Porul

End to Porul

2009-09-03T16:17:00.000+05:30

This blog has been move to the below one!!

http://hayekorder.blogspot.com/

Shankar Acharya trap

2009-05-01T10:22:00.003+05:30

DR SHANKAR ACHARYA, FORMER CHIEF ECONOMIC ADVISOR

The Business Line

Shankar Acharya trap

Learning to Live with Bloggers

2009-04-30T18:22:00.000+05:30

Salil Tripathi has a article on bloggers and media, it’s interesting.

Bimal Jalan on The idea of a Rs 1 lakh house

2009-04-30T17:58:00.001+05:30

Bimal Jalan on The idea of a Rs 1 lakh house

L K Advani Mantra: Physical and social, that is second to none

2009-04-30T15:22:00.001+05:30

BJP Prime Ministerial Candidate L K Advani says:

“India won swaraj in 1947, thanks to the struggles and sacrifices of crores of patriots. But, even after 50 years, we have not yet succeeded in transforming swaraj (self governance) into su-raj (good governance). By good governance I mean adherence to suraksha (security), samruddhi (prosperity) and shuchita (probity in public life).”
There is no better way of understanding and experiencing India than road travel. It was agonising for me to see, in large tracts of our country, the lack of the most basic necessities of economic growth and social progress.
However, every once in a while, I also saw symbols of development that radiated hope. For example, after travelling on excruciatingly bad roads for several weeks, my yatra suddenly encountered a beautifully laid highway, a 200-kilometre-long stretch from Sambhalpur to Rourkela in Orissa. Built and maintained by Larsen & Tourbo (I was struck by its corporate slogan “We make things that make India proud”), this was one of the first experiments of PPP in road construction in India. “

Thinking is Science and writing is Art

2009-04-30T14:52:00.001+05:30

Friend Sunil asks “Why are you limiting your blog to smallish commentaries on what others are thinking or writing? Looking forward to forms and structures of how you create your critique.”

There are two different things in his question which need to be understood properly. Sunil, it is not as simple as you may see it the “smallish commentaries on what others are thinking or writing?” if one wanted to understand the process of social science as an entity in a economy must try to understand two things one is how these “smallish commentaries” arises and at what situation. Most importantly, how it got formed his or her “thinking or writing?” what were their pushback’s to believe in some time and rubbish in another time but both are in his or her life time.

Secondly “to forms and structures of how you create your critique” is an important exercise of a persons mind as well as its relationship with the writers or thinkers mind. You can not simply ignore one and look for other one. It is something like this if the child wanted to make sense of any word or letter (mostly merely ‘told’) have to be sure that at what extant that child has thought through and in at what way.

So don’t ignore or underestimate any sort of opinions unless you are sure that he or she is making deliberately wrong and stupidly.

If you ignore today, tomorrow its role will be as like the present Indian communists who are terribly ruined people’s mind and still continues.

Who are responsible for that? It is the question of the leadership that has taken place in the fifties and later period India.

In this process the ruled socialists created a situation where people believed that there is no alternative for issues like poverty, hunger, unemployment, The State Education etc.

Now you look back and honestly think that who was responsible for “creating the great Indian socialist darkness”.

No more research is needs to answer the above question than the past fifteen or eighteen year period.

The housing boom and bust

2009-04-30T14:26:00.001+05:30

The housing boom and bust

Kalam's four Grids….

2009-04-30T14:25:00.001+05:30

Kalam's four Grids….

Hello, is anyone out there? I am saying some truth about THE BIG BLUNDER OF LEFT!

2009-04-27T16:56:00.002+05:30

Yes, Mr Shashi Tharoor says in a interview to The Economic Times.

“You have always been apolitical in your views. What made you join hands with the Indian National Congress?

In a parliamentary system, political parties matter. Parties decide who should form the government which, in turn, decides the course of the entire nation. When I was making early decisions (to enter politics), I looked for values and wondered how I could make a contribution towards liberalism and social democracy.

In the end, there was no doubt, it had to be Congress. There is very little scope in our system to stay independent and contest polls. Of the three national parties, the Left sadly is a prisoner of 19th century ideologies; it’s not a party to initiate progress and development…”

Swami’s Mantra….

2009-04-27T12:46:00.001+05:30

Swaminathan S. Anklesaria Aiyar writes in the Forbes that:

“Liberalization of foreign investment in banking and insurance will not make much headway, given the mess that financiers have made in the U.S. Small businesses may thwart the entry of foreign investment in retail. Yet, post-recession, economic liberalization should spread to finance and retail.
Two major dangers remain. Every political party is promising grandiose subsidies and spending sprees. Congress promises every poor family 25 kilos of grain per month at three rupees per kilo, while the BJP promises 35 kilos at two rupees per kilo. The fiscal deficit is already 11% of GDP, and will continue this high for at least two years. National debt is over 80% of GDP. This could crowd out private investment and remains a long-term issue.
The second big danger is Mayawati's demand for a job quota in the private sector for dalits and tribals, a form of reverse discrimination. Other parties may agree as a condition for her support. The Constitution guarantees job quotas for these two classes in government jobs. But quotas in the private sector could mean substandard manpower, seriously hitting India's competitiveness, especially in high-tech areas like computer software. Legal experts feel that the Supreme Court will strike down job quotas in the private sector as unconstitutional.
A minor danger is the return of wealth tax and capital gains tax on shares. This could hit the stock market. These measures are favored by the Left Front and Samajwadi Party, which might just dominate a Third Front government. Finance Ministry technocrats may manage to scotch such moves.
The race is wide open, and I estimate the chances of key candidates as follows.
Mayawati (BSP) 33% to 38%
Manmohan Singh (Congress) 28% to 33%
L.K.Advani (BJP) 20% to 28%
Others 20% to 28%
"Others" include Mulayam Singh Yadav (SP); Sharad Pawar (NCP); Laloo Yadav (RJD); Jayalalitha (AIADMK): Chandrababu Naidu (TDP): Navin Patnaik (BJD): Ram Vilas Paswan (LJP) and Nitish Kumar (JDU).”

We have already seen our libertarian Mr Sharad Joshi comments here.

Blind media….

2009-04-27T12:14:00.001+05:30

In the business of reporting news many misreporting happens in all kinds of media.

See today’s one in the rediff:

“In a surprise move, the 84-year-old Chief Minister drove to the memorial of late C N Annadurai early this morning and sat on a fast there demanding immediate ceasefire in the Sri Lankan army's offensive against the LTTE.
Pranab Mukherjee [Images] and AK Antony have been discussing this with their officials over phone. These two are busy in electioneering. Hence they may not be arriving before noon in Delhi. Doctors attending on DMK chief Minister Karunanidhi have expressed concerns over the health of 88-year-old politician.”

This is only one example, think of every reporting persons do the same in some or other day.

The news items are already skewed, now again misreported means what sort of services these people are doing for The Society?

Thanks to unelectable people

2009-04-25T11:58:00.001+05:30

Shortcut to India Parliament

Socialist India wasn’t interested in individual enterprise in a free market.

2009-04-25T11:55:00.001+05:30

Socialist India wasn’t interested in individual enterprise in a free market.

Thanks to “namesake of the model”

2009-04-25T10:50:00.002+05:30

www.lewrockwell.com

Tim Swanson writes in the lewrockwell.com

“It should be noted that there is nothing inherently wrong with attempting to mathematically model human behavior. However, what they and others like Prasanta Mahalanobis (namesake of the model) attempted to do was quantify human action using inherently incomplete equations — using false assumptions to fill in for a continually changing series of individual preferences (or in their case, risks/demand).
everything that policy makers – at every level – are doing is more of the same foolhardy economic planning that leads to lower productivity and more financial strain. But, before lamenting the details of any recent political escapades, another aspect should be brought into the fold.”

It is very easy to come out with an idea but to validate that idea…..

2009-04-24T17:52:00.002+05:30

Image: (Left to right) Sudha Murthy, N R Narayana Murthy, Nandan Nilekani and Rohini Nilekani, a journalist at Bombay magazine before their wedding, at a picnic near Bangalore in the early 1980s. | Photograph, courtesy: Infosys technologies and Rediff.

In the second part of his interview with Rediff Mr N R Narayana Murthy, chief mentor of Infosys Technologies says interesting and disappointing.

What do you think could be done to make higher education in India better?

To enhance the quality of our higher education, we can do five things:

One, enhance the autonomy of our higher education system;

Second, encourage them to collaborate with world-class institutions outside India, within India too, but most of them are outside India... ;

Third, bring in a sense of meritocracy in the selection of students and the appointment and promotion of faculty;

Fourth, create incentives for our faculty members to do more world-class research; and

Fifth, remove any licensing in the education system. We gave up most of industrial licensing in 1991. It is silly that we continue licensing of our educational institutions.

Talking about higher education... even the recommendations made to the Knowledge Commission have not been implemented? Why does this happen?

The Indian society is a society of ideas. It is a society that has revered talk. In this society, articulation is mistaken for accomplishment. We are quite satisfied with our voice, with our writings. This is not a society that is focussed on execution.

Frankly, the problem is due to our caste system and the dominance of Brahmins in our society for long period. The Brahminical system said my job is to think of the higher worlds. My job is to think of connecting you people with God. I don't want to do anything that has a relationship with the real world.

Now that is a problem that has played havoc with the Indian culture. So, here in this culture, if you do anything with your hands, it is considered less honourable that anything to do with your brain.

Here everybody wants to be an engineer, nobody wants to be a technician. So when a society does not value implementation, execution, what happens is you create more and more reports and nothing gets done.

For example, (Reliance Industries Chairman) Mr Mukesh Ambani and I gave two reports on how to improve the higher education system: one to (then prime minister) Mr Vajpayee and one to Dr Manmohan Singh.

Second, there has been the Knowledge Commission. Nothing has happened. Third, in 1998 I was a member of the IT Task Force -- which was headed by Mr Jaswant Singh -- and that task force submitted its report somewhere in 1999 0r 2000.

Nine years and I don't think even one suggestion has been implemented. And we made 108 suggestions! So that is why I am not a big fan of ideas in India.

My brother-in-law is a famous professor of physics at Caltech and he tells me it is very easy to come out with an idea. But to validate that idea he and his doctoral students will have to work hard for six months, one year... sometimes two years. That takes 20 hours of work each day for two years. So it is important to come out with new ideas, but it is even more important to execute them.

We are not a nation of doers; we are a nation which believes that our articulation is our accomplishment.

Was he a visionary politician?

2009-04-24T14:27:00.002+05:30

Image: Narayana Murthy with his just released book. | Photograph: Rajesh Karkera

In a interview with Rediff Mr Nagavara Ramarao Narayana Murthy, chief mentor of Infosys Technologies says:

Which politician has influenced you the most?

Jawaharlal Nehru. See, first of all Mahatma Gandhi... but he was not a politician, so we should not even bring him into the conversation.

But Jawaharlal Nehru was a visionary politician. He achieved so much in the first 12 years since the birth of the Republic of India. We built five steel plants, we built Bhakra Nangal dam, we built Damodar Valley Corporation, we had atomic energy establishment, Indian Institutes of Technology...you name it, Nehru did it.

He demonstrated that we in India can bring about extraordinary progress even through public sector, but what has happened is that after him successive governments somehow have condoned corruption, have condoned inefficiency, and have lost sight of focus of excellence in implementation.

That's the reason why you see delays in almost all projects. It's got nothing to do with people, with the country.

It's got everything to do with the leaders or the quality and vision of leaders in the country.

Chacha Manmohan Singh's Daman Singh words

2009-04-24T12:59:00.001+05:30

Daman Singh, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's second daughter, interview to the rediff said.

“My mother, my father, my dog Snoopy and I, all of us sit, and everybody except my dog reads the newspapers. My father reads some dozen papers in English and Urdu. He scans every single newspaper. He sometimes makes notes as well.
Asked about Dr Singh's single most important achievement, Daman Singh says, "I think my father has given a lot of dignity to our country. He has enhanced national dignity."

We all accept crooks in the subject of ‘politics’ but not in ‘science’

2009-04-23T19:10:00.001+05:30

V. Raghunathan asks some basic questions as a citizen of India but the relevant is very high both in terms of time and the future democracy is concerned.

“The abysmal attendance record of some of our celebrity parliamentarians—as measured by mere signing of the register and not by participation in the parliamentary proceedings—has been much in the news recently. Clearly, no attendance requirement applies to our representatives. Why?
Criminal background and behaviour, which may be unacceptable in students or employees in any decent school or organization, are perfectly acceptable for our parliamentarians. Why?
Our education minister does not have to be an educationist or the minister for urban planning an architect. Nor is it essential for a parliamentarian to be a degree holder in political science or have a record of public service. Why?
One would imagine that neither running of industries nor running of the state is a part-time job. How, then, do we expect industrialists such as Rahul Bajaj and Vijay Mallya to juggle their industrial empires with statecraft? Or a senior leader such as Sharad Pawar to juggle statecraft with cricket? Or a Govinda (incidentally, he did not attend a single parliamentary session in 2007) or a Jaya Prada to juggle their Bollywood careers with parliamentary sessions? But we have put them there as members of Parliament. Why?
While a 56-year-old colonel is too old to run his regiment, an octogenarian parliamentarian is not too old to run the country. Why?
Corporate governance is important, but not so country governance. Why?”

Elections: Little debate on national issues

2009-04-23T17:19:00.000+05:30

The Founder of Shetkari Sanghatana and Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha Mr.Sharad Joshi says:

“There is every likelihood that the post-2009 government will last no more than 24 months and that fresh elections will need to be called, at the latest, sometime in 2011.
The Third Front would, of course, like the country to go back to the old days of socialist protectionism. In fact, they are convinced that if India has come off rather lightly from the present crisis it is because of the reservations they made when they were a part of the UPA.
The Congress Party would be embarrassed to talk of ‘return to socialism’ and, at the same time, present Dr Manmohan Singh as their prime ministerial candidate. The party is resorting to gimmickry by shrouding socialist philosophy in its ‘aam aadmi’ philosophy.
This populist thought has its origin in Nobel Laureate Dr Amartya Sen’s exhortations. In the hands of the politicians it can be summarised as: Enticing voters by waving promises of ‘free lunches’ and perks of all kinds at the cost of the state exchequer and using a highly leaky state pipeline to carry the goodies.”

The idea of an independent has arrived……..

2009-04-23T10:26:00.001+05:30

The Association for Democratic Reform associate Ajit Ranade has reasonable questions like why there is no single law that regulate or governs Indian political parties. Ajit writes in the today’s TOI:

“Our democracy functions through parties, but our parties themselves do not function democratically.

We need a comprehensive law to regulate the functioning and funding of parties. We need to enforce inner party democracy, transparency in finances and criteria for entry and advancement. Until then we have to depend on the voice of the lone independent, both from within or outside parties who will make sure that the script returns to genuine democratic dialogue.”

Indeed, our current home minister P Chidambaram wrote in his article in the Indian Express which was published later in book form. He said “…what we need is comprehensive law to regulate political parties just as we have a companies Act to regulate the affairs of companies we must have a law that will lay down detailed rules to govern the functioning of political parties” (p. 280).

After writing this he was in UPA government for five years but he could not do anything on this idea. Because no political party is willing to buy his ideas and result is all they wanted to make is fool of people and the business community.

The plans and commands of centralized government failed understanding of economic laws and principles.

2009-04-23T09:41:00.001+05:30

My mentor and liberal economist Sauvik Chakraverti has good article in today’s Mint. The last paragraph read:

“To clear this mess, we must get The State out of education. As Frederic Bastiat, a classical liberal, wrote in his manifesto of 1842: “If you want to have theories, systems, methods, principles, textbooks and teachers forced on you by the government, that is up to you; but do not expect me to sign, in your name, such a shameful abdication of your rights.” He added: “The monopoly of teaching cannot reasonably be entrusted to any but an authority recognized as infallible. Otherwise, there is an unlimited risk that error be uniformly taught to the people as a whole.” So let us be optimistic. There is much we can achieve without The State.”

What good are economists anyway?

2009-04-22T19:32:00.001+05:30

What good are economists anyway?

Much of the party is still nostalgic for the Nehruvian socialism that for so long impeded India’s growth

2009-04-22T19:05:00.002+05:30

The Economist has Leaders article on Indian general election, it has taken its position by saying (seems to be) in one line that ‘India is in Great Socialist Darkness for long time’. Some excerpts:

“India’s general election got under way... It will be spread over five stages, taking four weeks and involving 6.5m staff. In 543 constituencies, 4,617 candidates, representing some 300 parties, will compete for the ballots of an electorate of 714m eligible voters. In 828,804 polling stations, 1,368,430 simple, robust and apparently tamper-proof electronic voting machines will be deployed. It is hard not to be impressed by the process—and its resilience.
A poor, diverse country of more than 30 main languages and six main religions, India also has, in the Hindu caste system, a tradition of hierarchy seemingly at odds with a system of universal suffrage. The country suffers security threats that would provide many a government with the excuse to suspend elections. Kashmir has been riven by insurgency for more than two decades; parts of the north-east for even longer. Maoist revolutionaries-cum-bandits stoke another fire in India’s interior and staged attacks as polling began this week. Yet, apart from the brief months of the “emergency” in 1975, India has never curtailed its people’s right to choose their rulers. And now, more than ever, that right is to be prized.
The election comes amid the deepest global economic slump for two generations. India faces difficult choices as it seeks to escape the worst of the downturn.
Yet Mr Singh’s government has made scant progress towards one of the main goals it set itself in 2004. This was to reform India’s creaking, corrupt administrative structures so that policies formulated in Delhi might actually be implemented in the villages where most Indians still live. Partly because of that failure, and despite sharp falls in the poverty rate, appalling numbers of Indians are still desperately poor. One-quarter of the world’s malnourished live in India, among them 40% of all Indian children under five. To Mr Singh’s credit, it is the plight of the poorest, not India’s GDP growth-figures, that is usually the starting-point for his policy speeches. This is also shrewd: the poor do not care about his achievements as a diplomat and globaliser, which scarcely impinge on their lives.
As in other countries, elections in India tend not to be dominated by grand national issues. And, as elsewhere, an Indian election may look splendid from a distance, but up close can be ugly. Campaigns are dominated by personalities, money and, in some places, intimidation. Many candidates seek votes through beggar-thy-neighbour appeals to the self-interest of a particular linguistic, caste or religious group.
Even in such an unpredictable contest, two outcomes are sadly fairly safe bets. First, parliament will have to make room for a lot of shady characters. Nearly a quarter of the current members have faced criminal charges. Nor are their alleged offences all petty. They include murder, rapes and kidnaps.
Much of the party is still nostalgic for the Nehruvian socialism that for so long impeded India’s growth.
In power, the BJP also had a creditable record of economic management. But it has not escaped its origins as the political wing of the Hindutva, or “Hindu-ness” movement.
For this reason, The Economist, if it had a vote, would plump for Mr Singh’s Congress. But in reality, the choice between the two big parties is not the one on offer. In India the poor, proportionately, are more likely to vote than are the middle classes. It often makes sense for them to back regional parties campaigning on local issues: they are more likely to fulfil their promises. But it does make for hopelessly unwieldy governing coalitions. One solution would be to introduce national thresholds below which parties would be ineligible for seats in parliament. But reform would need the approval of those elected under present arrangements, so it is not on the cards.”

Only such people have succeeded…….

2009-04-22T10:14:00.001+05:30

In the second part of the interview with Rediff Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi says some interesting information; some excerpts.

You know that India has the world's largest population of youth. This could be a demographic bonus or a demographic time bomb, depending on how they are harnessed.

There was a time when it was believed that population was a problem, but the way the world's economic environment has since changed, India's population is considered an asset. The same advantage is with China also.

But if these young people don't get jobs, it could lead to major social unrest.

I don't accept this theory. The youth have talent -- they don't want a job, they want work. They want to develop their skills. China has begun work on some 80,000 skill development projects, whereas the Indian government has started only 600.

I told the PM at a meeting, 'What are we doing? By itself my state is running 2,000 skill development projects and I want to increase this number by the hundreds, have public-private partnerships.'

Our youth need value-addition, they are capable of doing it and they are doing it. They should be given an opportunity.

Similarly, if an opportunity is given, will you lead the nation?

I believe that the chief ministers of even the smallest Indian states are major instruments of powering the nation. And I, as a chief minister, am part of running the nation.

Will you deny that you have no ambition whatsoever to become the prime minister?

I have a mission, not ambition. I was not born to become something, I was born to do something.

I did not have a desire to become somebody when I was a child, I don't have it now, nor will I have it in the future.

I have a dream, to do something. I want to do something for the nation. I am part of the mission, not ambition.

Ambition doesn't inspire me, mission does.

What are the other things that drive Narendra Modi?

Only devotion to Bharat Mata. That is enough for me.

What are the challenges that face India today?

We have a 100 crore population, which presents us with an opportunity to make the 21st century ours, to unleash the energy in the common man and take the nation forward. This is a big opportunity, and we should grab it.

Who is your leadership model? Who are you inspired by?

From my childhood I have been influenced by Swami Vivekanandji's life. I have studied his life, and live by it. I don't cross the limit.

How much time do you spend on politics?

In a way, if I say it myself it will seem immodest, but the reality is I am an apolitical chief minister. I leave for office at 9 am, and am there till 11 pm. Only during the elections, for those 30, 40 days, I spend my time on party work, otherwise the rest of my time I spend as an apolitical chief minister. I am not interested in this type of political activity..

People say this time you got your way with the selection of candidates for the Lok Sabha polls.

We have a collective leadership, a democratic system. We heard the opinions of 10,000 party workers, the state team went to every district, and after listening to everyone we debated the findings from which we zoomed in on the plus points and minus points of various potential candidates.

The state's 17-member team met them and gave their opinion. Then the decision from the grass-roots was conveyed to Delhi, and not to the chief minister.

In Delhi the 21-member team discussed the choice for hours and after this exercise whatever the Delhi team decided, I accepted it. This was the entire process.

Isn't this the problem with Indian politics? Too much credit is given to age and experience while someone who is younger and more dynamic, more efficient is ignored...

Let me share my experience with you. Please don't take this in any other way, and don't give a political colour to it, it's of no use.

I am saying this as a student. We should compare any two prime ministers, and here I will take the names of two Congress prime ministers. Rajiv Gandhi and P V Narasimha Rao.

Rajiv Gandhi was young and dynamic, had foreign exposure, he had everything, was good-looking, charismatic. Narasimha Rao had retired completely from public life, but had to suddenly return to active politics. Healthwise, and looks-wise, he was different.

But who ran the government better for five years? Who provided India a better leadership? If you think about it, Narasimha Rao's government was connected to the masses, and the nation benefited.

One simple reason: India is such a large nation, with so many languages, and only someone who has been around for a long time can solve its problems. So in this case, he was successful.

If you look at India's political history, too, only such people have succeeded.

But Narasimha Rao's government was accused of corruption.

Look, it was less compared to the Bofors scandal. I am not calling him great. I am merely saying, in comparison, who was plus and who was minus, I am only saying that. I am not giving Narasimha Rao any certificate. Bofors was no less. I am saying, compare the two and see who comes off better.

Both had pluses and minuses.

But the ultimate plus, was more with him though I agree no one has only negative aspects. And that is because for years he was involved with the situation, with the problems, any issues in Nagaland he could sit here and discern if this was the case, then that would be the outcome. Because he had experience, vision. He wielded a lot of power in such a large country.

Hay Demand and Supply-what economists don’t understand

2009-04-21T19:13:00.000+05:30

When I was undergraduate student in economics a accountancy professor use to tell us how Chartered accountants forget to remember which is ‘credit’ and which is ‘debit’.

How economists misunderstand the concept of Demand and Supply.

Brian Wesbury writes in The American Spectator:

“President Obama argues that, “with the private sector so weakened by this recession, the federal government is the only entity left with the resources to jolt our economy back to life.” Unfortunately, the federal government gets those resources from the private sector in the first place. So where is the “jolt” to come from?”
“Supply-siders get excited about the future and remain mostly optimistic because they believe in human ingenuity. They look for ways to encourage risk-taking, wonder where the next invention will come from, and believe that opportunity is endless. What the Austrian economist Joseph Schumpeter described as “creative destruction” is the process of economic advancement.
In the end, supply-siders have faith in individuals, especially in times of crisis, while demand-siders have faith in government. Think about this for a minute.”

I strongly recommend the American economist Thomas Sowell book on “Basic Economics- A Common Sense Guide to the Economy “ to the US President Obama to understand the jangle of supply vs demand side and how resources are allocated an market economy vs state controlled economy.

India is new to IT and urbanism… but still lingering with the Great Indian Socialist Darkness….

2009-04-21T13:49:00.001+05:30

In a interview with the ET Mr N R Narayana Murthy says some interesting discussion especially about Nehru. Some excerpts:

“we have been unable to redeem the pledge that our founding fathers took when India got independence. That is to provide decent access to education, nutrition, healthcare and welfare to the poorest of the poor. India has the largest mass of illiterates in the world, largest mass of poor people in the world, 250 million people don't have access to safe drinking water, 650 million people do not have access to decent sanitation. So this whole paradigm of 8-9% GDP growth becomes somewhat irrelevant when you look at these aspects.
..a country like India we need to solve three pieces of development -- first is creating a public opinion that values good work ethic, honesty, discipline, secularism. Second, we need to develop a cadre of leadership who espouse these values and serve as role models and demonstrate leadership by example. Third, we need the determination of the elite and the powerful in the society to eschew creation of asymmetry of benefits in their favour vis-à-vis the common man. Only when these three conditions are fulfilled will we be able to create a fair, just, equitable and inclusive growth in our society. In essence this is the fundamental thesis on which the book is based.
I don't think that there is any shortage of good quality people. The important thing is for our political parties to provide opportunities to the young. For instance just as in Infosys I voluntarily gave up the MD position when I was 52 and later the CEO position at 56 years and supported those youngsters who came to those position. I believe it's important that politicians give new opportunity to younger people.
Can you tell us about some of the lectures in the book?
They all address different, crucial aspects of our progress. For example, Address to Students and Values (parts 1 &2) I believe are extremely important. There is a lecture about `What Can We Learn from the West' delivered as the Lal Bahadur Shastri Memorial Lecture which touches upon how we can make our already wonderful value system even stronger. Then there is the Darbari Seth Memorial Lecture `In Praise of Secularism' which is very important at this hour of extraordinary progress we are making.

I read with interest particularly the `What Can We Learn from the West' and `In Praise of Secularism' the latter one is not just eye opening but seems to be miracle of war with word like minority. I was happened to receive the last copy of Darbari Seth Memorial Lecture `In Praise of Secularism' published by TERI.

“We have to ensure that there is a spirit of oneness in our country rather than differentiating ourselves. We have to summon the energy, enthusiasm, hope and confidence of every community in India to make this a better country and that's where secularism is very important. There is a lecture on the Role of Discipline in Accelerating National Development which emphasizes that unless we embrace discipline in every aspect of our live we will not be able to bring fast and equitable growth.
The way our politics is going these days regional issues are more important, regional parties are taking centre stage...
That's because the quality of our political leaders is going down. Remember when Jawaharlal Nehru was the PM between 1950 and 1962 this country achieved extraordinary growth. Five steel plants were completed, Bhaba Atomic Energy Research Centre was established Tata Institute of Fundamental research became strong, Bhakra Nangal dam came up, IITs, AIIMS, you name it all of that happened in 12 years post independence. You tell me of any other 12 year period where we made such growth in government.
If you have a great leader of the caliber of Nehru even India with all its problems even after independence, with all its lack of resources can make extraordinary progress. Establishing five steel plants is not easy but the man did it. Establishing a centre for atomic energy research is not easy, he did. Getting 400 plus Phds from around the world to IIT Kanpur was not easy, he did it. All of this happened because of the vision of one man.
In fact in 1967 many of my professors at IIT Kanpur said they all came back to India because of the vision and the enthusiasm of Nehru. Today these institutes are not able to attract five such faculties per year but that man attracted 400 such people at just one institute. What does it tell you? It tells you if you have great leaders you can achieve what seems impossible. I am absolutely convinced, as I have written in the book, three fundamental pieces of development -- values practiced by people, leaders who serve as a role models and the elite and the powerful who will eschew any asymmetry of benefits. These three pieces of development puzzle are absolutely necessary if India has to make decent, equitable, just fair, growth.
………….unfortunately as Franz Fanon has said in his book *Black Skin, White Mask*, the tragedy of most post colonial societies is that the elite and the powerful continue to operate as colonizers, operate under a different set of rules. The civil society has to stand up and change this.”

A group of men come and construct an empire called language, words etc.

2009-04-21T10:28:00.001+05:30

In a lunch interview with BS Mr Ramachandra Guha says:

“The link between tribal deprivation and Naxalism is very clear and should be a wake up call to our policymakers.” It would be very foolish to see Naxalism as simply a law and order problem. It is a problem of mal-development or distorted development. “But the tragedy is that Naxalites can’t provide the Adivasis a long-term solution. It may be too a romantic but if the Naxalites were to follow the Nepali Maoists and enter the democratic process, if they were to lay down guns and fight elections, that would really bring about concrete change in those areas.”
Mr Roy gently puts Mr “Guha has recently hit the headlines with a seven-book contract with Penguin which has reportedly fetched him a crore. His emphatic response is, “I hope so, I hope so. I think there are lots of talented young Indian writers who have gone into writing fiction because they felt that’s the true mark of literary success, not just financial success.” This is a pity as “India is a large diverse complex society undergoing some profound transformation. There are so many interesting and exciting topics — biographical, historical, political — that we could write about. I hope that younger writers are now encouraged to move into this field.”

Amartya Sen warns against banning English

2009-04-21T10:22:00.003+05:30

There is a news which says that the India Great Indian Socialist economist Amartya Sen warns banning English!.

But he could not do it against the socialism that killed or killing equally like the one by banning English.

The idea of “A Better India, A Better World”

2009-04-21T10:20:00.003+05:30

So, it’s now his turn to make reader busy with his book probably the young people. The Infosys chief mentor N R Narayana Murthy book "A Better India, A Better World" just released.

He says in a interview with NDTV:

When I look at the big canvas of India, I often feel confused, agitated and powerless—but also motivated to find solutions to the problems of poverty. We continue to rationalize our failures. No other society has mastered this trait as well as we have. Obviously this is an excuse to justify our incompetence, corruption and apathy. This attitude has to change.

Asked for his wish list for the new government that is due to be installed in a few weeks' time, Murthy listed the all-important issue of food security for children as a top priority.

“Mid-day meals to alleviate hunger is even more important than healthcare,” he said.

Big idea of Indiauncut!

2009-04-20T19:23:00.002+05:30

Indiauncut blogger Mr Amit Verma has been ranked in a list of India's 50 Most Powerful People 2009 in Business Week.

Congratulations Amit!

Conglomerate of American Universities

2009-04-17T14:25:00.001+05:30

Harish Damodaran has interesting article on "Universities must be well endowed"

I have an innate need to write!

2009-04-17T14:17:00.001+05:30

During my school days I was busy with either farming or sports (mainly hokey, food ball and kabaddi). But in college I turned to write what I liked but intended to do. All I wrote was in Tamil (my mother tongue). I wrote essays, poems both for competition and personal likings. I also won few awards for these works.

Two special things is worthy to mention here: one, for an essay I have received a journal every month in free of cost as a prize, second, for an poem which I wrote on ‘Pongal’ (Tamil Nadu’s harvesting festival) won a award called “Kavi Murasu”. These two things I considered as important in my life as it influenced to learn further on diverse topics. But I always questioned me writings and why I do and the purpose: a couple of questions that I was asking myself were also asked by a literature Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk:

I wrote an essay which won a prize and the prize distribution function was organized in central Tamil Nadu (Salem). I could not receive this prize because I was travelling for another event in Delhi.

Pamuk interesting questions are from his Nobel lecture:

“…..the favourite question, is; why do you write? I write because I have an innate need to write! I write because I can't do normal work like other people. I write because I want to read books like the ones I write. I write because I am angry at all of you, angry at everyone. I write because I love sitting in a room all day writing. I write because I can only partake in real life by changing it. I write because I want others, all of us, the whole world, to know what sort of life we lived, and continue to live, in Istanbul, in Turkey. I write because I love the smell of paper, pen, and ink.

I write because I believe in literature, in the art of the novel, more than I believe in anything else. I write because it is a habit, a passion. I write because I am afraid of being forgotten. I write because I like the glory and interest that writing brings. I write to be alone. Perhaps I write because I hope to understand why I am so very, very angry at all of you, so very, very angry at everyone. I write because I like to be read. I write because once I have begun a novel, an essay, a page, I want to finish it. I write because everyone expects me to write. I write because I have a childish belief in the immortality of libraries, and in the way my books sit on the shelf.

I write because it is exciting to turn all of life's beauties and riches into words. I write not to tell a story, but to compose a story. I write because I wish to escape from the foreboding that there is a place I must go but – just as in a dream – I can't quite get there. I write because I have never managed to be happy. I write to be happy.”

Long live millions of poor!

2009-04-17T13:47:00.001+05:30

A IAS turned economist turned RBI Governor turned nominated Member of Parliament in Indian Raja Sabha (upper house) Mr Bimal Jalan wrote a piece recently in The Hindu in which he express his concerns on the function of Indian Parliament.

Some excerpts:

“The time allotted to different parties and nominated members is decided in terms of their number as a percentage of the total membership of the House. Nominated members who constitute 4 percent of the total members of Rajya Sabha are entitled to a maximum of only 4 percent of time allotted for debate on any subject. What is even more significant is that their turn comes after all major parties have spoken and the House is virtually empty.
First, the accountability of ministers to parliament has been considerably eroded. We now have coalitions in power with a large number of parties of different sizes. Leaders of different parties can continue in cabinet without any individual or collective responsibility to parliament or, for that matter, Prime Minister.
Second, in view of anti-defection law, individual members of a party are completely subservient to their party leaders. Interestingly, this law does not apply to small parties which join a government. Thus, there is a built-in incentive for any leader to set up a separate party with even 4 or 5 members. If he or she is the leader of a small party, that person would command a huge premium and would be sought after by dominant parties. Third, the rules of business in parliament can be ignored with impunity without any adverse consequences. Fourth, the overwhelming primacy is given to whatever government wants to be done by parliament, including passage of bills with or without discussion.
An immediate priority is to make anti-defection law applicable to all parties which join a government rather than only to members individually. Similarly, changes in business procedures of parliament are required to improve the speaking order and minimum time allotted to individual members who wish to participate in debates. Under no circumstances should a legislative bill be passed without discussion and actual voting. Another priority area for reform is the internal democratization of political parties.
Let me end with a quote from a note handed over to me by a Member of Parliament who was a distinguished member of a political party:
“You made an excellent speech and a lot of us totally agree with you. The Anti-Defection Amendment has curbed the consciences of MPs. We have to follow party whips even if we do not agree as in this case of the Offices of Profit Bill. Congratulations.”
I am, of course, grateful for the above generous remarks. However, it is equally disheartening to note that even if that member were a great “celebrity” and a recognised genius, she would not have been able to express her views.
It would benefit citizens, if in addition to counting questions and attendance of members in parliament, public-spirited organisations and media were to highlight the urgent need for political reforms to make the working of India’s democratic institutions less oligarchic and more people-oriented.”

We had peoples President, now we have peoples car but we do not know where is our people’s parliament?

Imbalance is the balance: real vs money and balance of payment

2009-04-17T11:29:00.001+05:30

Kaushik Das has good piece in today’s Mint emphasizing the real sector and money growth but what will never happen is what he is also concerned about it. He says in an economy the “...M3 growth should equal nominal gross domestic growth (GDP) growth (ex ante Real GDP growth plus ex ante inflation) after factoring in the income elasticity of demand for M3 growth”.

The same logic goes with the countries balance of payment which is not balanced.

Not a single party leader was ready to make that promise

2009-04-17T10:13:00.003+05:30

In a interview with Rediff Mr Jayparakash Narayan President of Lok Satta Party says:

In what way Lok Satta is different from the other political parties?
The conventional parties are trying to make the people a beggar by offering free things like free TV, free rice and free electricity. Instead of seriously making efforts to eradicate poverty and enabling the people to stand on their own feet with dignity, they want to reduce them to beggary. They have made politics a business. They buy voters with money and liquor and on coming to power they make ten times more money. They eat the public money and remaining they would use for distributing free TV, free rice and electricity. Divide and rule remains their political philosophy. They divide people in to Hindus, Muslims, in the name of region and castes.
What is your agenda?
We need do three things on top priority. Eradicate poverty, decentralise the government completely, and third -- bring accountability, transparency and fight against corruption.
Poverty can be eradicated within five years and with the present budget of Rs 1 lakh crore for Andhra Pradesh. For this we need four things, compulsory education for every child irrespective of his/her community, caste and creed, free, in private or government sector, with English and computers. We need to develop skills in the youth to make them employable. We want to build 1,000 small towns across the state at a cost of Rs 30,000 crore generating 50 lakh jobs stimulating the economy. We will provide urban facilities in the rural areas.
Third, we need free health care to the people as a national policy ranging from preventive cure to the treatment and surgery for any big ailment. We can do it through private-public participation and competition between the service providers. Fourth, in agriculture and traditional occupations like weaving, pottery etc, we will enhance income by upgrading skills, using technology and providing access to the market.
Will it be same as the Zilla Parishad?
No. It will be much better than that. The will have more power. It will be a local government at the doorsteps of the people.
Secondly, we will try to achieve Rs 1000 per capita to every town, village and ward. Suppose if a village has a population of 5000, we will give them Rs 50 lakh per annum to meet the local needs like drinking water roads, drainage, toilets at home and in public places, parks, street lighting. They will have to take care of all these things. It will be only 8% of the total public spending. They will not have to go around begging money for these purposes.
Take a city like Hyderabad where every ward has a population of 50,000. We will give Rs 5 crore to every such ward which will be spent by a ward committee including a local corporator and a local elected citizen from every polling centre. Thus we will build a local government around the citizen, unlike a centralised, remote, incompetent and corrupt government
How about corruption?
We will have zero tolerance for corruption and make Right To Information Act a powerful weapon by implementing it completely and fairly. Once the politics itself is clean, we don't spend Rs 5 crore to get elected. When there will be no vote buying, then you can have clean government.

However, Mr Narayan is silent on how he will get money and where and how much he will tax and so on. Unless he has clarity people will start doubting him and his party. If he wanted to be transparent let us share your plan of tax and how to get resources for funding.

Probably I am mad when I read the history of Indian Economic Thought………

2009-04-15T19:28:00.001+05:30

I read an interesting excerpt from Patrick French’s biography of V S Naipaul. Mr V S wrote in the 60s which Patrick says “After nearly a year of travel and enquiry in India for the book, Vidia returned to London and wrote a letter to Moni Malhoutra, an IAS officer with whom he had stayed in the district of Faizabad, UP:”

V S letter: "The point that one feels inescapable is the fact of India's poverty; and how deep is one's contempt for those Indians who, finding no difficulty in accepting one standard in India and another outside it, fail to realise this, and are failing to work night and day for the removal of this dreadful insult and humiliation.... The lavatories at Palam (airport) were literally covered with shit and the aerodrome officer could only speak of the shortage of staff (i.e. sweepers). I wonder, wonder if the shitting habits of Indians are not the key to all their attitudes.... So goodbye to shit and sweepers; goodbye to people who tolerate everything; goodbye to all the refusal to act; goodbye to the absence of dignity; goodbye to the poverty; goodbye to caste and that curious pettiness which permeates that vast country; goodbye to people who, though consulting astrologers, have no sense of their destiny as men.... Not only must caste go, but all those sloppy Indian garments; all those saris and lungis; all that squatting on the floor to eat, to write, to serve in a shop, to piss.... Probably I am mad. But it seems to me that everything conspires to keep India down."

Mr V.S was “Aged barely 17, he had written to his sister Kamla, then studying at Benares Hindu University: "I am glad you told off those damned inefficient, scheming Indians. I am planning to write a book about these damned people and the wretched country of theirs, exposing their detestable traits. Grill them on everything." Now it was time for Vidia to write that book, to grill them on everything:An Area of Darkness was the result, offering a passionate analysis”

Power of entrepreneurship in solving the problem of poverty in India…..

2009-04-15T18:12:00.001+05:30

N.R. NARAYANA MURTHY writes in his book (Excerpt published in outlook 20 April 2009 from A Better India: A Better World by N. R. Narayana Murthy; Allen Lane (Penguin India), Rs 499):

“The enigma of India is that our progress in higher education and in science and technology has not been sufficient to take 350 million Indians out of illiteracy. It is difficult to imagine that 318 million people in the country do not have access to safe drinking water and 250 million people do not have access to basic medical care.
Why should 630 million people not have access to acceptable sanitation facilities even in 2009? When you see world-class supermarkets and food chains in our towns, and when our urban youngsters gloat over the choice of toppings on their pizzas, why should 51 per cent of the children in the country be undernourished?
When India is among the largest producers of engineers and scientists in the world, why should 52 per cent of the primary schools have only one teacher for every two classes? When our politicians and bureaucrats live in huge houses in Lutyens’ Delhi and the state capitals, our corporate leaders splurge money on mansions, yachts and planes, and our urban youth revel in their latest sports shoes, why should 300 million Indians live on hardly Rs 545 per month, barely sufficient to manage two meals a day, with little or no money left for schooling, clothes, shelter and medicine?
These questions have been troubling me right from that day when I spent a lonely, hungry, cold and introspective 21 hours in the guard’s compartment on a freight train going from the historic city of Nis, in what was then Yugoslavia and is now Serbia, to Istanbul, way back in 1974. I have had some success in demonstrating the power of entrepreneurship in solving the problem of poverty through my experiment of creating Infosys. Yet, when I look at the big canvas of India, I often feel confused, agitated and powerless—but also motivated to find solutions to this problem.”

Marxist as killer of freedom and new Dailt parties are lover of castes

2009-04-15T17:42:00.003+05:30

A friend of mine was studied accountancy and costing and I studied economics. We use to discuss whenever we meet but never on Marxist ideas but in general. One day he suddenly wanted to discuss about the Indian Marxist parties and their approach of economic policy.

It was not surprise when he said that “these Marxist are destroying our country otherwise would have been much better than the present level”. He went on in fact these people have killed many millions by advocating what they like and like one side minded and never thought of alternatives. He further discovered that “these people considered non Indian or outsider policy advocates as foreigners but these folks never considered Karl Marx as foreigner! What a nonsense he said.

And now Mr Ramachandra Guha writes in the Outlook (April 20 2009) that “..Marxist politicians are in some respects more decent than the rest. Surveys have consistently shown that CPI and CPI(M) MPs are less corrupt and less prone to criminality than politicians of other parties.”

I gave only one example just imagine in a larger level. And in my view it is wrong to say Indian Marxist are “decent than the rest”. If we say likely or dizzily we tend to fool ourselves.

Further Mr Guha urges that “A pragmatic Left must also appreciate the benefits of entrepreneurship and innovation, of seeking to increase the size of the economic cake so that there are bigger slices to go all around.”

At least to me it looks he is asking a dead snakes to show picture but not to attack people!

Even if the ‘left’ or Marxist decided to accept free market ideas, the world will not be hunger, poverty, inequality (add whatever you think) free world!

They have done more than enough damages in India. For example, as Mr Bhagwan Das, a research associate of Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar said in an interview to TOI in which he says:

“What changes have you witnessed in Dalit politics since independence?
It has deteriorated. In the pre-independence days, Dalit leaders used to be well educated and informed about issues regarding their community and the society as a whole. The movement was vibrant. Unlike today it wasn't only lip service and vote-bank politics. They encouraged untouchables to take up education. For example, Babasaheb started three colleges across Maharashtra and a school in Mumbai. Ambedkar didn't only talk about fight against exploitation but also against the caste system. But today, everybody uses Babasaheb's name only for political gains. No present-day politician can ever come close to following what the great Dalit leader preached. They don't even know about his teachings and principles. No Dalit leader can ever acquire a pan-Indian identity like Ambedkar. And that's why Dalits continue to wallow in poverty and illiteracy.
Do you think that proliferation of Dalit parties and leaders has changed the course of Indian politics?
It has certainly, but only for the worse. Instead of abolishing discrimination, Dalit parties have worked to strengthen the caste system, by further driving a wedge between scheduled castes and other groups. Their method of assertion is wrong. Only a few people in the corridors of power have benefited from the ascendancy of some Dalit leaders. For example, a chamar leader will only work for his community since Dalits as a whole are not united.
Has reservation in jobs, education and legislature helped to improve the lot of Dalits?
Quota has helped but it has not been implemented properly. Prejudice against us is very strong and officers from our community are still humiliated at the workplace”.

Economics vs Physics

2009-04-15T17:11:00.002+05:30

Economics and its history have been a limelight of economists and historians. Few economists made attempt to discover something which can be a constant action in everywhere irrespective of location but at the end nobody did to happen yet because unlike physics we are in social science. But is that the economists wanted to see economics as science like physics? Or something else they were trying to look at and say.

There is an interesting article by T. C. A. Srinivasa-Raghavan on economics as he has been trying to understand where the subject stands and how it looks now.

And he quotes economist Mr Solow which is more interesting than his narrative.

The following is excerpts from a article published by Robert M. Solow in The American Economic Review, Vol. 75, No. 2, (May, 1985), pp. 328-331.

“For better or worse, however, economics has gone down a different path, not the one I have in mind. One consequence, not the most important one, but the one that matters for this discussion, is that economic theory learns nothing from economic history, and economic history is as much corrupted as enriched by economic theory. I will come to that, too, later on.
To get right down to it, I suspect that the attempt to construct economics as an axiomatically based hard science is doomed to fail. There are many partially overlapping reasons for believing this;
Unfortunately, however, economics is a social science. It is subject to Damon Runyon’s Law that nothing between human beings is more than three to one. To express the point more formally, much of what we observe cannot be treated as the realization of a stationary stochastic process without straining credulity. Moreover, all narrowly economic activity is embedded in a web of social institutions, customs, beliefs, and attitudes. Concrete outcomes are indubitably affected by these background factors, some of which change slowly and gradually, others erratically. As soon as time-series get long enough to offer hope of discriminating among complex hypotheses, the likelihood that they remain stationary dwindles away, and the noise level gets correspondingly high. Under these circumstances, a little cleverness and persistence can get you almost any result you want. I think that is why so few econometricians have ever been forced by the facts to abandon a firmly held belief. Indeed, some of Fortune’s favourites have been known to write scores of empirical articles without once feeling obliged to report a result that contradicts their prior prejudices.
If we are honest with ourselves and others. It would be a useful principle that economists should actually believe the empirical assertions they make. That would require more discipline than most of us now exhibit, when many empirical papers seem more like virtuoso finger exercises than anything else. The case I am trying to make concerns the scope and ambitions of economic model building, not the intellectual and technical standards of model building.
In his own methodological writing, Court made the point explicitly that men "living as they do in different societies. ..make their decisions according to different schemes of values and according to the habits and structures of the society they find themselves living in." Therefore an economic historian should be an "observer and re-creator of the codes, loyalties and organizations which men create and which are just as real to them as physical conditions."

It is due.................

2009-04-14T20:23:00.000+05:30

ANDRÉ BÉTEILLE on THE ELECTORAL PROCESS

The Great Indian Socialist Darkness-1

2009-04-14T20:02:00.002+05:30

The following are excerpts from a great Indian economic thought book! The White Tiger by Arvind Adiga.

“The inspector made me write my name on the blackboard; then he showed me his wristwatch and asked me to read the time. He took out his wallet, removed a small photo, and asked me, "Who is this man, who is the most important man in all our lives?"

The photo was of a plump man with spiky white hair and chubby cheeks, wearing thick earrings of gold; the face glowed with intelligence and kindness.

"He's the Great Socialist." "Good.

And what is the Great Socialist's message for little children?" I had seen the answer on the wall outside the temple: a policeman had written it one day in red paint. "Any boy in any village can grow up to become the prime minister of India. That is his message to little children all over this land." The inspector pointed his cane straight at me.

"You, young man, are an intelligent, honest, vivacious fellow in this crowd of thugs and idiots. In any jungle, what is the rarest of animals—the creature that comes along only once in a generation?"

I thought about it and said: "The white tiger."

I came to Dhanbad after my father's death. He had been ill for some time, but there is no hospital in Laxmangarh, although there are three different foundation stones for a hospital, laid by three different politicians before three different elections. When he began spitting blood that morning, Kishan and I took him by boat across the river. We kept washing his mouth with water from the river, but the water was so polluted that it made him spit more blood. There was a rickshaw-puller on the other side of the river who recognized my father; he took the three of us for free to the government hospital. There were three black goats sitting on the steps to the large, faded white building; the stench of goat feces wafted out from the open door. The glass in most of the windows was broken; a cat was staring out at us from one cracked window.

A sign on the gate said:

LOHIA UNIVERSAL FREE HOSPITAL PROUDLY INAUGURATED BY THE GREAT SOCIALIST A HOLY PROOF THAT HE KEEPS HIS PROMISES.

Kishan and I carried our father in, stamping on the goat turds which had spread like a constellation of black stars on the ground.

There was no doctor in the hospital. The ward boy, after we bribed him ten rupees, said that a doctor might come in the evening. The doors to the hospital's rooms were wide open; the beds had metal springs sticking out of them, and the cat began snarling at us the moment we stepped into the room.

"It's not safe in the rooms—that cat has tasted blood."

A couple of Muslim men had spread a newspaper on the ground and were sitting on it. One of them had an open wound on his leg. He invited us to sit with him and his friend.

Kishan and I lowered Father onto the newspaper sheets.

We waited there. Two little girls came and sat down behind us; both of them had yellow eyes.

"Jaundice. She gave it to me." "I did not. You gave it to me. And now we'll both die!"

An old man with a cotton patch on one eye came and sat down behind the girls.

The Muslim men kept adding newspapers to the ground, and the line of diseased eyes, raw wounds, and delirious mouths kept growing.

"Why isn't there a doctor here, uncle?" I asked. "This is the only hospital on either side of the river."

"See, it's like this," the older Muslim man said. "There's a government medical superintendent who's meant to check that doctors visit village hospitals like this. Now, each time this post falls vacant, the Great Socialist lets all the big doctors know that he's having an open auction for that post. The going rate for this post is about four hundred thousand rupees these days."

"That much!" I said, my mouth opened wide.

"Why not? There's good money in public service! Now, imagine that I'm a doctor. I beg and borrow the money and give it to the Great Socialist, while touching his feet. He gives me the job. I take an oath to God and the Constitution of India and then I put my boots up on my desk in the state capital." He raised his feet onto an imaginary table. "Next, I call all the junior government doctors, whom I'm supposed to supervise, into my office. I take out my big government ledger. I shout out, 'Dr. Ram Pandey.'"

He pointed a finger at me; I assumed my role in the play.

I saluted him: "Yes, sir!"

He held out his palm to me.

"Now, you—Dr. Ram Pandey—will kindly put one-third of your salary in my palm. Good boy. In return, I do this." He made a tick on the imaginary ledger. "You can keep the rest of your government salary and go work in some private hospital for the rest of the week. Forget the village. Because according to this ledger you've been there. You've treated my wounded leg. You've healed that girl's jaundice."

Birth of Banyan Tree in Asia

2009-04-14T16:10:00.003+05:30

The Economist

London based The Economist has come out a separate column for Asian Economies to track the change in it but confused where it stand in the world as it saying goes “There has also been confusion about quite where Asia is.”

Further it says “So why Banyan? A dearth of pan-Asian images speaks volumes, but the banyan tree serves better than most, for it or similar trees are found somewhere in most Asian countries. The banyan spans Asia’s spirituality and its entrepreneurialism. The Bodhi tree, under which Buddha attained enlightenment, was a banyan by another name. Gujarati merchants conducted business under it, and the Portuguese lent their name, banyan, to the tree. It stuck.”

Dr Ambedkar and Military Headquarters of War (MHOW)

2009-04-14T14:48:00.002+05:30

Well, today is the birthday of Dr B R Ambedkar who was responsible for the drafting of Indian Constitution. If any one wanted to make a sense of one subject like economics or Indian Constitution as a single matter of entity he/she needs to have a lucid understanding of the subject’s concepts and implication in practicality both in national prospective and a world view.

Obviously, people celebrate a person or an idea etc when they like or dislike their life and works.

Dr Ambedkar was born in MHOW, now in Madhya Pradesh. I happened to study my basic research work in the institute which was established on his name. I visited several times his home there is a Muslim masque beside his home. MP government is trying to make his home into a temple like a Buddha statute type, since he had been converted to Buddhism and they are trying to do the same.

I was taught a subject called Dr B R Ambedkar thoughts and contemporary issues in society. The whole course work was pass/fail oriented but every bit of his idea was covered in a more intensive caste biased, one side view, deliberately rejecting other side of the coin etc.

What I was not taught I learned from a library in the institute. The institute library is not biased it has all kind of books including the liberalism!

I happened to pick up the liberal ideas and concluded my argument with Prof and friends in our debate that “if a person converts from one religion to another he or she could never feel that he or she is born with the one in which they were born naturally”. For economic benefit anyone can convert to other religions and it was accepted by my friends and Prof in the institute.

The below are some of the Ambedkar ideas which are relevant even toady.

He said in the Assembly on 15 November, 1948:

“(H)ow the society should be organized in its social and economic side are matters which must be decided by the people themselves according to time and circumstances. It cannot be laid down in the Constitution itself, because that is destroying democracy altogether… It is perfectly possible today, for the majority people to hold that the socialist organization of society is better than the capitalist... But it would be perfectly possible for thinking people to devise some other form...which might be better than the socialist organization of today or of tomorrow.”

[Source: Constituent Assembly Debates, Vol. VIII, pp.401-402]

He asked: “On 26th January 1950, India will be an independent country. What would happen to her independence?”
He said: “What perturbs me greatly is the fact that not only India has once before lost her independence, but she lost it by the infidelity and treachery of some of her own people.” His anxiety was deepened by the fact that “in addition to our old enemies in the form of castes and creeds we are going to have many political parties with diverse and opposing political creeds.”
He queried: “Will Indians place the country above their creed or will they place creed above country” and answered: “This much is certain that if the parties place creed above country, our independence will be put in jeopardy a second time and probably be lost for ever. This eventuality we must all resolutely guard against. We must be determined to defend our independence with the last drop of our blood.”
His second thought was about the future of democracy. “There was a time when India was studded with republics, and even where there were monarchies, they were either elected or limited. They were never absolute.”
He was emphatic that “We must make our political democracy a social democracy as well. Political democracy cannot last unless there lies at the base of it social democracy.” He asserted that “liberty cannot be divorced from equality, equality cannot be divorced from liberty. Nor can liberty and equality be divorced from fraternity. Without equality, liberty would produce the supremacy of the few over the many. Equality without liberty would kill individual initiative. Without fraternity, liberty and equality could not become a natural course of things.”
“The United States has no caste problem. In India there are castes. The castes are anti-national. In the first place because they bring about separation in social life. They are anti-national also because they generate jealousy and antipathy between caste and caste. But we must overcome all these difficulties if we wish to become a nation in reality. For fraternity can be a fact only when there is a nation. Without fraternity equality and liberty will be no deeper than coats of paint.”
He pointed out the complete absence of two things in Indian society. “One of these is equality. On the social plane, we have in India a society based on the principle of graded inequality which means elevation for some and degradation for others. On the economic plane, we have a society in which there are some who have immense wealth as against many who live in abject poverty. …. In politics, we will have equality and in social and economic life we will have inequality. In politics we will be recognizing the principle of one man one vote and one vote one value. In our social and economic life, we shall, by reason of our social and economic structure, continue to deny the principle of one man one value.”
He suggested that “the sooner room is made for the realization of their aspiration, the better for the few, the better for the country, the better for the maintenance of its independence and the better for the continuance of its democratic structure. This can only be done by the establishment of equality and fraternity in all spheres of life.”

(Source: Excerpts from P. P. Rao article in the Tribune)

Community Currencies…….

2009-04-14T12:07:00.001+05:30

Jamal Mecklai book review throws some new coins “there is a very interesting section on the QQ, a new Chinese coin created by online marketers, which has already moved into the real world. The second is a brief mention of Community Currencies, which, in many senses, are a reactionary response to globalisation.”

Madras Institute of Sciences (MIS)..

2009-04-14T11:56:00.003+05:30

RAMACHANDRA GUHA quotes a letter written to Swami Vivekananda by Jamsetji Tata on November 23, 1898. The below is the letter:

Dear Swami Vivekanand,

I trust you remember me as a fellow-traveller in your voyage from Japan to Chicago [in 1893]. I very much recall at this moment your views on the growth of the ascetic spirit in India and the duty, not of destroying, but of diverting it into useful channels.

I recall these ideas in connection with my scheme of a Research Institute for India, of which you have doubtless heard or read. It seems to me that no better use can be made of the ascetic spirit than the establishment of monasteries or residential halls for men dominated by this spirit, where they should live with ordinary decency and devote their lives to the cultivation of sciences — natural and humanistic. I am of opinion that if such a crusade in favour of an asceticism of this kind were undertaken by a competent leader, it would greatly help asceticism in science, and the good name of our common country, and I know not who would make a more fitting general of such a campaign [than] Vivekanand. So you think you would care to apply yourself to the Mission of galvanizing into life our ancient traditions in this respect? Perhaps, you had better begin with a fiery pamphlet rousing our people in this matter? I should cheerfully repay all the expenses of publication.

With kind regards

I am dear Swami

Yours faithfully

Jamsetji N. Tata

But what Mr Guha says now is “Some of its Directors have been brilliant; others, merely capable.” It is nonsense to say “merely capable”. It seems to me that he has understood human nature and their environment where the person born, lived, his/her family etc. Everything is matter in a person life and works.

However, now the populist Tamil DMK parties said in its LS election manifesto that “establishing an Indian Institute of science (IISc) in Chennai”.

Of course, DMK is not a Tata to fund the institution if anything it cost for establishment the money will be theft from people of this state/country.

Fund Candidate not Parties!!!

2009-04-14T11:28:00.001+05:30

Yes the idea of “Fund Candidate not Parties” is not an issue in this election, but it is a matter of time.

Former Chief Justice of the High Court of Delhi Rajindar Sachar says “A straightforward, honest, equitable solution is to ban the corporate funding of political parties, as in the US and the UK. Clean politics mandates this as a minimum prerequisite for all political parties. Let the electorate demand that the manifestos of the parties include such a provision. Let them give a straight answer immediately.”

He also gives a brief history of how corporate funding ruled out:

“It is beyond doubt that contributions by companies are given not because of any ideological reason but as a device to be in the good books of the ruling party. Thus, between 1966 and 1969, as many as 75 companies paid down Rs 1.87 crore out of which Rs 144 lakh was given to the ruling party. The ruling Congress party in 1967 alone received Rs 87 lakh.
Perception and reality have not changed. Thus we find that in 2003-2004 the BJP got Rs 90 crore as against the Congress’s Rs 65 crore. The peak of the BJP was Rs 155 crore in 2004-05, down to Rs 137 crore in 2007-08. The rise in the share of the Congress during this period was phenomenal, starting from 2002-03 at Rs 53 crore, upswinging to Rs 265 crore in 2007-08. More significant, the corporate-political nexus is illustrated by corporate donation to the BSP of Ms Mayawati rising in 2002-03 from Rs 10.9 crore to Rs 55.6 crore in 2007-08. Does one need more proof of invidious entry of the corporate sector in our body-politic and of the dangerous consequences.”

Stigmatized Power/muddled ideas are the “central concern of economists” in India…

2009-04-14T11:14:00.002+05:30

Yes that’s how it seems to be in India as for as macroeconomics is concerns. Most of the macro economists in India are not interested to look what economists like Hayek and others said.

It is not surprise when Mr Bery write “the developed countries (some of whom then were not much richer in the 1930s than the middle-income countries of Asia today), interest in saving was largely stimulated by the work of John Maynard Keynes and his attempt to understand the sources of the Great Depression. As he famously observed, in an economy closed to international trade and capital movements, overall economic activity adjusts to equate desired saving with desired investment.

This insight, together with the implication that government must intervene when desired investment falls, desired saving increases and credit markets fail (all of which are true of the United States today) lies at the heart of today's call for global fiscal stimulus.”

What are you talking about? Now it is recognized by every one that the crisis were deepened in United States because of dried up ‘savings’ in other words US consumer used all or most of their earning and saved nothing or less.

What about the wrong direction of government during boom period. Did private institutions have intervened or do they have any incentive to do so for corrective mechanism?

Bureaucrats Charity works very well under the table……….

2009-04-13T20:22:00.001+05:30

K Shivakumar quote’s Nani Palkhivala in an article in BS which is like anything but how terrible our government bureaucrats Nani said:

Two things strike the student of Indian income-tax law with trepidation and amazement — the precipitate and chronic tinkering with the law by bureaucrats who are the unacknowledged legislators of India, and the anaesthetised patience of the Indian public. The poor of India endure inhuman conditions which would lead to a bloody revolution in any other country. The rich endure foolish laws and unending amendments which benefit none except the legal and accountancy professions, and instinctively prefer to circumvent the law than to fight for its repeal.”

All lips service is OK, but show me the reforms…

2009-04-13T20:11:00.001+05:30

Yes, we have to ask ourselves first that did Dr Singh has done anything on education reform meaningfully?

Shiv Visvanathan, writes “…. what is wonderful about Singh is his concern and compassion, the fact that he listens. He is not a gladiator. He appears gentle, even thoughtful. This does not mean he lacks courage, merely the bravado that goes with it.

This is why Singh’s response dubbed as uncharacteristic was unfortunate. He succumbed to the false politics of masculinity evoked by the word security. He is not a Modi or an Advani infusing a militaristic sensibility into civilian life.

One would argue that he should stay this way, avoiding jingoism, machismo or the rituals of a clichéd masculinity. India’s response to terror and violence has not mimicked it. In this lies our sanity. ”

Let’s not make ourselves fool!

In search of the a real “Doyen”!

2009-04-13T19:22:00.001+05:30

Delhi School of Economics Prof Pulin B Nayak writes in today’s ET that “Prof Chelliah was decidedly different. Nor did he have any propensity towards or time for political sloganeering. He wanted to employ the body of academic knowledge in the era of post-Keynesian macroeconomic and fiscal policy making to make a difference to the human condition in his home country. But for this it was vital that he must return home.”

Except the tax reform he is not able to site a single research paper which breaks the usual thoughts of other Indian economists. I never heard (I am may be mistaken) of telling anyone that Prof Chelliah was a great Indian reform team! Even when he was alive forget about now.

I respect him a lot as a human being but I am unable to take any of his ideas/suggestions. Of course he was not outside of socialist economists as Mr Nayak writes “He wanted to employ the body of academic knowledge in the era of post-Keynesian macroeconomic”s.

Further, Mr Nayak says quite unconvincingly that “The only thing that ever mattered was the academic merit of an individual, regardless of region, linguistic background, sex, religion or caste.” I guess, he perhaps never heard of what one of greatest 20^th century economists and economics Nobel laureate F A Hayek said “Differences in wealth, education, tradition, religion, language or race may today become the cause of differential treatment on the pretext of a pretended principle of social justice or of public necessity. Once such discrimination is recognised as legitimate, all the safeguards of individual freedom of the liberal tradition are gone”.

Three tales to tango-Outliers- Tiger -Ideas

2009-04-09T19:34:00.007+05:30

Well, we have just passed three months in the year 2009 and now the spring has come once again. Many are thinking how the “Green shoots of spring are all very appealing but will they really spread and grow into a solid recovery?” (Spring fever).

I had good time to read books that was published in 2008. Two are from Indian authors one went to win The Man Booker Prize.

Imagining India: Ideas for the New Century by Nandan M. Nilekani, and

The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

All three are well written with consciences.

Nandan’s book is well searched and thought out book especially I enjoyed his lucid coverage of language issues in India.

For me the Adiga book is a great history of Indian Economic Thought as he rightly emphasised the brutalism of the great Indian Socialist darkness India and emergence of lights. As Freakonomics author STEPHEN J. DUBNER says if your read White Tiger “you learn a great deal about modern India”.

Gladwell’s book is a full of insights with paradise of imagination. It thrills me like when I traveled first time in plane from New Delhi to Srinagar for an international conference.

DAVID BROOKS said in his review in NYT “It leads to resilience, the ability to persevere with an idea even when all the influences in the world say it can’t be done. A common story among entrepreneurs is that people told them they were too stupid to do something, and they set out to prove the jerks wrong.

It leads to creativity. Individuals who can focus attention have the ability to hold a subject or problem in their mind long enough to see it anew.

Gladwell’s social determinism is a useful corrective to the Homo economicus view of human nature.”

All three has a significant common focus on ‘entrepreneurship’ which is a industry born with human intuition or ethics.

I will shortly post my reviews. But first I wanted to post a serious of posts on The White Tiger as he has covered a great amount of The Great Indian Socialist Darkness.

Dr Subroto Roy on Dr Raja Chelliah

2009-04-09T18:53:00.002+05:30

He writes with a dimmed mind by remembering his meeting with Dr Raja that “The institute he founded appears to consist mostly of a name and some buildings and a lot of wasteful bureaucratic public expenditure as is typical of the new Dilli Raj of recent decades. I recall a heated discussion with two of his successors there in the late 1990s in which they somehow attempted to say they were beyond Government of India control and could do as they pleased (which they had in fact proceeded to do). Neither could be said to have been familiar with Indian public finance data at the degree of precision necessary to grasp the fiscal problems Dr Chelliah had warned against. Like the Planning Commission and similar sets of public buildings, it is all mostly a waste; Delhi’s “think tanks” have been largely incapable of any real thought.”

In fact the same point was already raised by another economist Suman Bery, who is also head of NCAER.

Kushal Neta, Nirnayak Sarkaar (Determined Leader, Decisive Government)

2009-04-09T18:26:00.001+05:30

Gujarat’s Chief Minister Narendra Modi says in a interview to Rediff “Dr Manmohan Singh has not even visited all the states in the five years of his prime ministership, while Advaniji is a leader who has, at some point in time, spent a night in our 400 districts.”

Why I hate mathematics and econometric economics?

2009-04-09T17:19:00.002+05:30

As I posted here today about my dislike of mathematics and econometric economics some reader may think I am wrong and hey what hell you are talking about; each subject has its own course of relevant. Some specialize this or that. Some also confuses both by injecting a serious of models which can be understood by a few people etc. by creating a journal for that few people!

Paul Krugman won the 2008 The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel. My base for hating the mathematics and econometric economics is from his article published at MIT. Whether one like or dislike economics as a subject his article is worth to read.

Some excerpts:

"Marshallian" style of economic discourse: "(1) Use mathematics as a shorthand language, rather than as an engine of inquiry. (2) Keep to them till you have done. (3) Translate into English. (4) Then illustrate by examples that are important in real life. (5) Burn the mathematics. (6) If you can't succeed in 4, burn 3."

"Economic doctrine ... is not a body of concrete truth, but an engine for the discovery of concrete truth ..." (quoted in Sills and Merton, p. 150).

How are students and colleagues supposed to learn how to use this engine if you burn the evidence of the engine at work?

Krugman’s version of Marshall's rules:

“(1) Figure out what you think about an issue, working back and forth among verbal intuition, evidence, and as much math as you need. (2) Stay with it till you are done. (3) Publish the intuition, the math, and the evidence - all three - in an economics journal. (4) But also try to find a way of expressing the idea without the formal apparatus. (5) If you can, publish that where it can do the world some good.

In short, two cheers for formalism - but reserve the third for sophisticated informality”.

“the point of their education is to learn methods, not answers. And publication in professional journals is or at least should be a form of education: it is how economists teach each other about their work.”

In fact liberal economist F A Hayek who also received The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel jointly in 1974.

Hayek said something like this: “economics is a method”.

Who will become next Finance Minister of India?

2009-04-09T11:47:00.001+05:30

T C A has some list, but there are several brutal men in the list. See them:

“Satish Chandra Mishra: Mayawati’s Brahmin mascot. If she becomes PM, she may want him as FM. The civil service will be pleased. Acceptable face to all Manuwadis.

Sitaram Yechury: He could become FM if the Left plays a prominent part in the next government. Less harmful to business than his boss. Talks sense more often. Easily tameable by the civil servants.

Amar Singh: If Mulayam Singh has his way in the Yadav-Dalit group of UP-Bihar, he could be a contender. Good at handling money and finance, and an excellent negotiator.

H. D. Kumaraswamy: Former CM of Karnataka, Daddy Deve Gowda may want him as FM if he himself can’t become PM.

Naveen Patnaik: He may need a job soon, and would be acceptable to all parties. Depends on whom he makes a deal with.”

Bubbles Warding off……….

2009-04-09T11:28:00.002+05:30

Christopher Lingle has valid point “For its part, the Obama team increased the climate of uncertainty to stampede the general public into accepting the stimulus package and the mushrooming deficit. While successful entrepreneurs can deal with uncertainty from market conditions and even thrive with it, uncertainty created by politicians tends to stifle business activity. And so, fear-mongering and negative remarks about the economy to spook the electorate into supporting his spending plans have undermined overall confidence.”

The Great Indian Socialist Darkness Party?

2009-04-09T11:24:00.001+05:30

M Govinda Rao has article in BS on “Raja Chelliah: Father of India's tax reforms”.

As for as I know about Raja Chelliah economics is full of mathematics and econometrics models which the Madras School of Economics produces now.

He is also one of old socialist group of economists in India. Though in his later life he changed his mind and moved advocating some liberal ideas like tax reform, for instance.

Where were theses economists when Professor B R Shenoy echoed The Great Indian Socialist Darkness Party?

Inequality geniuses….

2009-04-09T10:57:00.001+05:30

“The problem is never with the economic system or the ideology. The problem is always with human beings who get intoxicated with wealth and power and corrupt the system whatever it is. Our present global economic crisis is the result of human foibles, cronyism, power mongering, greed, selfishness, corruption and bureaucracy. ”

Actually it is never serious or insensitive “human beings” who become bombard in civil society for forever.

Interestingly people argue in the present world financial crisis like what Mr Deepak says “To create the new paradigm we do not need to resuscitate a dying patient, we need to let the patient die and reincarnate ourselves as a new humanity. ”.

This is what some liberals argue if a particular company failed by its own wrong decision making let them fail so that they will be more cautious in future with their wealth management. In fact this will pave a way to other companies also. The Economist says perhaps more aptly that “the rich created a new form of heads-I-win-tails-you-lose capitalism. Traders and fund managers got huge rewards for speculating with other people’s money, but when they failed the parent company, the client and ultimately the taxpayer had to pay the bill. Monetary policy contributed to this asymmetry of risk: when markets faltered central banks usually rescued them by cutting interest rates.”

Fraternity barely heard is the starting point….

2009-04-09T10:53:00.002+05:30

Mr Arun Maira has an interesting article in today’s ET which throws interesting questions also. What would be the liberal’s position in election at this point of time?

However, we must accept what it emerges like “…that they are taking the first steps towards a larger transformation of the country’s political culture and therefore deserve support. Which raises the question: since transformation by this route will be difficult and slow, how else can the Indian professional class influence the course of the country’s politics and development? ”

Further if we want change lets be “Ideally, those who wish to influence change must participate transparently within the official system — as the ‘professionals’ standing for election in India are. In the 1960s, Minoo Masani appealed to Indian professionals to come forth and join the Swatantra Party. The party fizzled out by the 1980s. Not only because many professionals did not join it, but because its views about economics and society had limited appeal amongst Indian people.

Two questions about the role of the professionals in politics that were asked to the Swatantra Party’s leaders 50 years ago, remain valid even today. One, are professionals electable? And two, how inclusive is their vision for the country? To get elected, these professionals must convince voters that they understand and represent what the voters want. Very recently Chandrababu Naidu told an industry association that he lost the election in 2004 because he was seen to be too much influenced by professionals — international consultants and CEOs. And that, to get elected this time, he would keep his distance from them and stay much closer to the people.”

Lastly, I completely hate talking like this “….their voices will be barely heard in Parliament and state assemblies even if they get elected”. After all the change will only happens when the individual change.

Wisdom of Untersuchungen...........

2009-04-08T20:07:00.002+05:30

Now, we are in once again hardcore election time if anything matter at most in economics is the public finance in which the elected government will do its job as business as usual.

There are differences in assessment of the performance of a company or consumer behaviour (read as benefits or gains or loss) from a market: buying and selling things.

But when it comes to the assessment of a representative of people in a democracy it is always a difficult job and the odd will prevail at most. In other words as Buchanan said “..in political exchange, there is no decentralized process that allows "efficiency" to be evaluated deontologically, akin to the evaluation of a market. Individuals cannot, by the nature of the goods that are collectively "purchased" in politics, adjust their own behavior to common terms of trade. The political analogue to decentralized trading among individuals must be that feature common over all exchanges, which is agreement among the individuals who participate. The unanimity rule for collective choice is the political analogue to freedom of exchange of partitionable goods in markets.”

Though, Mr Bob McTeer President, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas said economist Johan Gustav Knut Wicksell “…favored a mild form of socialism, achieved gradually and built on the foundations of a welfare state”.

But public choice theory economist James M. Buchanan Jr quoted in his Nobel lecture and is quite interesting to ponder. In fact it is also right time to remember what he has said decades ago. Excerpts from his lecture:

“The science of public finance should always keep... political conditions clearly in mind. Instead of expecting guidance from a doctrine of taxation that is based on the political philosophy of by-gone ages, it should instead endeavor to unlock the mysteries of the spirit of progress and development. (Wicksell, p. 87.).

If utility is zero for each individual member of the community, the total utility for the community cannot be other than zero. (Wicksell, p. 77.)

... neither the executive nor the legislative body, and even less the deciding majority in the latter, are in reality ... what the ruling theory tells us they should be. They are not pure organs of the community with no thought other than to promote the common weal.
... members of the representative body are, in the overwhelming majority of cases, precisely as interested in the general welfare as are their constituents, neither more nor less. (Wicksell, pp. 86, 87.)

It would seem to be a blatant injustice if someone should be forced to contribute toward the costs of some activity which does not further his interests or may even be diametrically opposed to them. (Wicksell, p. 89.)

... whether the benefits of the proposed activity to the individual citizens would be greater than its cost to them, no one can judge this better than the individuals themselves. (Wicksell, p. 79.)

The ultimate goal ... is equality before the law, greatest possible liberty, and the economic well-being and peaceful cooperation of all people. (Wicksell, p. 88.)”

Eleemosynarism…….

2009-04-08T14:48:00.001+05:30

Liberal scholar Mr Sharad Joshi has a great piece in today’s Business Line against the NREGA titled “Killing the spirit of enterprise”.

He argues the “blatant ‘eleemosynarism’ – a system of encouraging people to live in expectation of gratuitous assistance rather than by the sweat of the brow and enterprise. And this is much worse than giving cash to a single individual. This is the virtual emasculation of a whole section of society. ”

Economist Raja Chelliah passes away

2009-04-08T14:43:00.002+05:30

I had opportunity to see economist Mr Raja Chelliah at Madras School of Economic and during some conferences. Today’s there is a new which says “Renowned economist Raja Chelliah passes away”.

Global recession and sue

2009-04-08T14:27:00.001+05:30

On the debate of present recession it may be untold fact that the “Greenspan and Reddy are credited with far more power than they ever had, and with responsibility for outcomes largely beyond their control. Central bankers actually have very limited tools, and hence very limited powers.”

Further Mr Aiyar argues “Central banks can squeeze the whole economy through monetary measures. But can they selectively squeeze only asset bubbles and not desirable activity? No, says Greenspan. I know of no historians who have proved otherwise.”

But it reminds me another article published recently in the Indian Express by Bibek Debroy titled Can you sue God?

Let me ask, Can RBI sue bubbles?

Of course, the RBI or any central bank is not god. But for god unlike RBI or central bank there is no respondent.

Repeat every disastrous mistake of the 1930s

2009-04-07T18:04:00.001+05:30

Economist Sowell has a great piece:

“politicians can spend our tax money like a drunken sailor,…. Barack Obama seems determined to repeat every disastrous mistake of the 1930s, at home and abroad. ,….. it has long been said that uncertainty is the hardest thing for a market to adjust to. No one can generate uncertainty as much as the government,
How a man who holds the entire population of a country as his prisoners, and punishes the families of those who escape, can be admired by people who call themselves liberals is one of the many wonders of the human mind's ability to rationalize. Yet such is the case with Fidel Castro”.

India's Swiss Vision 2020

2009-04-07T17:51:00.000+05:30

Ashok V. Desai on AVARICIOUS DREAMS

The natural morality of child

2009-04-07T17:16:00.001+05:30

I always had have passion to enjoy the “Moral judgments are like” …. rapid intuitive decisions and involve the emotion-processing parts of the brain. Most of us make snap moral judgments about what feels fair or not, or what feels good or not. We start doing this when we are babies, before we have language. And even as adults, we often can’t explain to ourselves why something feels wrong.” (David Brook’s “The End of Philosophy”).

Overproduction is impossible..

2009-04-07T15:27:00.001+05:30

M K Venu writes in the ET:

“Marx had specifically spoken about periods of commercial crises in advanced capitalist societies which are visited by an “epidemic of overproduction”. The epidemic of overproduction creates total disorder in bourgeois society, threatening existing property and productive forces at large.
In the current context, the epidemic of overproduction can be seen in the massive debt build-up in the western societies, the housing derivatives, credit card and auto loans, the huge inventories of global automobile majors like General Motors and Ford.
Marx described the epidemic of overproduction as such: “Society finds itself put back in a state of momentary barbarism. Industry and commerce seem to be destroyed. And why? Because there is too much civilisation, too much means of subsistence, too much industry and too much commerce. The productive forces at the disposal of society no longer tend to further the development of bourgeois property”.
And how does the global bourgeoisie get over such a condition? “On the one hand, by an enforced destruction of some of the existing productive forces, and on the other hand, by the conquest of new markets”. It is here that Marx provides a deep insight which global bourgeois leaders like President Obama and Gordon Brown must heed”.

I respect for his expression but it is totally misleading article. In fact I posted a comment they did not publish. See the comment below.

The article is simple but totally misleading the concept of “production” and “overproduction”. Overproduction is not possible in a price coordinated economy because there will always be a disproportionate in growth. In the present case, government or Fed Reserve has manipulated the basic function of system say interest rate reduced etc. In fact there is “roundabout production” which will manage the cycle.

The author is totally ignorant of what J B Say, Böhm-Bawerk, Eugen vo etc have said.

Slowly the ET it marching towards “socialism” which is very dangerous to India perhaps the ET team knows this.

“Never one to blindly accept adult advice” because there were simply ‘told’

2009-04-07T15:05:00.002+05:30

Economist Paul Samuelson says:

“studying economics was the result of accidental blind chance.
I had always been good at logical manipulations and puzzle-solving IQ tests.
Always, I have been overpaid to do what has been pure fun”.

Misunderstanding Cycles

2009-04-07T10:31:00.001+05:30

Shashwata Narain writes in Yale Daily News “Despite the global economic crisis, Dr. Rakesh Mohan ’71, deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India, the country’s central bank, described India’s current financial situation as “healthy” in a conference held in the Macmillan Center on Friday.”

But RBI press release says “Born on January 14, 1948, Dr. Rakesh Mohan received his Masters degree and Doctorate in Economics from Princeton University and BA in Economics from Yale University.”

Misreporting has become very much common now. I mean Mr Mohan's age.

Election is a fish out of water bowl………

2009-04-06T19:22:00.001+05:30

After economic reform, many or almost all left party politician, left academic, unions, etc blame the reform process because poor people have not got benefits from ‘economic prosperity’ that our country has seen last ten or fifteen years.

Here People's Democratic Party President Mehbooba Mufti says in an interview with BS.

“What are the issues you expect the political parties to address in the election campaign?

The economic issues will certainly dominate the election campaign across the country. The fact is that the economic prosperity that we have achieved in the last decade is not evenly distributed across the society and regions. People and smaller parties like ours are looking forward to the major players to spell out policies that would translate this prosperity into visible results on the ground”.

Let me ask are the ‘economic prosperity’ was achieved evenly and distributed well before the economic reform, which was started in 90s?

It is not surprise, if any of these group answers with odd or muddled narratives.

Lip service is a currency!

2009-04-06T14:55:00.001+05:30

What if the dollar were no longer the reserve currency?

Mr S L Rao has his own unbalanced understanding of dominate currency even with other issues. One reason seems to me that it is invariable among Indian economists expects some like B R Shenoy.

Friedman’s Plucking

2009-04-06T14:27:00.001+05:30

It seems to be interesting I mean what Mr Kevin Hassett says the “Butterfly at Ceiling” and reversing the depressed economy and less unemployment all that stuffs.

He says that “I find it useful when thinking about the Friedman model to use an alternate analogy. Imagine that you are in a room with an upward sloping ceiling. There is a butterfly in the room that wants to escape, and it follows the ceiling up and up over time.

If the height of the butterfly represents gross domestic product, we can say that the economy is generally trending higher. If it happens to flutter down far away from the ceiling, that means its next movement is likely to be steeply back up.

The hard part, of course, is figuring out whether a given decline is lasting bad news or a temporary pluck.”

Who will correct the misunderstanding cycle?

2009-04-06T13:53:00.003+05:30

The fundamental understanding of word ‘reform’ is somehow missed out from its original path. Secondly, several of economists, policy analysts understood wrongly by relating US financial crisis and present Indian financial inclusion development.

Of course, the economic agents and policy makers ‘intentionality’ is nowhere close.

Mr Rakesh Mohan in his interview says “There are also some overlaps with the Percy Mistry lot, and with Raghu’s crew. So I think these panels were independent. Second, we had international peer reviewers who are amongst the most respected in each of their fields and therefore the process was designed to address the issue of impartiality.”

However, Mr Jaideep Mishra says “the policy debate to chalk out a suitable road-map for financial sector reforms. And here, the CFSA report does not seem to materially differ from the earlier Percy Mistry and the more recent Raghuram Rajan committee reports in terms of direction and scope, although there are differences in terms of nuances and emphasis on the way ahead. ”

And A V Rajwade blames in his BS article that “the political class that relaxed rules and supervision to allow bankers to create the mess they did.”

But who will correct the misunderstanding cycle?

Heterodox Austrian school of economics- why China and Russia want gold Standard?

2009-04-06T12:12:00.003+05:30

Atul Sethi writes in the TOI “Now, countries like China and Russia want gold to be more than a steady asset. Russia recently advocated partial restoration of the gold standard — the old system of anchoring a country's currency to a specific amount of gold — to make for greater stability in the world monetary system. ”

However, the reasons expressed by economist like Arvind Panagariy is not at all clear.

The benefits of failure

2009-04-03T20:05:00.001+05:30

Peter T. Leeson has a nice article on The benefits of failure

Smith third law: a theory of government

2009-04-03T19:38:00.001+05:30

Karan Horn has quite interesting article on Adam Smith and his idea. What was interested me was:

“We actively educate ourselves so that we can hope to be truly praiseworthy.”

“The question has to do with the natural harmonisation of interests. Is there any way in which the interests of government are spontaneously aligned with the interests of the governed? Is political action possible without destroying the checks and balances of the spontaneous order? Smith doesn't give us an answer. Maybe he had found that there was no such way”.

Prof Kaushik Basu’s dogma

2009-04-03T19:01:00.002+05:30

According to Wikipedia and “The U.S. State department in 1976 estimated that there may have been a million killed in the land reform, 800,000 killed in the counterrevolutionary campaign.^[20] Mao himself claimed that a total of 700,000 people were executed during the years 1949–53.^[21] However, because there was a policy to select "at least one landlord, and usually several, in virtually every village for public execution",^[22] the number of deaths range between between 2 million and 5 million.^[23][24] In addition, at least 1.5 million people were sent to"reform through labour" camps.^[25] Mao’s personal role in ordering mass executions is undeniable.^[26][27] He defended these killings as necessary for the securing of power.^[28]”

Now it is unsurprising to me when Mr Kaushik Basu says notoriously in his recent column that “during the deep Communist period of Mao, China had had stretches of remarkable growth. During 1964-66 and 1969-71, it grew at over 16 per cent per annum. What was special to the period of deep Communism was the occurrence of recessions. In 1961, China's output declined by 27 per cent; there was another deep recession in the mid-1960s. In contrast, during the period of market-oriented policies, there were no downturns. No other nation in the world has seen the kind of sustained growth that China has achieved over the last three decades.”

Though I respect his opinion but how long an open mined person like me can or should tolerate? And how people these misleading idea will kill in future?

I have no idea.

The State, after all a Public Good

2009-04-03T18:43:00.001+05:30

Kiran Karnik says in his Economic Times article “In India, as in much of the world, we have witnessed nearly two decades of steady de-regulation. Many controls have been dismantled and government has stepped out of some areas. The private sector has been permitted into many previously-closed sectors and has even attained dominance — aviation and mobile telephony are good examples. Even in areas like education and health-care, the government has been playing an ever-smaller role. The influence of corporate leaders within government has vastly increased and government has, clearly, been on the wane.”

That is not the case wherever government has “dismantled” its nose is still keeping for smelling the taste for its own ‘evil’. In fact it is interesting to see how private agency is also becoming more ‘evil’ for example the Satyam case. Why does Satyam Company do such a bad mistake which will cost much more than the company aims to achieve in short term profit? Think of its employee and their family, already there is a new that about 16000 employees left the company.

Think of US financial crisis, why do companies don’t take precaution about dangerous actions and then ask government to help their balance sheet on which the government had no business in the past. Why to government give helpline for these companies by funding tax payer’s money and mad printing.

Only one reason may be valid to think more than twice is the case of employee of that company. If the government does not help the employee of that particular company will be in dangerous situation, it may lead to cost many lives also.

All is ok, why do these so called companies top management take such a causal look on their ‘decisions’ or their precise actions?

It is not only who mad the situation in US and other counties but it is Perfect Time think about Private Property of Decision Making in big corporations.

So it is absurdly to think at least at this point of time that the “state has dismantled”.

Banana economists…….

2009-04-03T18:00:00.001+05:30

T. C. A. Srinivasa-Raghavan is trained from Delhi School of Economics and he has lots of friends still over there. He says in his column in Business Line which is something interesting and questioning his friend’s works perhaps his own works also!

Take his recent column in which he says “...this is very much the case with the demand for economics courses. The best and the brightest, 90 per cent of the time, go off into the pure sciences, mathematics, and engineering. Those who can’t make it into these courses, often end up in economics.

As more students pass out of schools, and the number of seats in the pure sciences, mathematics, and engineering grows only slowly, there is a natural increase in the demand for economics. This much is simple”.

Of course seldom people takes serious about the advancement of any subject, like the one now is economics on which T C A has been dewing for quite some time. And I have been taking note it. Because the only reason which I employ is ‘open mind’.

To be precise for me it is not only interesting to read the questioning style of his writings but the way he puts things in unfolding ideas of economics.

“Sure, there are nonsense in his writings may be occasionally” as my friend Jayakamal use to describe.

T C A has been questioning the whole body of economics development since 1970s. His focuses has also shifted from macro economics to other area as he writes in recent column “Through clever research funding economists were persuaded to ask questions that had not only been already asked and answered but also which had no real answers. Growth theory and development economics are excellent examples of this but almost all of economics is like this.”

Consolidated Common Minimum Fund of India!

2009-04-02T11:08:00.000+05:30

Shyam Ponappa stress what could be added in the list of subsidy politics;

The following are some excerpts from his article in today’s BS.

"‘Rice politics’ is a convenient tag for these strategies, although their reach extends to food grains, saris, housing, TV sets, mobile phones, computers, cash, liquor… This practice began in 1967 in Tamil Nadu, when the DMK swept to power on the promise of cheap rice (and opposition to Hindi). This was followed in Andhra Pradesh by the TDP in 1983 and 1994. The Congress tried to counter the TDP’s blandishments in Andhra Pradesh on both occasions, to no avail. Then came the successes in the mid-1990s by the Janata Dal in Karnataka, the late Biju Patnaik in Orissa, and the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra. More recently, the BJP was successful in Karnataka, MP and Chattisgarh. The DMK added TV sets to ‘roti-kapda-makaan’ in 2006. Now, the Congress and BJP are trying to outdo each other with electioneering sops.
The Congress manifesto promises expanding the NREGS, taking broadband to the villages and extending reservations to the private sector, while the BJP offers computers with Internet connections...
The Justice D P Wadhwa Committee appointed by the Supreme Court reportedly recommended last week scrapping the PDS, and instituting a computerised, ID-linked distribution system. Executed competently as an end-to-end system, this would result in greater end-user benefits at much lower cost".

Can your vote buy money locked in the Swiss Banks?

2009-04-01T18:00:00.001+05:30

An IIM Bangalore Professor R Vaidyanathan says in Swiss Banks “More amounts were stashed away during the Nehruvian regime.”

The following are some excerpts from his interview with Rediff.

“Firstly how much Indian money do you think is stashed away in the Swiss Banks?

In 2006, the most recent Global Financial Integrity study, developing countries lost an estimated $858.6 billion (about Rs 43 lakh crore) to $1.06 trillion (abot Rs 51 lakh crore) in illicit financial outflows. Even at the lower end of the range of estimates, the volume of illicit financial flows coming out of developing countries increased at a compound rate of 18.2 percent over the five-year period analysed for the study. On average, for the five-year period of this study, Asia accounts for approximately 50 percent of overall illicit financial flows from all developing countries.

This report shows that the average amount stashed away from India annually during 2002-06 is $27.3 billion (about 136,466 crore). It means that during the five-year period the amount stashed away is 27.3x5=136.5 billion (about 692,328 crore). It is not that all these amounts went to Swiss banks. It has gone to different tax and secret shelters. The share of Swiss banks in dirty money being a third of the global aggregate, some $45 billion out of the 136.5 billion stashed away from India would have been hoarded in these years in Swiss banks.

The important point is that this is only for five years. More amounts were stashed away during the Nehruvian regime. So the loot for 55 years will be several times higher. In fact, in those days the rupee commanded a better value per dollar. So fewer rupee could get more dollars. So the estimation that the Indian money stashed away may be of the order of $1.4 trillion (about Rs 71 lakh crore).

You wrote in your column that the German foreign intelligence agency BND got names of 1,400 clients of the Liechtenstein-based LTG bank who were supposed to be suspected tax evaders. Of the 1,400, 600 were supposed to be Germans. Do you think of the remaining there will be Indians as well? Has the Indian government approached the German government for the list?

Indian names will be there. Our tax evaders and crooks are like the omnipresent Maha Vishnu [Images] -- present in all continents and all tax havens. But our government has been lukewarm in this issue. It should have despatched immediately senior officials to get the names.

Isn't it important to tackle the issue of domestic black money?

It is definitely important. At least the domestic black money is used in our economy and to that extent it is productive. But the money kept in Swiss banks is neither useful to India nor does it benefit Indians.

What role should the media play?

The media has a very important role to play. At the moment it seems like most part of the media is more interested in the diet of an actress. Pressure by the media needs to be built up on this issue and remember that a lot of Indians don't just go to Switzerland to ski”.

But it is absurdly and nonsense to say that “At least the domestic black money is used in our economy and to that extent it is productive.” Don’t you think so?

Whether government is moral or immoral?

2009-04-01T10:39:00.001+05:30

Williams says “In thinking about questions of morality, my initial premise is that I am my private property and you are your private property. That's simple. What's complex is what percentage of me belongs to someone else. If we accept the idea of self-ownership, then certain acts are readily revealed as moral or immoral. Acts such as rape and murder are immoral because they violate one's private property rights. Theft of the physical things that we own, such as cars, jewelry and money, also violates our ownership rights.

You might as well join in the looting, including the current looting in the name of stimulating the economy”.

Who brainwashed whom?

2009-04-01T10:30:00.001+05:30

But Paul Samuelson very sure in centrist economics, he says in a recent column in Business world that:

“It will be a tragedy — an avoidable tragedy — if today’s democracies permit themselves to stay mired in long slumps.

When the public becomes too scared to spend, their shift to saving kills off investment. My generation of macro economists called this “the Paradox of Thrift”. Today’s teachers in the Ivy League got brainwashed by scholars like Milton Friedman and Friedrich Hayek to forget such realities.”

Hello any one is hearing in India?

2009-04-01T10:22:00.002+05:30

Some economists have been talking about “a rookie President” in fact ours too “rookie”.

Says Thomas Sowell “a rookie President of the United States and, in the dangerous world we live in, with terrorist nations going nuclear, just one rookie mistake can bring disaster down on this generation and generations yet to come.

There is no sign that President Obama has impressed the Russians, the Iranians or the North Koreans, except by his rookie mistakes-- and that is a dangerous way to impress dangerous people.

There is no sign that President Obama has impressed the Russians, the Iranians or the North Koreans, except by his rookie mistakes-- and that is a dangerous way to impress dangerous people”.

I am nobody’s stooge…

2009-04-01T10:02:00.001+05:30

Yes says Captain, G.R. Gopinath.

Listening is a biggest asset to act or not act on an issue. If we listen next two or three months probably we can act well over next five years on who have fooled us and who haven’t. Also interestingly who have learned to lead or represent us who haven’t?

The following are excerpt.

“What was the trigger (for jumping into the contest)?

I was in Mumbai when the dastardly terrorist attack took place. I also saw the attacks on churches and minorities in Karnataka and how the administration failed to act. The recent attack on women in pubs at Mangalore was the final trigger... When a clerk in my office told me that instead of complaining, we should act, I decided.

You were earlier with the BJP. Why as an independent now?

Even this time around the BJP offered me a ticket, though from a different constituency. Other parties, too, approached me to contest. But I feel that the (political) parties have failed the people. All of them state lofty ideals but none of them sticks to it. In 1994, I was a progressive farmer when the BJP, which didn’t have much presence (here), approached and convinced me to contest elections. I toured 410 villages in a short time but lost elections. Eventually, I became disillusioned with the party and quit in the same year.

We have to change the political system. We want our children to be engineers, doctors, entrepreneurs—anything but politicians. We have to change that.

There is talk that you are being propped up by Karnataka chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa to defeat his internal party rival Ananth Kumar.

(Angrily) I am nobody’s stooge; I will not prostitute myself.

Why Lok Sabha? Karnataka has sent several industrialists such as M.A.M. Ramaswamy, Vijay Mallya and Rajeev Chandrasekhar to the Upper House. Wouldn’t that have been the easy route ?

Let us be clear. It is no secret that most of them bought their seats either by funding parties or selling their souls. I want the people to elect me.

How do you intend to fund your campaign?

With my own money. I will spend Rs25 lakh. The interesting thing is that young and old people across caste, class, community barriers are volunteering their time and money for the campaign.

Have you got support from your fellow entrepreneurs?

NRN (N.R. Narayana Murthy, non-executive chairman of Infosys Technologies Ltd) is travelling but has expressed support. Others such as Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw (chairman and managing director of Biocon Ltd), Ramesh Ramanathan (co-founder of non-profit institution Janaagraha and a Mint columnist), T.V. Mohandas Pai (human resources head of Infosys), Pradeep Kar (chairman and managing director of Microland Ltd) and Prasad Bidappa (fashion designer) are actively participating and brainstorming for the campaign”.

People and politician was never a mutual discoverer-it is odd

2009-03-31T19:37:00.001+05:30

In an interview to The Business Line Mr Sashi Tharoor says:

"Do you think that you have too closely identified yourself with the US on several issues that, perhaps, you have also created some doubts in the minds of people?

Many in the Left have been going around thinking that I am some sort of an American agent. I find this slightly odd because the Left was the first to correctly denounce the George Bush administration’s veto of me in the race for UN Secretary-General. If I were an American agent I would probably be there (the US) and not here... So this seems a slightly preposterous charge..."

Private Consolidate Fund of India

2009-03-31T19:07:00.001+05:30

It is not new when companies donate money to parties. But transformation of this idea is still not yet under way.

There could be a Private Consolidate Fund of India (PCFI) which can fund political parties (candidates) that link practical policies that have alternative option to poster the society.

In fact in the present funding system many people really do not know how much they spend on one non criminal candidate and a criminal candidate.

This PCFI could be an independent bank of charity to manage funds. It should never accept money from any form of Government.

According to Bibek many industrialist donated money to political parties. He writes in the Indian Express that:

“The UTVI channel has used the RTI Act to collect data on income tax returns filed by political parties. The figures are sometimes for 2007-08, sometimes for 2008-09. So we know, the largest donors have been Aditya Birla group, Torrent Power, Videocon, Salgaonkar, Dempo, Chowgule, Charitable Trust, Jubilant Enpro, Kamaljit Singh Ahluwalia, Timblo, Prime Builders and Developers, Honda Siel, Trans Indian Freight Services and United Phosphorus.
I am told some corporate boards insist donations should be evenly spread out, not necessarily equally, but perhaps in some proportion to seats in Parliament. But that’s not what this list shows. Aditya Birla prefers Congress, Kamaljit Singh Ahluwalia prefers BJP and Honda Siel prefers Samajwadi Party.”

Need 100 per cent law abiding citizen…………

2009-03-31T16:31:00.002+05:30

There is interview in the rediff with Tamil Nadu actor turned politician “Popularly known as S Ve Shekher, he shares his mobile number with all the residents of his constituency and is always accessible to them.

He recently created a flutter when he announced his decision to resign from the AIADMK. He also submitted a memorandum to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi on March 30, asking for seven per cent reservation for the Brahmin community”.

The following are excerpts:

“Are you planning to resign from the AIADMK?

Definitely. Now, I will give a memorandum to the chief minister asking for seven per cent reservation for the Brahmin community (he submitted it on March 30). If the government appoints a committee, I will resign from the Mylapore constituency. In a by-election, it is always the ruling party that wins.

Why do you feel Brahmins need reservation in Tamil Nadu?

Why should they not get reservation? In Tamil Nadu, 69 per cent of the people get reservation and ninety five per cent of people enjoy some kind of reservation except the forward community. Where is social justice? There are over 40 lakh Brahmins in Tamil Nadu. It is the government's duty to give equal opportunities to everyone. Brahmins have been eliminated, insulted and sidelined in so many ways. You cannot punish people for what happened over 50-60 years ago.

Now that you are talking to the press about your decision to quit, what is the feedback that you are getting from your party chief?

You don't know the AIADMK. Once the party starts ignoring you, they don't bother about what you do.

Usually, people switch parties when they have some case regsistered against them. I have never been booked for anything -- not even for riding double on a bicycle. I am an MLA but I don't go in the opposite direction on a one-way street, I don't park in a no-parking zone. I am a 100 per cent law abiding citizen.

Once I decide to quit, I will send a letter to the party supremo and I will conduct a sms poll on the decision. I will hold a public meeting in my constituency as I feel I have a responsibility to the people who voted for me. At the public meeting, I will tell the people how I joined the party, why I am resigning and what I will do now”.

21st Century: Conflict of liberalism

2009-03-31T10:01:00.001+05:30

I have been observing in India and abroad how the present stand of liberalism moves forward. I find increasingly diluted even among the well experienced liberals. For instance, in today’s Business Standard Professor Deepal Lal argues “….US banks urgently need to be restored to health, perhaps through temporary nationalisation as in Sweden in 1992”. This is a dangerous suggestion. I have no idea how he reached this conclusion. Though, he gives some explanation in the article essentially the major difference between Hayek, Keynes and Fisher and Wicksell theory.

But I remember what Anna Schwartz said "we won't have a capitalist system . . . People are responsible for the decisions they make. If they've made wrong decisions, lost money and don't have the funds to operate, well, it's time to leave the market. And that's what the Fed's responsibility is, not to shore up firms that have no reason to continue."

Yashpal in line with NKC

2009-03-31T09:59:00.002+05:30

There is news which says that the Yashpal Committee on Higher Education Reform has suggested the following:

The recommendations

Creating a single Higher Education Commission to replace multiple regulators
Abolition of UGC, AICTE
Divesting MCI, DCI and other professional regulatory bodies of academic functions
Scrapping deemed university system
Reviving undergraduate education
Restoring primacy of the university by providing it self-regulation and autonomy
Adding work experience and internships to every discipline
Equal status and benefits to central and state universities
IITs and IIMs to expand scope and function as full fledged universities

Children are great detectors of their life

2009-03-27T10:18:00.001+05:30

Mokshamu galada,……

Quite nicely Shoba Narayan says “…as countless teachers (the good ones, anyway) prove every day, a legacy can also involve touching minds and hearts. To distil the idea to its simplest possible element, I would argue that you don’t even have to be a teacher to leave behind a legacy: You could be a homemaker like Prabha auntie”.

But sadly, teachers in Indian school, colleges and universities do all sort of thing except teaching. This whole situation may be one of great wonder of Indian democracy invention.

Who toed whose line?

2009-03-26T17:52:00.002+05:30

T. C. A. SRINIVASA-RAGHAVAN asks perhaps good question “Why is it that if India has an approach to something, Indian economists wait for it to be validated by the West before they accept it? Indeed, why do they attack the Indians who advocate that view before such validation is bestowed by the West? I genuinely believe that the Finance Ministry, which funded the Mistry report, and the Planning Commission, which funded the Raghuram Rajan report, have some serious explaining to do. As indeed do the economists who toed their line and kept up LeT like attacks on the RBI.”

I also hunch that partly or fully TCA knows the answer as his is a veteran of Indian economist’s views. But there are groupism views in India like he has been advocating Dr Reddy rule of Central Bank.

At least it is not surprising me when he says "approach to something" and “they will land you in trouble” when ourselves prepared to land in trouble like the one ‘socialism’.

The holy trinity c-o-w-s……..

2009-03-26T10:05:00.001+05:30

Well, this is as usual election time, but in different time. Many things have changed except the Darkness India which lives outside the domain of every policy maker, leader, official’s mindset.

Nevertheless, Chacha Manmohan Singh has tried his best to do in the last five years like an open mind child trying to learn and do in primary school (class one to five). I am sure he will get pass mark for last five years but I am not sure whether this will help him to enter his sixth class.

One outside Darkness teacher says all the “good men” become ‘bad men’ at the end of the five years term except Chacha Manmohan Singh. People in Darkness still do not know what these good men turned bad men did for them. It’s not the mistake of these Darkness people but it might be a big mistake of these good men turned bad men.

No matter how bad men all these persons but they are all good friend in their past and future life.

Who can clean biased minds?

2009-03-25T11:48:00.002+05:30

Eminent economist Mr Nani A Palkhivala said in his Convocation Address to Karnataka University on 2^nd February 1974, at Dharwar that “All growth depends upon energetic activity. There can be no development without effort, and effort means work. Work is not a curse to be kept at bay by holidays and bandhs; it is the prerogative of intelligence and the only instrument for national advancement. What the country needs is dirtier fingernails and cleaner minds.”

Now, among Indian intelligentsia many think that the grownup has more biased opinion than the younger people. For example, former President of India Dr Kalam said in a recent interview that “the youth have fewer biases about their society as compared to the grown-ups.”

But the question arises if the youth have “fewer biases” than why are millions of youth just follows the foot path of criminal politicians. Do they think before joining a political party?

No doubt there are good politicians. But the bad one seems to be attracting more youth as compared to good politicians. It’s not true?

The other pathetic condition is in the Indian education system which is suffice to grow once one “vote motive” community.

The Nani A Palkhivala address titled “Education and Youth in A Democratic Society” later published by Forum of Free Enterprise, Bombay.

Conflicts of Indian liberals…with NOTA idea

2009-03-24T19:46:00.001+05:30

“Say NO to the “None of the above” idea” says Delhi based liberty institute director. As for as I know many liberals welcome the ‘None of the above’ (NOTA) idea.

Well defined private property rights matter ………

2009-03-23T18:29:00.002+05:30

Professor Maitreesh Ghatak who teach economics in LSE says in today's FE that:

“…where property titles are ill-defined, where legal disputes takes decades to settle, where poor farmers or small businessmen face eviction threats, it is difficult to imagine how they can behave like textbook economic agents, namely, taking a long-run view, saving, investing, and climbing their ways out of poverty. Security of property rights therefore is of utmost importance.
The term property right refers to an owner’s right to use a good or asset for consumption and/or income generation (referred to as “use rights”). This can also include the right to transfer it to another party, in the form of a sale, gift or bequest (referred to as “transfer rights”). A property right also typically conveys the right to contract with other parties by renting, pledging, or mortgaging a good or asset, or by allowing other parties to use it, for example, in an employment relationship.
By property rights, economists typically refer to private property rights, a key feature of which is being able to legally exclude others from using a good or asset. This affects resource allocation by shaping the incentives of individuals to carry out productive activities involving the use of the good or asset, undertake investments that maintain or enhance its value, and also, to trade or lease it for other uses.”

The concerns of MPS president……..

2009-03-20T19:02:00.001+05:30

Professor Deepak Lal was called a urgent meeting of The Mont Pelerin Society to discuss the global crisis and in his address to the meeting said:

“My greatest fear is that this crisis- and the responses to it- will stall or reverse the wholly benign process of globalization, which dates from the China's opening by Deng Tsiao Ping in 1978, and the reversal of India's Permit Raj in 1991. This has lifted more people from abject poverty than has ever been seen in human history.
It is notable that unlike the bowdlerized Keynes in the back pockets of Western politicians, the Chinese premier Wen Jiabao in an interview with the Financial Times at Davos said his bedtime reading was Adam Smith's The Moral Sentiments!
As will questions about the moral basis of capitalism. The shameless greed shown by many bankers- who have smashed the institutions they were charged to nurture on the rocks- is leading to a popular backlash against capitalism. This takes us back to questions raised by the great thinkers of the Scottish Enlightenment, who saw a common morality as providing the cement of society. A morality primarily dependent on a society's traditions and forms of socialization, based on using the moral emotions of shame and guilt, and not reliant on either God or Reason for their acceptance. How can the Victorian virtues embodied in the notion of the English gentleman which are today to be found more often amongst the burghers of Bombay and Shanghai than the denizens of Wall Street “The City” and Hollywood be inculcated? These are virtues which denoted a distinction of character rather than class, and consisted of 'integrity, honesty, generosity, courage, graciousness, politeness, consideration of others."21 They constituted the 'sympathy' which Adam Smith considered the highest virtue which allowed healthy ambition to be combined with an empathetic conscience to promote social stability and order.
…..what is the way to challenge the political correctness which is leading to the abuse of reason in the humanities and many social sciences in our citadels of higher learning and which increasingly provides the intellectual lens through which most politicians view numerous public policy issues? Last but not least, how can the growth of the Nanny State's undermining of Mill's principle of liberty be countered? These are some of the many questions raised by the current crisis which fall within the mandate of the society as seen by its founders”.

Keynesian economics created the illusion…….

2009-03-20T10:46:00.001+05:30

Meghnad Desai writes:

“Hayek, rejected in the 1930s, and feted in post-Keynesian times, did not make the grade in terms of public policy. Hayek had a theory of how it was banks which made mistakes of ‘mal-investing’ if credit was too cheap and how when they realised their error they jacked up the cost of credit and caused a crisis. But even Mrs Thatcher thought that his recipe was too severe. Hayek did not believe in rescuing banks or reflating the economy. He believed that capitalism only works if players are able and willing to take costs as well as rewards of free market.
Hayek lost but Chicago was triumphant. Bill Clinton and Tony Blair became globalisers. Clinton balanced the budget and Gordon Brown promised some golden rules to avoid booms and bust. There were more converts”.

Dharavi The World Heritage Site

2009-03-19T10:09:00.001+05:30

Jeb Brugmann, suggests “….that Dharavi not only be preserved and steadily upgraded, but be designated a United Nations World Heritage Site to protect it from expedient development schemes that would deny India the exemplar of one of its native forms of urbanism.

The United Nations applies four main criteria when selecting districts in cities like Havana, Liverpool, Quito, and Prague for World Heritage Site protection. Dharavi scores high on all accounts”.

Porul

End to Porul

Shankar Acharya trap

Learning to Live with Bloggers

Bimal Jalan on The idea of a Rs 1 lakh house

L K Advani Mantra: Physical and social, that is second to none

Thinking is Science and writing is Art

The housing boom and bust

Kalam's four Grids….

Hello, is anyone out there? I am saying some truth about THE BIG BLUNDER OF LEFT!

Swami’s Mantra….

Blind media….

Thanks to unelectable people

Socialist India wasn’t interested in individual enterprise in a free market.

Thanks to “namesake of the model”

It is very easy to come out with an idea but to validate that idea…..

Was he a visionary politician?

Chacha Manmohan Singh's Daman Singh words

We all accept crooks in the subject of ‘politics’ but not in ‘science’

Elections: Little debate on national issues

The idea of an independent has arrived……..

The plans and commands of centralized government failed understanding of economic laws and principles.

What good are economists anyway?

Much of the party is still nostalgic for the Nehruvian socialism that for so long impeded India’s growth

More nuanced answer to failure……….

Only such people have succeeded…….

Hay Demand and Supply-what economists don’t understand

India is new to IT and urbanism… but still lingering with the Great Indian Socialist Darkness….

A group of men come and construct an empire called language, words etc.

Amartya Sen warns against banning English

The idea of “A Better India, A Better World”

Big idea of Indiauncut!

Conglomerate of American Universities

I have an innate need to write!

Long live millions of poor!

Imbalance is the balance: real vs money and balance of payment

Not a single party leader was ready to make that promise

Probably I am mad when I read the history of Indian Economic Thought………

Power of entrepreneurship in solving the problem of poverty in India…..

Marxist as killer of freedom and new Dailt parties are lover of castes

Economics vs Physics

It is due.................

The Great Indian Socialist Darkness-1

Birth of Banyan Tree in Asia

Dr Ambedkar and Military Headquarters of War (MHOW)

Community Currencies…….

Madras Institute of Sciences (MIS)..

Fund Candidate not Parties!!!

Stigmatized Power/muddled ideas are the “central concern of economists” in India…

Bureaucrats Charity works very well under the table……….

All lips service is OK, but show me the reforms…

In search of the a real “Doyen”!

Three tales to tango-Outliers- Tiger -Ideas

Dr Subroto Roy on Dr Raja Chelliah

Kushal Neta, Nirnayak Sarkaar (Determined Leader, Decisive Government)

Why I hate mathematics and econometric economics?

Who will become next Finance Minister of India?

Bubbles Warding off……….

The Great Indian Socialist Darkness Party?

Inequality geniuses….

Fraternity barely heard is the starting point….

Wisdom of Untersuchungen...........

Eleemosynarism…….

Economist Raja Chelliah passes away

Global recession and sue

Repeat every disastrous mistake of the 1930s

India's Swiss Vision 2020

The natural morality of child

Overproduction is impossible..

“Never one to blindly accept adult advice” because there were simply ‘told’

Misunderstanding Cycles

Election is a fish out of water bowl………

Lip service is a currency!

Friedman’s Plucking

Who will correct the misunderstanding cycle?

Heterodox Austrian school of economics- why China and Russia want gold Standard?

The benefits of failure

Smith third law: a theory of government

Prof Kaushik Basu’s dogma

The State, after all a Public Good