom regulator permits computer-to-computer voice calls.

Aug 21: India's annual rate of inflation spirals to 16-year high of 12.63 percent.

Aug 26: Overseas arm of Oil and Natural Gas Corp says it is acquiring British firm for $1.4 billion.

Aug 29: Government approves new Companies Bill, 2008, to fine-tune legislation to reflect developments in and requirements of present-day corporate world.

Sep 1: Finance Secretary Duvvuri Subbarao named next governor of the Reserve Bank.

Sep 7: Department of Telecommunications starts auction of frequencies for 3G telephony.

Sep 11: Government eases norms for FM broadcast to push growth.

Sep 17: US Food and Drug Administration blocks import of 30 generic drugs made by Ranbaxy.

Sep 18: India's cabinet clears proposal for foreign news magazines to start Indian editions.

Sep 20: Anil Ambani group and Steven Spielberg to set up $1.5 billion Hollywood studio.

Sep 23: Abu Dhabi-based Etisalat says it will acquire 45 percent stake in India's Swan Telecom for $900 million.

Oct 1: UN report says India is sixth largest investor in Britain.

Oct 3: Tatas say they are pulling the "Nano" project out of West Bengal despite investing Rs.15 billion.

Oct 7: Gujarat is chosen as new home for launch of Nano.

Oct 8: Indian rupee crashes to six-year low of Rs.48 to a dollar.

Oct 9: International Monetary Fund predicts seven percent growth for India in 2009.

Oct 9: Report says India Inc. finalized overseas mergers and acquisition deals worth $26 billion in first half of current fiscal.

Oct 10: Reserve Bank eases monetary policy, cuts cash reserve ratio by 150 basis points.

Oct 10: India's industrial production logs just 1.3 percent growth in August, says report.

Oct 15: Government says Indian civil aviation industry is $300 billion investment opportunity.

Oct 15: Central bank takes steps to inject Rs.650 billion into system to increase liquidity.

Oct 15: Jet Airways, Kingfisher announce pact to reduce costs, synergize operations and improve services.

Oct 15: Jet Airways says it is sacking 1,900 employees (but withdraws steps a day later).

Oct 15: US president-elect Barack Obama tells IANS India will be top priority during his tenure.

Oct 27: Sensex crashes to 7,697.39 points, lowest level since November 2005.

Oct 29: Norway-based Telenor, the world's seventh largest telecom operator, says it is buying 60 percent stake in Indian telecom start-up Unitech Wireless for $1.29 billion.

Nov 10: Satyam acquires Motorola's software unit in Malaysia.

Nov 10: International Monetary Fund lowers India growth projection for 2009 to 6.3 percent.

Nov 12: Japan's DoCoMo says it will acquire 26 percent stake in Tata Teleservices.

Nov 13: Forbes rich list says Mukesh Ambani has ousted L.N. Mittal as richest Indian.

Nov 19: Rupee falls to its lowest-ever level, below 50 to a dollar.

Dec 1: Data on foreign trade says India's merchandise exports fell 12.1 percent in October.

Dec 8: Government unveils Rs.30,000-crore (Rs.300-billion/$6-billion) package to pump prime economy.

Dec 12: Fresh data on industrial production says index fell 0.3 percent in October.

Dec 16: Satyam Computer Services says it is acquiring two infrastructure firms run by founder's sons for $1.6 billion, but withdraws move a day later following investor outrage.

Dec 19: Chanda Kochhar named ICICI Bank chief executive with effect from next May 1.

Dec 23: Wipro says it is acquiring Citigroup's Indian outsourcing arm for $127

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Feeble response

The fiscal stimulus package — costing approximately Rs.30,000 crore including tax revenue forgone — announced on Sunday complements the slew of monetary measures unveiled by the Reserve Bank of India a day earlier. The size of India’s fiscal package in comparison with those of most other countries is modest: to provide a contra-cyclical stimulus, an additional plan expenditure of just Rs.20,000 crore is proposed to be incurred during the remainder of the year. It is obvious that the relatively feeble response is due to the absence of sufficient fiscal headroom. In October, the government while coming up with an exceptionally large supplementary budget appears to have pre-empted the space for bolder measures. The bulk of the new allocations in that round had gone towards salary hikes for government staff, oil and fertiliser bonds, and other items of subsidy. It is expected that the combined fiscal deficit of the centre and the states will be in the region of 10 per cent of GDP by the end of this year. Besides, in a slowing economy tax revenues are bound to fall. The reduction of 4 per cent in the Cenvat rate for most products will stimulate demand. Export finance for labour intensive industries such as textiles, and gems and jewellery will become cheaper. Export incentives will be increased and insurance for risky markets facilitated through additional allocation of funds. Housing, especially for the low and middle income groups, is set to receive a boost from additional plan expenditure. A designated government-owned infrastructure company will raise Rs.10,000 crore by way of tax-free bonds. In India, as in most countries, monetary authorities have taken the lead in tackling the economic crisis. The RBI’s stimulus package is the latest in a long line of policy initiatives taken since September to encourage lending by banks. The central bank has, however, admitted that business confidence is low and the demand for bank credit slackening despite comfortable liquidity. The reduction in the policy interest rates — the repo and the reverse repo rates — might therefore remain just symbolic without much of impact on the ground. Also, the transmission mechanism from policy rates to interest rates charged by banks will be particularly weak at this time of great financial stress. The real problem is one of credit delivery, not credit availability. It is because of the obvious limitations of a purely monetary approach that the government has announced the fiscal package. The effort still falls far short of what is needed to avert a sharp slowdown.

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Sunset or sunrise?

From bankruptcies, collapse and bailouts, the words defining economic crisis have changed a bit. Layoffs, cost-cutting, right sizing, cash conservation are the new defining terms. Yet, as the clouds hanging over the economy get darker and darker, the question uppermost on everybody’s mind isn’t how bad things really are, but how bad will things get. Have we seen the worst or is the worst yet to come?To be sure, a definitive answer is impossible at this stage. But a few key economic indicators and global developments do point to the shape of things to come. Major global economies like Japan and Germany have already slipped into a recession, and the largest of them all, the US, seems to be headed into one. To India’s north, export powerhouse China has announced a $586-billion plan to combat the slowdown. India hasn’t felt the need for a bailout, but GDP growth has already tapered off to just under 7 per cent from the heady 9 per cent plus levels. From New Delhi to Darjeeling, India shining is now India slowing. More ominous than the speed of slowdown is its spread. Sample this: In October, exports growth was down 15 per cent from its level a year ago—the first such decline since March 2002. Excluding oil exports, the decline was 20 per cent. The worst hit? Merchandise exporters in textile, handicrafts and leather sectors. The Commerce Secretary has warned of a staggering 5 lakh jobs being lost in the textile sector alone.
Yes, the Indian economy is much less globalised than most other Asian economies, but over the years our global linkages have become much stronger than before. Trade (exports plus imports) now accounts for 35 per cent of the country’s GDP, versus 22.5 per cent in 2000-01. Goodbye export target for 2008-09 ($200 billion). Exports are down, so Jimmy Engine Driver has fewer freight trains to pull. Railway freight, a key indicator of overall economic activity, clocked negative growth in October—the first such decline in seven years. Says A. Prasanna, Head of Research, ICICI Securities: “Shrinking exports is one of reasons for the downturn in railway freight. A big part of what is transported is related to exports.” That’s one indicator of how the sectors. Index of industrial production for the month of August grew by just 1.3 per cent. Worse, from the future point of view, is the downswing in new investments. This will curb job and income creations, which, in turn, will further dampen the already muted consumer demand. Most urban consumers are faced with the present reality of wealth erosion and imminent possibility of slower or no income growth. Did your neighbour buy that new car? If he did, he is the odd man out: The automobiles sector has reported negative sales in the Diwali month. Commercial vehicles, two wheelers and passenger car sales, were all down, forcing manufacturers to cut production or shut plants. Though the Finance Minister P. Chidambaram would like companies to cut prices and not production, India Inc. is doing exactly the opposite. On his part, Chidambaram has ensured no let up in government spending (e.g. pump priming) by stating that fiscal deficit isn’t an issue right now. The RBI has tried to do its bit too, intervening aggressively to improve the cash crunch. The cash reserve ratio (CRR) has been lowered by a cumulative 350 basis points between October 6 and November 1. This will release Rs 1,40,000 crore into the banking system. Repo rates have been slashed by 150 basis points. But how much and how soon will all this help the funds flow if foreign institutional investors continue to pull out of India. Then, the RBI’s dollar sales in the open market may have removed more than Rs 50,000 crore from the banking system. Says Sachchidanand Shukla, Economist, Enam Securities: “As long as the RBI continues defending the rupee, it’ll be difficult for banks to significantly lower rates.” A. Prasanna It’s not that there are no silver linings. Reversal in the direction of inflation rate, which should eventually lead to reduction in interest rates, is the most significant positive trend. Remember, the slowdown started earlier this year partly due to the RBI’s obsession with bringing down the then raging inflation. Good monsoons have kept rural incomes growing and investment pipeline— though fast depleting—is still strong. So, where does the net effect of the negative and positive factors leave us? Most economists and forecasts point to worsening economic situation for both producers and consumers in the months to come. But if the global economy doesn’t throw up any new surprises, the positives should get stronger than the negatives from April 2009 onwards— at least for the producers (lower cost of capital and slower wage growth). But the speed of recovery is most likely to be slow and staggered. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), in its November 2008 World Economic Outlook Update observes: “... financial conditions continue to present serious downside risks. The forceful policy responses in many countries have contained the risks of a systemic financial meltdown.

Nonetheless, there are many reasons to remain concerned about the potential impact on activity of the financial crisis.” It estimates that the Indian economy will grow at just over 6 per cent in 2009. That is as slow a rate as in 2004-05. And this is the GDP figure. Other growth figures that matter to us more—e.g. salary increments, number of jobs, corporate profits—may not look as good as the GDP. So, conserve your cash for the cold winter ahead and hope for an early spring thaw, so that growth can flourish again.





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From boom to bust

In a year or two, investors will no longer be pushing up prices of stocks in sectors like real estate or telecom or financial services or infrastructure. Sure, they’re all industries whose prospects are bright over the long term. But there’s a limit to jacking up stock price in anticipation of performances expected two to three years down the line.Last year, around the same time, the mood on the street was bullish, with the bull run showing few signs of petering of, and the Sensex rampaging into 20,000-plus territory. Although the subprime crisis had erupted in the US, few expected it to impact the great India story in the way it has now. Yet, there was always a fear lurking in the nooks and crannies of Dalal Street and stocks in pockets had raced way ahead of fundamentals. Concern over fundamentals of Indian companies were severe in the last two months (September-October) when the BSE Sensex fell by almost 38 per cent.
Those concerns were doubtless valid, what with price-earning ratios (P-Es) in overheated sectors like real estate climbing to as high as over 100 times. But when the equities did come tumbling down, few expected the markets to crash with such ferocity. Blame it on the US subprime crisis, greedy investment bankers or slack regulation on Wall Street or the resultant tightening of liquidity globally, but back home, a slowdown in the economy as well as in corporate earnings was only beginning to make its presence felt at the beginning of the year
When that slowdown finally revealed itself—now manifest in lower GDP projections and single-digit earnings growth for India Inc. in the second quarter of 2008-09—the writing was on the wall. The boom has got busted. The benchmark BSE Sensex is down by half, real estate is down in the dumps, manufacturers across sectors are cutting jobs and production, and yesterday’s outbound M&A adventurists are scurrying for funds needed to pay up for multi-billion dollar acquisitions made when valuations were near peak levels.Amidst such gloomy conditions, the BT 500—where the rankings are based on average market capitalisation for the April-October period—serves as a handy barometer of India Inc.’s performance in tough times. Encouragingly, there are quite a few companies who were able to minimise the impact of the global meltdown, and actually show an increase in market value over the previous year’s corresponding period. For the sixth year in a row, Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries (RIL) grabbed the top slot of India’s most valuable company. Despite the carnage on Dalal Street, its average market cap increased by a handsome Rs 32,400 crore. Younger brother Anil, who took another company to the stock exchanges this year, Reliance Power, wasn’t so lucky, in taking over his elder brother in terms of market cap. The Reliance Power listing was expected to polevault Anil into a bigger league, but that didn’t quite happen.

The biggest surprise, however, came courtesy the public sector pack, where the overall market cap for the 50 companies in the list increased by almost Rs 1 lakh crore; in percentage terms that works out to a 10 per cent increase. The biggest contributors to the massive rise in the value of the state-run companies were NMDC and MMTC, whose combined market cap increased by over Rs 1.3 lakh crore. Although the floating stock of these companies is less than 2 per cent, the increase in their share price shows that the market sees value in them (considering there is hardly any operator-driven activity in state-run companies). Marketmen point out that the government should take a cue from the massive rise and offload some more of its holdings in such companies; this will help release some pressure on government finances and improve market sentiment. If 2007 was the year of real estate on Dalal Street—some nine companies got listed on the exchanges in that year—the current year saw these darlings of the stock market falling from grace. The share prices of top real estate players like DLF, Unitech, and Parsvnath Developers fell like ninepins. DLF alone lost over Rs 38,500 crore in market cap during the period of analysis in comparison. Unitech’s market value fell by a little over Rs 18,000 crore. These two companies alone account for an erosion of over Rs 50,000 crore of market value in the real estate sector. The sole real estate company that managed to increase its market value is Modern India, thanks largely to its relatively lower leveraging and a more stable revenue model of leasing, rather than outright sale (which most real estate players follow).If banking stocks were hammered it was more out of fear rather than for Indian banks’ exposure to the subprime crisis (which isn’t substantial). The biggest victim of negative sentiment and rumour mongering was ICICI Bank, whose market value eroded by over Rs 27,000 crore. Although there are concerns about the quality of assets ICICI Bank holds, its exposure to Wall Street isn’t huge—its exposure to Lehman Brothers was $80 million. The notable exceptions to the bearish trend are HDFC Bank and Axis Bank, with both their market values rising. One factor cited by analysts for this is that the business model of both these banks revolves around profitability rather than asset growthThe sectors that bucked the turbulent trend are fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) and pharmaceuticals. The leading players in both these sectors were successful in either maintaining or increasing their market value. For instance, in the FMCG space, Hindustan Unilever, Colgate-Palmolive, Marico Industries and Asian Paints saw their market value rising. In pharmaceuticals, Sun Pharmaceutical, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Ranbaxy Labs, Cipla and Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, too, saw their market value rising over the previous year. Analysts point out that sectors like FMCG and pharmaceuticals are defensive in nature, which prove to be relatively safe havens in uncertain times.Long-term sustainability of a company is seen once its comes out of turbulent times. “This is not the first time we are seeing such times. The company (Tata Chemicals) has gone through such phases in the past,” says Homi R. Khusrokhan, Managing Director, Tata Chemicals, which acquired US company this year. He says the slowdown in the US will be offset by Latin American countries and new markets. There are companies which have accepted that the India’s corporate sector is headed for slowdown and aligning themselves with the reality. “Automobiles offtake has been hit by high interest rates, reduced liquidity, global financial markets and fuel prices,” says C. Ramakrishnan, Chief Financial Officer, Tata Motors. If one remembers, in 2000 Tata Motors, too, had gone through tough times just before the launch of Indica but came out of it unscathed.There is concern for companies that raised funds through foreign currency convertible bonds and the London Inter-bank offered Rate. Such companies’ market value has already fallen substantially.The sentiment on the Street is clearly bearish, and analysts feel the market has some way to go before it finds its bottom. In a technical analysis report, Enam Securities expects the Sensex to bottom-out in the region of 7,150-6,150. Now’s the time when the men in the BT 500 will be separated from the boys. This rough patch will provide an opportunity for cash-rich players to consolidate their positions, and result in shakeout of relatively weak players. Expect some big changes in next year’s BT 500. .

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The route to 'dharmacracy'

Come January and Vijay Govindarajan, Professor of Strategic Innovation and Management at Tuck School, Dartmouth, US, will be in India with a group of 50 USbased executives. His mission? “I have arranged for Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev to spend a day with the executives. The Sadhguru teaches spirituality. I want western executives to understand how spirituality informs leadership,” says Govindarajan, who feels there is a need to temper capitalism and individual gains with compassion. “We celebrate individual financial success. But I have seen executives who are successful on the outside—they have multiple homes, fancy cars, etc.—but these same executives are not happy inside. Spirituality is about seeking inner peace. It is needed more than ever now.” In fact, in February this year, the Indian School of Business (ISB) set up a research centre called the Centre for Leadership, Innovation & Change, that, among other things, is looking at this area of Indian philosophy in management. The idea is to research deeper into it, and, perhaps, include it in the management course.Capitalism is facing a crisis—and desperately needs a remedy. “There are many reasons for this,” says Govindarajan, adding that a central problem is that there is something rotten at the core of American corporate values—it measures success by short-term personal financial gains. That needs to change. . Balanced approach
This is where Indian philosophy, which balances the pursuit of wealth and material success with the mastery of the self and the quest for inner happiness, comes in, offering, as it does, an alternative to the “greed is good” ethos that has characterised the neo-conservative economic thinking pervading the corporate corridors of the US and much of the western world. The deeply introspective, yet practical, wisdom contained in ancient Indian texts such as the Bhagavad Gita, Mahabharat and the Vedas also stands in stark contrast to the language of conquest popularised by management theories based on Sun Tzu’s sixth century BC classic, The Art of War. Says T.V. Mohandas Pai, Member of the Board and Director, Human Resources, Infosys Technologies: “When people are in trouble, they always fall back on ancient wisdom to see what went wrong.”

It is not without reason, therefore, that recently, the ISB’s Centre for Leadership, Innovation & Change organised its first international conference on “Igniting the Genius Within.” One of the topics discussed was Indian philosophy. “The idea,’’ says S. Ramnarayan, Professor and Member of the Management Committee of the Centre, “was to expose students and management professionals to broader management vision and to look for integration of various perspectives.”
Karma capitalism
The following are the major takeaways for modern management from Indian philosophy.

Dharma or ethical code: This is the very foundation of Indian philosophy, best exemplified by the phrase “Yato Dharmah Tato Jayah”, which means “True victory comes from righteous conduct only”.

Balance: The pursuit of artha (wealth) and kaama (pleasure) should be in tandem with dharma (righteousness) and moksha (liberation). Pursuit of the first two with no regard to the whispers of conscience leads to imbalance and chaos.

Keeping sight of the larger picture: Indian philosophy teaches the value of equanimity in pain and pleasure. Being steady, when changes around you are large and intense, gives managers the ability to make the best decisions.

Focus on efforts, not results: Focus on results often distracts people’s attention from the goal. Results are not based on one person’s action alone and other people’s efforts as well as your past actions work together to create the result.

Clarity of intention: Every activity must start with sankalpam, the goal. Once the goal is clearly defined and communicated, the means will follow.

Appreciation: Leaders should appreciate others’ works and focus on encouraging optimism.

Divinity and uniqueness of every individual: Customise offerings for customers and cater to their unique requirements.

Multiple perspectives: Maitri (friendship), Karuna (compassion), Mudita (sympathy) and Upeksha (abstinence) are essential leadership qualities that encourage leaders to see things from others’ perspectives.

Self-control: When feeling all-powerful, self-control is essential. When feeling vulnerable, give to others what you want most. When you feel upset and angry, be kind to others.

Humility: Another cornerstone of Indian philosophy, humility is considered one of the important qualities of a good leader.
Inclusive capitalism
So, what specifically does Indian philosophy offer that the current thought in management doesn’t? Says V. Krishnamurthy, former Deputy Director, BITS Pilani: “The introspective qualities of ancient Indian philosophy are missing in the modern materialistic corporate chase. The latter is always focussed on getting things accomplished (without bothering much about the cost).” It means that the cornerstone of corporate philosophy should be something bigger than money. This is not to say that businesses should stop, or even slow down, their pursuit of profits. It simply means that corporate leaders should adopt a more holistic approach, incorporating the interests of all stakeholders— like customers, employees, society, etc.—instead of remaining focussed only on narrow shareholder value.C.K. Prahalad, Paul and Ruth McCracken Distinguished University Professor of Corporate Strategy at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, calls it Inclusive Capitalism. In this context, he says corporate social responsibility, so popular among companies and their spin meisters these days, is at best a transition phase for a company. “That’s where you learn that there is more to business than just profit maximisation. The final stage will be reached when companies realise that dealing with the impoverished in the world is not something they should do only once in a while. The key lies in thinking differently about the very purpose of business,” he says. Back to India, Via the US
But ISB’s initiative is not really as path breaking as it looks. Ironically, B-schools and management thinkers in India have woken up to the ancient wisdom contained in our holy books only after these ideas were embraced by the West. Leading management gurus of Indian origin such as Govindarajan, Prahalad, Ram Charan and Mohanbir Sawhney, McCormick Tribune Foundation Professor of Technology, Kellogg Shool of Management, among others, have disseminated this wisdom through their body of works for years now. In an article on the subject in 2006, BusinessWeek had quoted Dipak C. Jain, Dean of Kellogg School of Management, as saying: “When senior executives come to Kellogg, Wharton, Harvard, or Tuck, they are exposed to Indian values that are reflected in the way we think and articulate.”

Business organisations have woken up to the value of Indian philosophy in a big way over the past six years, says Swami Chidananda, Joint Secretary, Rajghat Education Centre, Krishnamurti Foundation India. From a corporate perspective, we have to make decisions based on what is good for the customer and the community—in other words, we have to think from an ecosystem perspective, says Prasad Kaipa, Executive Director, Centre for Leadership, Innovation & Change, ISB; and CEO Adviser & Coach, Kaipa Group. “Then, the Tata Group’s takeover of Corus and Jaguar-Land Rover and its belief that it can turn those companies around, have made the western world quite curious about Indian management approaches,” he adds.It is early days still, but many other B-schools are looking at this space. IIM Calcutta has a management centre for human values, and the FMS in Delhi and some others are also looking at it.Ethical dharmacracy
M. Rammohan Rao, Dean of ISB, feels Indian philosophy is relevant “because business should not just be about one self but about the society and the environment it works within”.

Pai of Infosys has an interesting take on the growing importance of Indian philosophy in management.

“The fact is that we are Indians; so, consciously or unconsciously, the country’s value system resonates in what we do.” And not only does it hold true for the companies but also for individuals leading them. He cites the example of Infosys Chairman & Chief Mentor N.R. Narayana Murthy: his philosophy of simplicity, many will argue, is really a reflection of pan-Indian values.

The Tata Group, which, arguably, practices inclusive capitalism with greater zest than any other business house, is another example. Says Radhakrishnan Nair, Chief Human Resource Officer, Tata Steel: “Wealth generation is important but it should be kept in trust to improve the communities in which we live. The Parsi motto of ‘good thoughts, good words and good deeds’ is extremely rich in its effort to elevate human suffering. A true Tata person believes in simple living, high thinking and being genuinely affectionate.” According to Prahalad, the idea is to develop a system that places the individual at the epicentre of corporate strategy. Such a goal, though, looks unattainable in the short to medium term. Can it ever be reached? That’s impossible to answer with any degree of certitude, but if it is, then India would have made a defining contribution to management science. Says Kaipa: “It may be time for what a Los Angeles Times reporter proposed last year—that the US should move towards Dharmacracy not Democracy.” .

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Lessons

The graphic videos and photographs of what has happened in Mumbai in last few days should be a wakeup call to all Indians. It has shown again a total failure of our system on all fronts – the intelligence, political leadership and even our military leadership. That it took us 3 full days to deal with a handful of terrorists says a lot about the way our brave commandos were deployed.It is also a sad situation that the attention of the media and through it that of India was riveted on the Mumbai mayhem because Taj and Oberoi Hotels were involved. Bigger tragedies have taken place in India elsewhere where many more people have been killed but the media does not focus on it. Only when the lives of the rich and famous are involved does the media get worked-up. Thousands of suicides of farmers, deaths in rural areas and bigger atrocities committed in these areas do not get into the vision field of the media.Nevertheless it is a good sign that at least this event seemed to have stirred the country and we hope some good will come out of it.
One of the main reasons I think why this has happened is the corruption that has seeped very deeply into our society. Everything has a price and is a purchasable commodity. One of the first casualties of corruption is governance. We see all around us the signs of lack of governance and an attitude of “chalta hai”. The Mumbai carnage is a shining example of this state of affairs and people have correctly identified that the root cause are the politicians and the people who govern us. As we have seen on the TV, read in the newspapers and from the general feedback from common man – the stock of politicians is at an all time low. Naturally all corruption starts from top and unless and until the rulers become sincere, there is very little hope for the country.

How do we change this state of affairs and elect politicians who are sincere and not corrupt? Generally, whenever concerned citizens sit and discuss these issues either in their homes, on TV, or in any other fora, the first reaction is to tell good people to join politics. For most of the young people who are successful in their chosen profession, joining politics is an anathema and waste of time and talent. Only a very successful industrialist, professional or any other person who has excelled in his or her chosen profession for a long time can afford to do it and that time sometimes comes when a person is nearly 60 or 70 years old. By this time it is too late to get into the rough and tumble of politics and that is the reason why some of these people become MPs of Rajya Sabha or MLCs in state upper houses. Besides at this ripe age most have passed their prime and do not have the energy or the ideas needed to take this country forward rapidly.

I think a better answer would be for local citizens to select a talented and sincere young person and support him or her to the hilt both financially and otherwise. Identifying such persons is a real challenge but there are thousands such people all over this country. I also feel that young IAS officers will also be suitable for this challenge. Politics is a full time profession and a person dedicated to it right from a young age can do much more than somebody coming to it later in life. In a parliamentary democracy that India is, one can not hope to gain politically unless and until one belongs to a party. Starting a party is one way of doing it but there are quite a number of roadblocks to make it an all India entity. A simpler thing is to stand for election as an independent candidate and once like-minded people get elected as independents in different states then a party can be formed nationally. That will be true democracy.

The advantage of this system will be that most of the professionals, who while doing their business, can still be actively involved in the local and national affairs through the candidate. Also there will be a group or body of citizens who will act as watchdogs on the candidate. Such a mechanism is not available presently since the candidate is only beholden to the party bosses and his or her selection is done for some consideration other than the welfare of the local people or the country.

Naturally the corporate world, professionals and other concerned citizens will have to be very actively involved in this exercise. There is a lot of cynicism in the minds of most people who say that such things are not feasible. However, we will have to start somewhere. I think it is a doable goal and unless we all start being involved in the affairs of our country we will see balkanization and mafia rule. Similar cynicism also existed before Mahatma Gandhi came. So either we wait for another Mahatma Gandhi or start this rivulet and let a Gandhi or Obama join a large number of them to make them into a mighty river.

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Corporate Moves and Decorating Grooves

If you are a corporate executive, chances are that you pack your bags and move to a new city every couple of years. In a frequent-flyer world, you have to be willing to relocate and explore the growth opportunities it offers. This often means moving your belongings to a new place every now and then and setting up a home, albeit a temporary one. Being well traveled and in touch with trends, you would perhaps want a home that makes a statement about who you are.Having said that, anyone who has moved more than a couple of times is well aware of the fact that it isn’t all that easy to get rid of the things one accumulates and selling them for a pittance dampens the spirit of the ‘move’. So, while you may desire the luxury of being able to upgrade your living space, it is not always possible to leave your material possessions behind every time fortune comes calling. Decorating rented spaces is a challenge as you need to think long-term while given the space you have here and now. When you sign the lease for a new apartment, you could ask the landlord if painting the walls in colors and textures of your choice is a viable option. That’s the first step towards creating a space that mirrors your individuality. Colors and wall treatments are relatively easy on the pocket and quite high on style and effect.

If your professional endeavour entails frequent transfers, it will make sense to buy furniture that is not too bulky and does not place a restriction on decorating styles. Ensuring that all the furniture designated for a particular area is in one wood finish also allows you more freedom with other elements of décor. In the living room, keep the sofa design simple and change the fabric and cushions every time you move into a new home to give it a completely new look. You could even consider re-modeling the shape. Coffee tables need to be elegant and yet allow for maneuver in terms of their placement.

As a rule, buy good area rugs — you generally live with them a lot longer than you anticipate and if you can rotate them in different rooms every time you shift residence, that in itself throws up new possibilities. You also have to bear in mind that you will rarely, if ever, change the flooring of the home you rent.

When you buy furniture, cater for size configurations which allow flexibility and stick to a general style that you would be comfortable with for a few years. The dining table is a piece of furniture that you keep for a long time and also needs to fit into different spaces if you tend to move a lot. Always cater for a coordinating hutch as crockery and glassware need a place.

Lighting is a key element of re-inventing your decor. Collect lamps of different shapes and styles. They bring in a lot of warmth and just changing the shade every once in a while gives a whole new look to a room. It may be a worthwhile exercise to pick up interesting light fixtures as well. You then do not have to settle for the ones the landlord put on the walls and every room has the stamp of your individuality. The bonus being that you could easily pack them and take them with you when you leave !!!

When you get curtains and blinds made for a new home, providing ample margin in the seams would be a good idea. As would buying extra fabric. This would ensure that when you move in to a new home, you can tailor them to the dimensions and re-do them with borders and accents. You might want to use them in another room this time and complement an entirely different setting. Keep the base fabrics in simple tones and textures and focus instead on borders and embellishments that you could change at will.

Invest in good art. It does not have to be expensive but it should be something you can live with a relatively long time. We tend not to trash what goes on our walls. It does not just adorn our walls but also reveals a lot about who we are. Decide what you want it to say. Go shopping for artefacts and curios. They do not restrict you and change the décor of a room.

Consoles and chests of drawers are easy to accommodate in any home. They are useful to have and allow for a lot of permutations in terms of placement. A console does not necessarily have to go with a mirror or against a wall. It can be used as an effective space divider and keeping it free standing gives you more options. A screen with panels that can be changed is something else that works beautifully in any kind of space. You can create a new effect by changing the panels and also use it as a room divider.Bookshelves and display cabinets should have adjustable shelves and preferably need not go against a wall. Consider queen size beds instead of the standard double as they work very well in small homes, especially if you move from an apartment in a place like Delhi to one in Mumbai! Paying attention to sheets, coordinated bedspreads, drapes and the area rug would make for a far more aesthetically pleasing environment. You could perhaps opt for a contemporary bed which is upholstered as opposed to one that is in a particular wood finish. This way, whether your new home has the wardrobes in beech or teak becomes irrelevant. Bathrooms can be given a shot of aesthetic management by picking up a whole new set of accessories and linen.

For those on the move, a faithful companion is usually a sofa-bed. It comes handy when you have guests but allows you the luxury of using the guest room as a TV/family room the rest of the time. If your lifestyle entails frequent entertaining, a portable home bar would be a good investment. You need to be able to put it just about anywhere and deliver that daiquiri on request.At the end of that day, when you have packed and unpacked and you find comfort in the familiarity of what you brought with you and derive pleasure at the thought of how you might make your new home look ‘different’; you would have gone a long way in settling in and the transfer would not seem as daunting a task. Happy at home necessarily translates into a lot more energy at work

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The darker clouds

India has two Taj Mahals — one, a monument to love in Agra, and the other a shrine to hospitality in Mumbai. Standing on the Arabian Sea, the Mumbai Taj is not just an icon of India’s financial capital but also a symbol of its growing wealth and power. The terror attack of last week that left this building wounded could cause more damage to an already bleeding Indian economy, draining it of foreign investments.
Already foreign investors have pulled out some $13 billion enervating the stock market. The nation has been impacted by the tight liquidity conditions, the sluggish economic growth, and an anaemic currency.
Favourite destinations Despite the bureaucracy and crumbling infrastructure, India is one of the favourite investment destinations because of its size and the rate of growth it has managed the last decade. But the increasing frequency of terror attacks could become a cause of worry for foreign investors.Foreign firms tend to shy away from markets that exhibit instability of some form, mainly because the cost of operations goes up. Even if there is no exodus from India, some short-term postponement of investment plans can exacerbate the situation, some observers fear. But the Commerce and Industry Minister, Mr Kamal Nath, is confident the attacks will not slow investments. He told Reuters that, “This does not have an economic component”.

Corroborating his view, rating agency Standard and Poor’s also does not think the attacks should affect India’s sovereign rating of BBB- with a stable outlook.

S&P said it expected a short-term negative impact on the currency and stock exchange as well as a slowdown in tourist arrivals but that such effects would recede with time if there were no further attacks. India is also hoping for this and expects investor attention to return to the fundamentals once the initial shock of the attacks wears off. Thus, most observers of the Indian economy are sanguine about the long-term outlook, when this could actually be the larger problem. India has not addressed several systemic problems that can have a far more serious impact than the acts of the terrorists.


Unaddressed problems Just consider the crumbling infrastructure: Of everything, there is shortage. Power, roads, rail capacity, port facilities. With the country set to emerge the most populous in the next decade, the pressure on infrastructure can be imagined.

Or, the decaying agriculture. The Green Revolution experiment has unravelled and the effects are beginning to show. Drop in farm productivity due to soil contamination and the shrinking water-table. India’s food security is fast eroding and it is more often in the world markets buying even the staples. This is not good augury for a nation with a large population. With farming becoming a losing proposition, people are moving to urban areas for work, bringing tremendous pressures on the infrastructure.Or, the poor quality education. While the rising population is a problem, it also gives India a demographic dividend. It will be one of the youngest nations in the world. But this would be of little use if the youths remain poorly educated and badly trained. Yes, India can take pride in churning out the world’s largest numbers of graduates. But what of their quality? The West will certainly need workers, but will the mal-educated Indian graduates be able to take advantage of this demand? Are they up to global standards?

Or, the severe corruption. Observers fear the terror attacks will raise the cost of doing business in India. Perhaps, corruption will terrorise more investors. It will significantly raise the cost of doing business and presents a more dangerous and potent barrier to investment flows.

Or, the unhelpful bureaucracy. True, India was left a steel framework but it could well have dismantled that rusting structure and put in place a modern one. Indeed, the former colonial masters have long got rid of it. It is a nightmare to negotiate the labyrinthine bureaucracy to get anything done. Why would foreign investors want to waste their time and energies going around in circles?

Or, the devious politics. The great comfort one draws from the fact that India is one of the most robust democracies is quickly lost in the constant quibbling and bickering that informs Indian politics. There is an air of uncertainty about continuity of policy.

This is key to business confidence and continued investments in the country. Surely, there are many parties in the Western democracies too.

But the economic policies do not deviate dramatically from one another. So policy stability is more or less assured to businesses. These and problems of this ilk are what India must worry about. They have the potential to do much long-term damage. Sure, India needs to tackle the terror problem, but simultaneously it must look within too. If there is going to be a re-think at various policy levels, perhaps it is a good time to look at some of the systemic problems too. Politically, this may be an opportune time because there could be unity in this jingoistic moment. The terror attacks are dark, but passing clouds. India must worry about the darker clouds constantly hanging on the horizon.

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Road to recovery

No nation in the world could have wished more for a rewrite of last week’s events than India when its financial capital, the city of dreams, was brought to its knees by a handful of terrorists driven by a methodical irrationality to inflict the greatest harm on the innocent. By the weekend, the drama at the two hotels and a building complex was over and the agony of the death count had begun.
As a new month begins, India has to travel the road to healing itself when its citizens will have to reckon with their psyche, traumatised by death and destruction. That will not be easy but it will be accomplished because the country has a long history of self-recovery by an assertion of its essential truths — tolerance, the willingness to live and let live. But it will also have to reckon with the effects of the horror on its economy that has already taken some beating from the trauma of the Wall Street crash. In the coming months, the two shocks, one financial and the other more horrifically physical, will blend in a potent mix: India is liable to be perceived as weak and vulnerable, an unstable island of declining prosperity racked by violent storms. Yet the nation must stay the course; Indians have built a vibrant economy on their skills and capital just as they have built a society of a million tongues speaking one language; they must not stop or withdraw into a shell. Despite the slowdown the Gross Domestic Product numbers indicate, the economic fundamentals are strong. Despite the wanton attacks on their self-esteem, Indians must aggressively believe in the expansion of their capital and in the expansiveness of their tolerance.
Policymakers have to lead from the front. On Sunday a somnolent government awoke to the sound of the nation’s frightened rage to change guard at the Home Ministry and promise long overdue internal security systems. With Mr Chidambaram at Home and the North Block under the PM’s stewardship, some innovative policy play can be expected. Setting aside rhetoric, policy players must in these traumatic times, engage seriously in contra-cyclical expenditure so that every rupee spent — productively, let it be emphasised — will morph into someone’s income, thereby setting the economy on the road to its former expansionary levels. Time is running out for Dr Manmohan Singh’s team but in the next three months or so, it has to set in motion those changes that the next government will be able to carry forward to make this nation safer and more productive.

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Mumbai terror attacks: Economy braces for short-term shocks

The terror attacks that rocked India's financial capital may depress stocks, slow new investment, but are unlikely to inflict long-term damage on the nation's economy.The Confederation of Indian Industry believes that the attacks in Mumbai will not have a long-term impact on Indian business and the Indian economy but as CII President K.V. Kamath, points out, the attack highlights the threat to the institutions of business that are an integral part of India's growth and its relationship with the world.Though the terrorist attacks are targeted at the commercial capital of the country with an objective of disrupting the economy as law and order is an important determinant in any investor's decision. The attacks are likely to register a small and extremely short term blip on the economic radar of the country. According to L.K. Malhotra, President, PHD Chamber, such isolated incidents do not adversely affect the sentiment except in the very short-term. The attacks will affect adversely the capital market sentiment, tourist inflows, etc. in the extremely short term and all these will bounce back within a few days and it will be business as usual.The Indian economy has been doing well in recent years and is one of the top performing economies in the world. No doubt, on account of the global financial crisis, the Indian economy is currently feeling a strain which may get accentuated in the coming months and needs to be dealt with urgently in the economic arena by the economic policy makers of the nation.

Capital market analysts feel that short-term postponement of people's investment plans and a rethink by people on relocating to Mumbai is a possibility. As foreign tourists were held captive in top hotels, there might be a downgrade on the big and reputed names in the hotel industry.The real fear dawning now is that the attacks would impact India's stature as an investment destination. As it is the corporates are finding it tough to raise money through external commercial borrowings. However, experts while admitting that people would be scared, rule out companies considering a hasty exit.A Merrill Lynch analyst points out that foreigners understand Indian economy and India is a good place to invest in during crisis.

However, there are other economic implications of the attack spinning out from bilateral trade ties between India and Pakistan. With Pakistan militants reportedly behind the attacks, a proposed movement on the removal of the ban on FDI from Pakistan to India and vice versa looks likely to be put on the backburner. At stake is also the lack of telecom connectivity between the two countries which is to be addressed by the optical fibre link becoming fully functional by 2009.Moreover, both India and Pakistan had allowed two banks from their countries to set up branches in either country. While the basic decisions in this regard have been taken, the implementation can only kick off once the banks send an application to their respective central bank for the go-ahead that may suffer.Onkar S Kanwar, Co-President, India-Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Past President, FICCI, had underscored the need for liberalising the visa regime between the two countries by issuing of non-police reporting and long term multiple entry business visas. Few see that happening now.

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Because There is a Cause

Not everybody is interested in money (Did you read the word ‘not?’). There are some people who have different motivations. Here is an example.
Hidden from the world, working secretly and steadily for a long time, just a few weeks ago, Jim Brown discovered a medicine that completely cures cancer. Because of the advancement of science and technology, he was quite sure that there would be other persons (and companies) very close to the same discovery. He did not want this new drug to be a block-buster, money-spinner drug for a mega-bucks multi-national company. He did not like the idea that someone would patent such a drug and deprive the society of easy access to the medicine. He was in an anti-patent state of mind for this particular drug. It may sound paradoxical, but now he intends to file for a patent.
Not everybody is interested in money (Did you read the word ‘not?’). There are some people who have different motivations. Here is an example.

Hidden from the world, working secretly and steadily for a long time, just a few weeks ago, Jim Brown discovered a medicine that completely cures cancer. Because of the advancement of science and technology, he was quite sure that there would be other persons (and companies) very close to the same discovery. He did not want this new drug to be a block-buster, money-spinner drug for a mega-bucks multi-national company. He did not like the idea that someone would patent such a drug and deprive the society of easy access to the medicine. He was in an anti-patent state of mind for this particular drug. It may sound paradoxical, but now he intends to file for a patent.
Anti-climax? patent acquired to stop others from patenting the invention with the intention to serve social cause is termed as ‘social patenting.’ The idea is catching on because several big companies want to take visible actions that showcase their social responsibility. In fact, a company which obtains several patents to make profits, would also acquire “social patents” to win over (or at least, confuse) the anti-patent lobby.

The process to obtain such patents is almost the same, but the implementation phase is different. As for Mr. Jim Brown, that’s not his real name and he is not even a real person. However, we hope there are several Jim Browns working on their inventions on this day and at this hour, so that society would benefit sooner or later. In fact, everyone should patent their inventions. Because inventions are inventions, regardless of the intentions.

CopyleftA copyleft is to copyright, what a social patent is to a patent. If you apply the principles and motivations of the social patents to a copyright, it will be termed as copyleft. In other words, the copyright material is developed and used for social benefit, but the rules of copyrights are used against profiteers. This can also be used by companies to highlight their actions on social responsibility. The process for obtaining a copyright is the same, but the different implementation will make it a copyleft.Again, everyone’s creative output, and fruit of labor must be protected by a copyright, regardless of the ‘direction’ he would choose to go subsequently.

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Economy Not So Bleak, But Needs Balancing Act

The economy seems to be looking up since last week with some positive gains for stock markets and moderation in inflation, giving the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) sufficient confidence to take more steps to infuse liquidity into the system.The cuts in the cash reserve ratio and the statutory liquidity ratio are expected to bring about an additional Rs.1,200 billion (around $25 billion) into the market. Hopefully this should pep up commercial banks to reduce lending rates and give a spur to demand growth.In addition, the rupee seems to have begun stabilizing against the dollar after having crashed precipitously in the last few weeks. It remains under the Rs.50 barrier though foreign exchange analysts had been expecting it to breach this level and reach Rs.52 or Rs.53 to the US dollar. In other words, the bad news on the economy has finally stemmed its flow, at least for the time being.But the outlook is certainly not rosy since the impact of events in the global economy will continue to impinge on this country. First, of course, is the question of exports. The rupee depreciation against the dollar will make Indian goods more competitive in world markets, but the more pressing question is whether order books will shrink as a result of the global meltdown?
Reports have already come in about loss of jobs in major handicrafts exports centers like Moradabad, but this has been a result of recessionary trends in global markets which had set in about three or four months ago. It has not occurred due to the worldwide financial crisis. In any case, the fact is that the US, the world's biggest market, has gone into a recession and so export-oriented industries are likely to face an uphill task to find buyers. Exporters are also pointing out that the impact of the rupee's fall will be felt only in the next few months as the depreciation has only taken place in the last few weeks.Second, the country's economic growth has slowed down even though it still remains high by international standards. A dip from the expected 9-9.5 percent to around seven percent is now generally being expected for the current fiscal, 2008-09. This is relatively high compared to the rest of the world. But for India, it means that the economy will not grow as fast as expected, which also means that the benefits of growth will trickle down even more slowly to the poorest of the poor. Slower growth will hit employment and that is probably going to become a big worry especially for a government that is due to face general elections within the next eight or nine months. As has already been pointed out, jobs will be lost in export-oriented industries. This covers a wide range - from the artisans in the handicrafts sectors to IT professionals in the software industry. In addition, the growth of BPOs which had emerged as huge job centers in both big and small cities is going to slow down as these once again are linked to corporates in the US and Europe.Third, inflation is still at double digit levels. It may have come down but it still remains at an extremely high level of around 11 percent. This is causing hardship to the common man and could well spell the death knell for the present UPA government. The cost of basic food staples has risen steeply and this has more of an impact on the millions below the poverty line in this country than any swings in the stock markets. In fact, it was clearly this worry that made the government and the RBI move slowly when the initial impact of the global crisis made itself felt in the stock markets and on the banking system. And it was no doubt the moderation in inflation levels that gave sufficient confidence to the RBI to move ahead boldly in the last few days to carry out further cuts in both cash reserve ratio (CRR) and statutory liquidity ratio (SLR). The consequence of this should be a cut in retail lending rates by the banks, but even for this the government will have to give a gentle push as banks are clearly not in a mood to take any measures in this direction.As for the solutions, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has wisely decided to focus on infrastructure development which would yield jobs as well as improve the country's investment climate. This is an area where government spending will have to play a bigger role as private corporates are likely to shy away from big investments at this stage.Tackling inflation, however, will depend largely on the global scenario as prices had begun their upward spiral along with the rise in world crude oil prices. These have now fallen drastically, despite the efforts of the global oil exporting cartel to shore up prices by cutting output. The dip in fuel prices should help keep inflation in check.If, as is being speculated, the government cuts fuel prices, there should be an even greater relief for the consumer. Of course the rationale for the price cut is more political than economic as Indian Oil Corp (IOC), the country's largest cooking and transport fuel retailer has actually run into huge losses for the last quarter of the current fiscal owing to prices of oil products having been kept at artificially low levels.The economic scenario is no longer looking as bleak as it was about two weeks ago. But the government has to do a delicate balancing act to ensure that growth does not suffer while keeping inflation under check and trying to push up employment. Surely a tough job for a government that has to face elections in the not too distant future

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Financial meltdown and media's role

When media gives more space to stock market crash, they give wrong message to the readers. As a result of such news, investors will sell their stocks at a loss and will also cancel their trading account. In the end, the markets would sink further..SENSATIONALISM IS the keyword of Indian media nowadays. Whether it is of celebrities or of aam admi, media will try their best to sensationalise the news to increase their readership or viewership.
But what is news after all? Today news is something, which provokes readership or viewership. In another word, we can say that in India news is like a Bollywood masala. When you add more and more recipe to it, the visibility becomes higher. In my opinion, these types of news only create panic among people. Panicked people take decisions out of their heart and not out of their mind.Recent financial crisis and the role of media Presently, the world is hit hard by recession. Stock markets across the world have plunged to all time low. Investors and traders are selling their stocks on loss. However, I believe that the situation has been created by the media to some extent. If we take the case of newspapers, they need huge headlines on a daily basis. Be it a brutal murder or an explosion or a stock market crash, they treat every story with the same sensationalism. And in the process, the actual truth gets lost.

When the media gives more space to stock market crash and less space to curative measures, they give wrong message to the readers. Readers are investors too and as a result of such news they will sell their stocks at a loss and will also cancel their trading account. As a result, stock markets would sink further. A balanced approach is needed when media deals with such highly sensitive news. Panic creation is not the duty of the media. Market sentiment is highly sensitive and it will react to every fraction of news event. As markets are the mirrors of the financial situation of the country, the media should be more careful while dealing with financial news. (There is a direct relation between the markets and the media, when the market is up, media will get more ad revenue and when the market is down their ad revenue would also go down).
Regional media The role of regional media in the current situation is also very crucial. As we have seen in the recent past, when anything related to market happens they give bold headlines saying that it is over and they would write baseless editorials about the situation. Actually, they are not trying to understand the real situation. They have only superficial knowledge about the financial situation so they write out of rumours.
Actually, such news would not effect experienced investors but it would hit the new investors hard. So the regional newspapers should also give a balanced approach to such news.

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A new Star

India's largest car maker Maruti Suzuki is betting big on its new offering – A-Star. This made in India car may just add some excitement to Maruti’s falling sales. In the last few months, Maruti's small car sales haven’t been good. In fact, the real growth drivers have been in the A-3 segment - with the A-Star, Maruti is hoping to take on Hyundai i10.For India's largest car maker Maruti Suzuki India, sales of the Maruti 800 fell by about 18% in the April to October period. Even the A2 segment which has cars like the Alto, Zen and WagonR saw a mere 2.5% growth. The real growth drivers have been SX4, DZire and Swift. This segment saw a growth of 37% in the same period. Maruti A-Star is the fifth global model from Maruti Suzuki to be launched in less than 40 months. The car has an all new 3 cylinder, 1 litre K series engine that gives a power of 67 hp. That is more than Zen and Wagon R. A-Star claims to give an average of 19.6 km per litre. The car comes in three variants and the base version has both power steering and AC unlike Hyundai i10 whose base version does not have power steering. There’s nothing very extraordinary and out of the world about the interiors if you compare it with i10 but what's disappointing is that it’s more cramped than before.

A-Star will be made in 200 variants and exported to 150 countries across Europe, the Middle East, Latin America, Asia, Australia, and Africa. It will be exported under the name of Suzuki Alto and Suzuki Celerio. Nissan also plans to market the same car under the name Nissan Pixo in Middle East and African markets. A-Star will also contribute to half of Maruti Suzuki's overall export target of 2 lakh units by 2011-12.

Dimensions and Weights
Overall Length03580 (mm)
Overall Width01680 (mm)
Overall Height01400 (mm

Capacities
Seating Capacity
5 (person)
Fuel Tank Capacity-35 (liter)
No Of Doors-5

Engine
Displacement-1000 (cc)
Fuel Type-Petrol
Fuel System-MPFi
Steering
Steering Type-Reck & Pinion
Power Assisted-Standard
Brakes
Brake Type-
Front Brakes-Discs

Rear Brakes-Drums
Wheels and Tyres
Wheel Type-Alloy
Wheel Size-17 inch
Tyres-205/45 R17

Price Rs 270,00/-, ex-show room Delhi (VXi Model)

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Recessionary trends: Need for pragmatism

Resumption of high industrial growth and a decline in inflation can be achieved by India without extreme measures.
With exports declining and industrial growth likely to become negative, India is in imminent danger of plunging into a recession. But unlike the rich nations, and unlike China, a recession, or even a severe slowdown, is not unavoidable. The government has the option of making the present slowdown a short-lived one. But today it is doing everything it can to make sure that this will not happen. In the last seven weeks the Indian financial system has faced an unprecedented crisis of liquidity. But its origins lie 21 months earlier when the Reserve Bank began relentlessly, to raise the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) — the proportion of deposits that banks are obliged to keep with the Reserve Bank — and other associated borrowing rates in order to contain what it called ‘inflationary expectations’. This tight money policy had already pushed interest rates sky high and brought spending on real estate and consumer durables down steeply. When share prices also began to fall from January this year, Indian investors postponed their investment plans. A study just released by Credit Suisse estimates that Rs 916,000 crore ($190 billion dollars) worth of investment had been postponed by as much as a year and a half even before the global meltdown began.

As the meltdown began, and liquidity disappeared from the global financial system, foreign portfolio investors and hedge funds began to pull their money out of India at the rate of a billion dollars a day. The resulting crash in share prices caused Indian investors to panic. The demand for cash became an avalanche. Inevitably a few mutual funds were forced to defer repayment to their investors. This added to the panic.If the financial market had seized up the industrial slowdown that had already set in, it would have turned, within days, into a crash. The crisis therefore galvanised the RBI into lowering the CRR by a full 2.5 per cent to 6.5 per cent, and into creating an additional Rs 45,000 crore of borrowing facilities for the cash strapped banks. In all it released Rs 145,000 crore into the market but within a fortnight, as October turned into November, it became apparent that this was not going to be enough. The signal that market conditions had not eased sufficiently came from several directions. After pulling out of equity-based mutual funds, investors began to pull out of debt-linked, and therefore far safer, Fixed Maturity Plan investments as well. The need for cash to meet these demands tightened liquidity conditions in the market once more. The most telling indicator of distress was the attempt by companies that had invested in real estate to sell their unused land in order to raise cash. The fact that they were prepare to sell off their most precious assets for a song showed the dire straits that they were in. Most importantly, interest rates did not budge. These multiple indicators of distress should have prompted the government to lower the CRR again, at least to the five per cent where it had been in December 2006. But it was here that its paranoid fear of inflation surfaced again. Within days of lowering the CRR by 2.5 per cent, it pushed it back up again by half a percent. But this was only the beginning. Its response to the other signs of distress was uniformly the same: a sudden abandonment of the market economy in favour of a return to the Command Economy.Thus public sector companies were told not to shop around for high interest rates and to park their funds in the nationalised banks. The Foreign Investment Promotion Board hastily “clarified” that foreign and Joint venture firms would not be allowed to put their surplus land on the market. The penalty to investors for exiting prematurely from the Fixed Maturity Plans was sharply raised. And lastly, the public sector banks were told to bring down their PLRs to 11.5 per cent , never mind their cost of borrowing. It apparently did not occur to the government that times had changed and few bank managers, even in the public sector, would pay heed to these directives. It also did not occur to it that foreign investors would read into this sudden return to the bad old days a lack of respect for contracts and think twice before returning to India. The one remedy that it was determined not to try out was to increase the supply of money in the economy, for fear that it just might, somehow, prevent inflation from dying out.The pity of it is that India can have both a resumption of high industrial growth and a decline in inflation without having to adopt any of the extreme measures that China or the US are contemplating. The second bumper harvest in a row is within weeks of arriving in the market. As the late 90s showed, this is bound to lead to a sharp increase in rural sales. And the first of three years of salary and pension increases to central and state governments has just begun. As happened in 1998-2000, the bulk of this money will go into consumer durables. All Delhi has to do is loosen the monetary reigns and allow industry to respond.

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The Great Global slow down

vignette reflected in mirrors across the country. Yet a faint mixture of dots, a dull image that is bloodied by the day as a ghoulish dance of economic destruction sweeps through the economy.
Every morning urban India flips open the papers to follow the grisly tale of job losses in packaged daily episodes. People across the economic spectrum now know someone who has lost or could lose their job.
The job shredders are from the marquee of the corporate world. Motorola, Goldman Sachs, American Express, Merrill Lynch, Reliance Retail, Jindal Steel, real estate major DLF, L&T Infotech, Kingfisher Airlines, Jet Airways… the pattern is similar. A rumour, an SMS followed by a speculative report that is eventually confirmed by the company.The rumours are further fuelled by an unending stream of bad news. Barring the fall in crude oil prices to below $57 per barrel, there has hardly been any good news. In fact, all macroeconomic indicators show a marked deterioration. Industrial output for the first six months of this fiscal, as measured by Index of Industrial Production (IIP), stood at 4.9 per cent compared to 9.5 per cent a year ago and manufacturing, which accounts for 80 per cent of the index, grew by 4.8 per cent in September, from 7.4 per cent a year ago. Exports for October dipped by 15 per cent and excise collections dropped by 8.7 per cent. The automobile sector, already battered by the domestic slowdown, reported negative growth across segments for October vis-à-vis the previous year with goods carriers— the barometer for cross-country movement of goods—performing the worst.This question reminds me the Darwin's theory of the survival of the fittest. It is not only the Indian job market, but the market around the world has been affected. You should not only be the fittest, but the fastest and the smartest to weather the financial storm with a sense of hope and optimism. How truly Barack Obama said in his victory speech, "Yes we can

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Effect of American recession on students

This recession has adversely affected the life of students as this has led to the decrease in employment opportunities available for them. The companies have started cutting salaries and the jobs of their staff..
AMERICA THE so called developed country of the world is now responsible for the world’s recession. It has caused trauma to the entire world that will now take years to correct itself. The sub prime crisis that is the decrease in the prices of land was observed in the month of August 2007.And slowly it started affecting different countries economies which has led to the deceleration of the GDP of various countries. All this resulted in the bankruptcy of the biggest banks in the world and the fall of the European and World stock markets. This recession has adversely affected the life of students as this has led to the decrease in employment opportunities available for them. The companies have started cutting salaries and the jobs of their staff. As a very evident example we have Kingfisher which has cut the salary of its staff by a whopping 90 percent. This has worsened the situation and left a very large part of the work force without jobs. The fallout in the global banking and financial sector has left India’s premier B-schools with very few options. The unfolding credit meltdown, the demise of Lehman brothers and the declined status of i-banking stalwarts has left top IIM’s with fewer opportunities for its students to choose from. Earlier the students had whopping campus placements but now they are denied jobs even after completing their assignments. The turmoil that the American markets are going through has made a very bad impact on the economy of India as well. The Corporate sector, Aviation Industry, Hospitality Industry and the Banking sector are all witnessing bad times as a result of this and so they are cutting on variable costs and the sufferers are the students.

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Recession Outsourced

THE IMPENDING threat of recession brings in a lot of uncertainty into global markets. Every decision is weighed down by cost factors. Every major move by the company is under close scrutiny by economic hawks. The markets are waiting to see you buckle under pressure. During such times of economic chaos, the light at the end of the tunnel exists for Corporations in the form of Outsourcing. Businesses long figured it out that, as long as they keep the focus on their core business, they can siphon off the resource intensive allied business processes to low cost centers across the globe. Over the years, the outsourcing industry has grown by leaps and bounds and has been a major catalyst in the process of globalisation. More and more companies from US and Europe have been outsourcing to low cost centres like India, China, Philippines, Romania, etc. The driving factor behind outsourcing has been cost benefits and during times of economic turbulence this strategy becomes more essential.According to an article on one of the Industry Analyst sites ’Tekrati’, Outsourcing has become more or less ’recession-proof’. In other words, a recessive market does not seem to affect outsourcing. In fact, it has been observed that outsourcing is an effective tool in the arsenal of the corporations to deal with the economic crunch. A smart outsourcing strategy can actually help a company remain competitive and survive the lean period better than other companies who refuse to adopt this method. This theory seems to have some substance, since in such a chaotic market, IT outsourcing giants such as Wipro, Infosys, TCS and other many BPO firms have posted profits in Q4.

Small and medium businesses also look forward to utilise outsourcing effectively to offset their costs of operations too. Many leading online marketplaces offer these companies a platform to outsource their work to willing service providers from low cost centers across the globe. This enables them to remain competitive and sustain operations through a recession.
These online global marketplaces bring talent within the reach of small and medium enterprises at reasonable costs thus saving them lots of money. In all probability, sites such as Lime Exchange will find a surge in the number of projects being posted everyday on their boards. This surge can be traced back to the economic crisis where critical work needs to be executed without compromise on quality and productivity at relatively lower costs. Just like the TCS, Genpact and Convergys of the world, online marketplaces such as Guru, Elance, Lime Exchange, etc may also witness an increase in their profits because of their services as an indispensable partner who helps brave the economic storm. It is heartening to see the outsourcing giants and the online marketplaces playing a crucial role during times of recession by helping companies and families alike to survive. Competitive companies mean lesser overheads and therefore lesser layoffs. It can be truly said without any doubt that this time around we may found a solution to deal with recession ’Just outsource it’

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Inflation

Inflation-watch has been a national pastime for sometime now, the recent south-bound figures being one bright spot among other gloomy statistics.
But the news was never as good as on Thursday, thanks to lower industrial oil, food and commodity prices. Inflation at 8.98 per cent is the lowest in five months, below the 10.28 per cent median forecast. The wisdom of the government's shift away from inflation-targeting to growth and credit management need no longer be disputed, though for some time the RBI didn't appear to agree, as reflected in its feet-dragging on a second round of rate cuts. The rate cuts came eventually, as did the prime minister's categorical statement that sustaining India's growth momentum is priority number one. Across Asia, dropping oil and commodity prices have eased inflation. However, there's a flip side, which is that deflationary pressures could act up. To some extent, inflationary slump reflects contraction in consumer spending. Spending by businesses and consumers in India needed shoring up through faster pumping of liquidity into the system than we have seen. We must now keep our eye on the ball of boosting growth by stimulating demand. Add the glad tidings on inflation to those on global oil prices hitting a 22-month low of less than $55 a barrel, and the government's hands are doubly freed for people-friendly policymaking. Fuel prices were hiked in June, when the Indian crude basket stood at $129 a barrel. With dipping prices since then, the oil ministry has kept changing the benchmark at which loss-making oil PSUs would purportedly break even. More recently, the PM himself said no to price cuts, ostensibly because state-run oil marketing firms are still bleeding from underpricing of products. Some political parties have countered that officialese, claiming that oil PSUs have made profits in recent times. Clarity on the issue rather than bald statements by government representatives is required. Perceived lack of transparency will fuel political controversy, avoidable at a time the focus should be on the economy. The goalposts of economic management, blurred by the global financial crisis, must keep shifting. Tomorrow, there may be a good case for allowing global crude prices to determine the cost of fuel domestically. But today, there's an even better case for slashing prices. Propping demand is the need of the hour, as the PM himself admits. One way is via further rate cuts to make credit affordable and liquidity available to consumers and businesses, more so since many banks still prefer parking money than lending. The other is by a fuel price cut. The timing's good, given the twin spurs of low crude prices and single-digit inflation.

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US Economic Meltdown - Part 4 Preventions

Three important truths must never be forgotten.
All governments lie
All governments debase their national currency
All political leaders promulgate policies to perpetuate their power

The lies of the current UPA government of India regarding the civilian nuclear deal and the changing lies of the current US president regarding the elective preemptive Iraq war are perfect examples. The Indian Constitution unfortunately has no clause for ratification of treaties by parliament. The US Constitution was framed by a wiser Madison who foresaw the benefits of war for the president and thus gave the power to the Congress which over the last hundred years has mostly been composed of rubber stamping morons and sycophants without integrity, honesty or intelligence.
“War is in fact the true nurse of executive aggrandizement. In war, a physical force is to be created; and it is the executive will, which is to direct it. In war, the public treasures are to be unlocked; and it is the executive hand which is to dispense them. In war, the honors and emoluments of office are to be multiplied; and it is the executive patronage under which they are to be enjoyed. It is in war, finally, that laurels are to be gathered, and it is the executive brow they are to encircle.’‘
Thus spake and wrote Madison, but in the hope of adding Canada to the Union while the British were occupied with the threat of Napoleon of France, he went to war in 1812 with disastrous consequences.There is little hope of America having a decent and responsible Congress or President, so like Plato’s draconian prescription for “The Guardians”, the people of the US need to pass a national referendum by which, those presidents and Congress who authorize an elective, unprovoked, preemptive and offensive war must immediately go for active combat duty on the front line as soon as the war starts, instead of sending the children of the common or poor people to become cannon fodder. A second referendum needed to pass is that the salaries of all elected officials be decreased every year by the rate of inflation and omitted altogether including their perks, privileges and pension benefits, every year that the budget is in a deficit. The leaders with all their cries of patriotism should loudly proclaim that they regret that they have but one life and one salary to offer in the service of their nation. Their failure to do so would make the truth obvious that patriotism is the last refuge of scoundrels.Let me illustrate why the above are essential. A foolish Bush by his burning desire for war has raised the price of oil from $25 to $110 thus raising our oil import bill to nearly 500 billion dollars which go to some OPEC members who are not our friends and may even be financing terrorists. The war, according to Nobel Prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz, will cost us an additional three trillion dollars. As I predicted in “Federal Reserve has a Sophie’s Choice” and my previous part 3 of this article, Bernanke like Greenspan has flooded the markets with money, shunned transparency and used his position to buy junk mortgage bonds to keep the crooked banks afloat and on Friday gave a non-recourse (not required to be repaid) loan to JP Morgan Chase Bank to pass the money on to Bear Stearns to rescue it. Bear Stearns was one of the offending culprits that securitized, packaged and sold this weapon of mass destruction to other banks, insurance companies, pension funds and individuals blinded by greed and ignorance. The securities were created by duping naive, ignorant people desperate to own a home. One might as well give the Nobel Prize for Medicine to Typhoid Mary who began an epidemic of typhoid in America a century or so ago.The facile argument used is that the collapse of Bear Stearns would be contagious and other big avaricious institutions with highly leveraged bets would be sucked in to the whirlpool of counter-party credit default risk, leading to a cascade of defaults. Nobody mentions the fact that lack of due diligence by the rating agencies (Moddy’s, S&P, Fitch etc.), unthinking greed and absence of caution and prudence by the mono-line insurers (MBIA, Ambac, FGIC etc.) and absent supervision and regulation by the Fed, Bank examiners etc. led to the burgeoning 500+ trillion dollar unregulated derivative market that will ruin the US economy. Greenspan encouraged irresponsible behavior by consumers by recommending the use of adjustable rate mortgages, without prohibiting the institutions from luring home buyers with teaser ARM rates that jumped exponentially on resetting in a year or two. The gullible sub-prime borrowers never read the fine print and the Fed’s job is only to protect the big boys, not common folk. No such grand plan has been put into effect for the payment delinquent home buyers. The taxpayer will foot the bill just like in the S&L debacle of the Reagan era and the institutions will do their mea culpa like Reagan, by saying “mistakes were made”, but we are not responsible.History and geography bear witness to governments’ debasement of currency. The Roman emperors reduced the gold and silver content of their coins and replaced them with lead. The US government and the Fed are sinking the dollar by deficits and making the dollar a fiat currency. From Argentina to Zimbabwe hyperinflation devalued the national currency. One needed billions of Reichsmarks to buy a pack of cigarettes in Weimar Germany. The lust for bigger kingdoms of tyrants and CEOs leads to economically destructive wars and takeovers, and the lust for re-election to power in democracies leads to earmarks, COLA increases in Social Security and deficit spending to please voters. They eventually lead to national ruin.Look at the nation destroying policies of puppet Manmohan Singh and his fiscally irresponsible Finance Minister Chidambaram. To avoid losing in state elections, the central government did not raise the price of gasoline, continued the cooking gas subsidy causing severe losses to PSEs (to be subsidized from the national exchequer), started a rural employment program laden with corruption to enrich crooked and corrupt local party leaders and bureaucrats and caused heavy losses to nationalized banks by forgiving farmer loans. This last bribe for votes will be ineffective as most poor farmers do not qualify for bank loans and borrow from moneylenders at exorbitant rates. They will not be saved and nor will the US sub-prime borrowers. The profligate deficit spending increases the national debt, a burden to be borne by future generations. It is this same malfeasance that allows Bernanke and Blunder Bush to make whole the fat cats who finance the latter’s election and the political parties, while leaving a staggering burden on future generations. The previous nation destroyer Greenspan now travels from state to state and country to country giving speeches at I don’t know how many thousands of bucks a speech and gets handsome advances for his memoirs like Bush Sr., Clintons (Bill & Hillary)The life of politicians is like the passage of food through the human alimentary canal. No matter how appealing to taste, smell and vision, the food maybe at the beginning prior to intake and passage (winning elected office), politicians ultimately (after winning elected office) become visually disgusting, foul smelling waste of little use and possibly great hazard. At best they can only be used as fertilizer and that also after appropriate treatment, so as not to be a threat to public health.

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