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| September 29, 2008 | | Hobson's choice for the United States
The entire global financial system is going through a process of 'de-leveraging'.
Semi-conductor projects galore
The Indian semi-conductor industry lobbied hard and eventually obtained an elaborate package of incentives from the government to enable India to secure a foothold in the global semi-conductor play.
Of banking reforms and growth
Clearly, Indian banks', and Indian importers' and exporters' recourse to short-term credit is getting squeezed. It seems that many of such credits are not being rolled over. (There was a report last Monday that Indian banks are using buy-sell swaps to fund their overseas branches.)
2G spectrum: What's $10-15 bn between friends?
So far, most of those horrified by the dramatic evidence that surfaced last week of Telecom Minister A Raja's largesse on 2G spectrum costing the nation $10bn (that on 3G will probably cost another $5bn) have comforted themselves with one thought: maybe the Telecom Dispute Settlement and Appellate Tribunal, which is hearing the case, will conclude the policy changes were illegal and smacked of favouritism.
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| September 27, 2008 | | Financial debacles: More to come?
Informed opinion in India has it, for instance, that those at the centre of the financial world knew a long time back that this was going to develop into a massive crisis, and deliberately underplayed the problem at every stage in the hope of keeping a lid on the issue.
Puja? It's now Durga Inc.
But the more significant development is that just as politicians took over pujas some years ago, NRIs, hi-tech and market managers are now moving in. I have nothing against them except that it would be sad if professional commerce overwhelms the spirit of collective youthful effort that traditionally sustained public pujas.
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| September 24, 2008 | | Global financial crisis: What's the right strategy?
The reality is that this is an unprecedented time, and the environment far murkier than usual. While a trading rally is clear, it is to my mind premature to make any statement beyond that. While it is probably dangerous to have very high cash levels, I find it difficult to be fully invested, either, says .
Global finance: Of crooks and buffoons
If the distinction between the regulator and the regulated gets blurred, such financial disasters are bound to happen.
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| September 23, 2008 | | Three weeks that changed US economy
The world of American finance has changed for good, and will not be the same again
How RIL gas find helps India's energy needs
Reliance's entry into the club of integrated energy majors, courtesy the start of oil production in the Krishna-Godavari basin, marks a strategic inflection point for India, as it comes some three decades after the last major find at Bombay High went into production.
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| September 20, 2008 | | US and a failed financial model
It isn't funny any more to say that the Indian financial regulatory system shines because of its innate caution.
How fragile is the US financial system?
Given rising default rates, the Fannie and Freddie bailout may not be enough - along with AIG and Lehman, it shows how fragile the financial system is.
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| September 19, 2008 | | Future bleak for Indian IT? Well, no
The domain competencies of Indian IT firms could see the employment of many professionals in a redesign of the financial systems in 2009.
Currency futures -- a step in the right direction
For the first time, an Indian entity can bet on the external value of the rupee, whether or not it has an underlying foreign exchange exposure. This, in fact, is capital account convertibility, and the RBI is to be congratulated on taking this step, says .
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| September 17, 2008 | | Fixing American finance
It is worth pondering Robert Shiller's perspective: imaginative, radical but not implausible.
Corporates shouldn't turn speculators
The rupee has given the economy a roller coaster ride for nearly two years now, relegating the stability of 2006 to a distant dream.
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| September 12, 2008 | | A practical end to the Air Deccan fairy tale
With oil reaching record highs and competition intensifying, Captain Gopinath's chances of keeping his carrier afloat would have been more than slim. Employee's jobs and salaries would have been at stake if he had not sold to Vijay Mallya, says .
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| September 11, 2008 | | From offshoring to onshoring
An article in the latest The McKinsey Quarterly argues that thanks to rising wages in countries like China and Malaysia (favoured offshoring locations for manufacturing) and high costs of oil, the advantages of offshoring are rapidly eroding.
India's democracy: A game of might
The Olympics proved China is a dictatorship that achieves, Singur shows why India remains a curio to the world, says .
Singur: Whose land is it anyway?
Even if any land made free is offered to farmers, that is unlikely to be enough for all the claimants
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| September 10, 2008 | | Why Indian Railways should pay more for diesel
Not just the Indian Railways, even the state transport companies too should be subjected to the same norm of paying a market-linked price for the diesel they use. If the state transport units take an annual hit of Rs 5,000 crore (Rs 50 billion) because of the higher diesel price, let the additional financial burden be borne by the different state governments which run those services. Why let the state-controlled oil marketing companies bear the burden all on their own?
The Toyota, Merc and Lexus of Bengali sweets
As I have got to know a wider world, I have often wondered how something as material as sweets can have such a strong, almost emotional, link with those who have grown up with it.
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| September 09, 2008 | | Can a finance secy be a good RBI governor?
The finance ministry's tenancy rights to the RBI governorship distort policy and regulation.
Nano or no Nano, Left will suffer
Now that the Left Front has cowed down to Mamata Banerjee's persistent pressure, it sends out a loud signal to their detractors -- unless you create nuisance in this state, you won't be heard.
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| September 05, 2008 | | Want to sell? Appeal to the heart
Be first in the category, own an attribute or the category, leverage heritage or how the product is made, specialise or use 'preference' to be a differentiator. Underlying each of these is a rational product story and they work. However, there could be a bigger opportunity in using emotions as a differentiator in India.
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| September 04, 2008 | | A question most CEOs dread
CEOs must answer this question from employees if change initiatives have to be successful.
Google aims for Microsoft's heart with new browser
It's the operating systems market that Google after. It's aiming to strike at the heart of Microsoft -- Windows. Google is aiming to eventually move the operating system online making an important move in cloud computing, says .
Er. . . just how poor is India?
The 'poor' also own TVs and two-wheelers and no discussion of poverty is complete unless it acknowledges this.
Political contradictions & industrialisation in Bengal
In a state in which the "demonstration effect" of industrialisation is thin on the ground it is not surprising that unemployed, educated youth and dispossessed farmers facing the insecurity of limited employment options flock to her support.
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| September 01, 2008 | | India's GST woes
It appears that things will crystallise on several aspects of the GST only by end 2008. This means that the country will only have a period of 15 months, from beginning 2009 to March 2010, to ensure that all the constitutional policy and legislative changes take place. It does seem increasingly a big challenge, says .
China: Painting the world red
One should of course not underestimate the US, its strength in research and innovation, its great universities, its ability to attract talented immigrants, etc. But will that be enough to face a resurgent China, determined to take its legitimate place in the sun, asks .
How poor are we actually?
The latest NCAER annual household survey, to use other data, points out that around 33 per cent of the bottom 40 per cent of households had a television set and another 12 per cent a two-wheeler in 2005 -- how they can all be poor is anyone's guess, says .
Financial markets: Time for a reality check?
Global liquidity has gone down a little. What seems to have tipped the balance is a sudden realisation in the markets that the rising cost of cash would hurt global growth. That, in turn, would impinge on the demand for commodities and high-yielding currencies, says .
Why the dollar will always be important
The dollar is a global benchmark and it is this dollar link that completes the economic cycle as assets interact with each other, says .
Has the Foreign Trade Policy achieved its objectives?
The boom in world trade has ensured that export has grown by over 20 per cent. Has the FTP contributed to the stellar growth in exports? T N Rajagopalan thinks it did.
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| August 30, 2008 | | Bandhs? Buddhadeb got it all wrong
India recognised the right to strike in its Industrial Disputes Act of 1947, but this law is confined to 'industries'. There was a time when the term was extended by the courts to mean even universities and hospitals, but more recently the Supreme Court held that government employees could not go on strike. The International Labour Organisation has some conventions on the subject.
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| August 28, 2008 | | Treat the farmer as a joint-entrepreneur
Every landholder who was forced out without gains with the State acting as the broker who pays less than what the project pays to the government, is like that of a person who loses his land to an irrigation project. The dam has come up on his land and he got not a chew for that but those downstream reap the harvest, year upon year. Now read industrial project for 'irrigation' and the perspective is clear
Industrial growth: The right start matters
With higher interest rates putting pressure on both the demand and supply sides, there is a lot of concern about whether industrial growth will pick up. On the demand side, fewer goods are demanded that depend on credit such as automobiles, consumer durable goods, and housing. This in turn affects the output of these industries, causing them to cut back on investment which slows down overall growth.
A market at the bottom of the pyramid?
Many national and international seminars have been conducted to highlight this hitherto undiscovered gold-mine. Any challenge to the business rationale for pursuing such a market is considered heretical and almost blasphemous.
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| August 25, 2008 | | Will Rangarajan's magic work?
He helped contain the policy of blindly financing large deficits by printing more money but this may not be enough to contain the current inflationary spiral.
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| August 22, 2008 | | The India-China paradigm is passe
One possible result of these global impulses by entrepreneurs in the world's two largest economies might be a change in the way the world does business.
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| August 16, 2008 | | Dial M for mobiles
Anytime you are in a bus taking you from the aircraft to or from the terminal, you learn -- whether you like it or not -- who is working on which deal, how much various properties on the market across the country cost, current office politics in Airtel, Wipro, Coke, KPMG and so on, and at times, even what's being cooked for dinner at someone's house that night.
Let's green the politics first
Why go in for green technologies if the political system conspires to ensure they're fat and inefficient?
Retail biz: What we have liked
You can always train a good person in whatever field that he chooses but an organisation can never imbibe a person with qualities like integrity, morality and ethics.
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| August 13, 2008 | | Oil at $75 a barrel?
Most think slowing US demand is behind the fall in crude prices but a fall in Chinese demand could trigger a far sharper decline.
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| August 12, 2008 | | At 61, why there is still hope for India
Elango and the people of Kuthampakkam in Tamil Nadu have demonstrated to us that it is we, the people, who have to be the instruments of change, else we will be consigned to the dustbin of history.
Big opportunity for the govt: Will it act?
With the Left's withdrawal of support, the government seems to have an opportunity.
The Star lesson on leadership
The Rs 1,600-odd crore (excluding income from joint ventures) Star India has been in dull form for over three years now. From an aggressive leader that protected every shift in rating points, it seems increasingly like a defender.
BSE's journey derailed again
The Bombay Stock Exchange's journey from being a brokers' club to becoming a professionally managed entity seems to have got derailed once again, with a spate of resignations in the past three months.
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| August 11, 2008 | | Inflation control no bar to growth
In short, if India Inc lives up to the expectations in the required measure of resilience, innovation, initiative, imagination and leadership, it can help harmonise the imperatives of growth with control of inflation.
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| August 09, 2008 | | RBI Policy: It's just pain, no gain
Monetary authorities should not practise ideology, especially since monetarist ideology has been made obsolete by globalisation and development.
The answer to India's infrastructure woes
Everyone is familiar with the fact that governments and developers have taken land prices so high that it makes it very difficult for ordinary working people to afford for themselves even a small flat. But it is those same high prices for land that help subsidise so many infrastructural projects, and indeed make them possible in the cities.
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| August 07, 2008 | | Less rain = less money in your pocket
Dry weather is a risk for rice, sugarcane, peas, beans and lentils and other key crops, which are an important source of protein in the vegetarian Indian diet. Peas, beans and lentils account for 0.6 per cent of the main inflation index, while sugar has a 3.6 per cent weight in the gauge. The annual inflation rate in India in the week ended July 19 was a little less than 12 per cent, the quickest in 13 years.
'Containing Inflation' - A myth
We need problem-solving, not confused rhetoric or misguided action
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| August 06, 2008 | | Don't cry for Doha
We live under the most liberal trade regime in history not because the WTO enforces it, but because important countries - rich and poor alike - find greater openness to be in their best interest.
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| August 02, 2008 | | Public vs pvt sector: Which service is better?
Let us take four examples, though, one each from telecoms, aviation, the media and banking, because these are the great success stories. Without exception, the service quality in each of them has plummeted.
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| August 01, 2008 | | The changing face of marketing
As we get more consumer-centric, there is a need to re-orient our view of marketing and business. It's no longer about waging wars but actually about forging relationships. This gains in ascendancy as you observe few other environmental changes taking place.
More bad news for the aviation sector
To the horror of many passengers, many airlines have also started imposing all kinds of charges never heard of before.
Agriculture & security: India's focus areas
Land acquisition? What's the solution
There are no quick-fix techno solutions here in which the real problems can be fobbed off for later. In this environmentalism, there is only one answer: changing the way we do business, with them and with their environment. It will demand we reduce our need and increase our efficiency for every inch of land we need, every tonne of mineral we dig and every drop of water we use.
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| July 31, 2008 | | Doha was designed to fail
It was always foolhardy to expect the US and the EU to want to genuinely open up at a time their economies are in deep trouble.
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| July 30, 2008 | | WTO flop show: Why it was right to say 'no'
For developing countries, the key to both food security and livelihood security is the ability to protect small and marginal farmers from unfair competition and the policy space within which they can develop an agricultural policy centered on small-farmers and the maximisation of employment growth.
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| July 28, 2008 | | Reforms: Left out of the way, can govt deliver?
A level of commitment is expected from the UPA to several policy measures promised in 2004.
The Left legacy
The Left parties' demands of 100 per cent funds being invested in government securities, an unrealistic guaranteed return, deployment of public sector employees as fund managers, refusal to shift to a defined contribution system and of course the standard opposition to FDI of 26 per cent do not offer any constructive solution.
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| July 22, 2008 | | Why price controls are bad
Price control is distortive and encourages consumption when it should be discouraged - oil prices being a case in point.
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| July 17, 2008 | | How to succeed in difficult times
Focusing on core (not only core in terms of operating sectors but also core consumers/customers, and markets) businesses and leveraging core strengths to tide over the tough times would not only prevent erosion of the strength of the business but also keep them in good shape to take advantage of the many opportunities that India will surely offer in the coming years.
Does core inflation really matter?
One feature that stands out is that there has not been much of a difference between general and core inflation in the Indian context
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| July 16, 2008 | | Of James Murdoch, Star and return of a heir
From a Harvard drop-out who set up his own music label, James Murdoch became a surprise potential successor to the News Corp throne. Till then only elder brother Lachlan had been in the reckoning. James went on to head BSkyB, one of UK's top pay TV brands.
Globalisation consensus? It is dead!
The old globalisation model is unsustainable. The world economy awaits its new Keynes.
Bull run for the buffalo
The launch of a genomics project will improve productivity of this multi-purpose domestic animal.
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| July 12, 2008 | | Mumbai the commercial capital? Well. . .
Track the new businesses being started up in the country, and if they are not in the tech sector, the chances are that they are located in Delhi/Gurgaon/Noida. The majority of FMCG companies other than Unilever are in the Delhi area: Nestle, Coke and Pepsi, Dabur, Gillette, GSK Consumer Brands, etc. The same is true of the newer consumer durables companies, like Samsung and LG.
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| July 09, 2008 | | How to control rising inflation
To control rising inflation, central banks need to orchestrate their monetary policy.
IPR: What India needs to do
What we need is some informed debate on what is India's best interest at this particular stage instead of going for a wholesale import of an American system that could prove ineffectual.
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| July 08, 2008 | | Oil at $135 -- enough is enough!
Oil is now in the $135 range. If this price holds for the next 12 months -- as the futures markets tell us -- the added burden will be a staggering $99 billion. Losses in 2008 could reach $6.1 billion. The situation is desperate and potentially more destructive for the industry than our recent crises -- SARS, terrorism and war -- combined.
Has Idea's time come?
A choppy beginning followed by flashes of good work. Strong pedigree, yet lagging behind peers. That could be actor Abhishek Bachchan or the mobile phone service he endorses, Idea Cellular. The analogy goes further. Just like Amitabh decided to step in and shore up his son's career, Idea's parent, AV Birla Group, has taken the cellular services provider by the scruff in a bid to make it one of the top three in the business.
Can RBI come up with exact inflation rates?
The Reserve Bank of India may soon be given the job of both collecting and processing inflation data.
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| July 07, 2008 | | Banking: Why India's different from the US
Making affordable financial services available to the un/under-served has been the cornerstone of the evolution underlying institutional development, product and policy innovation in India.
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| July 05, 2008 | | How poor are we? A reality check
It is of course true that a lot of low-income people can indeed afford mobile phones today, as handsets cost no more than Rs 700.
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| July 02, 2008 | | The myth about India's politicians
The reason for their silence is that the Ranbaxy deal has not hurt the interests of most sections of the voting community. Let alone farmers, even the urban voters are not bothered by the deal as it has no direct adverse impact on them.
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