M K Gandhi, Patel and Modi Land

My recent visit was very fruitful. However, I could not come to a point to offer a sort of comments or observation here in this blog about the relationship between Gujarat Chief Minister Mr Narendra Modi and the clash among Hindu Muslim. But one thing is sure for the doing business in Gujarat the governance improvement is unbelievable.


Whatever may happened in the past whether it is a earthquake or clash between Muslims and Hindus in Gujarat. The story about the land of wealth creation is here to rule out. This wonderful essay about the raise of Gujarat Chief Minister Shri Narendra Modi Ji. 


Here is anther old article about Mr Modi in The Atlantic. 


Given the facts about the life of Mr Modi and his conviction at least I am not surprised to see this news "Mr. Modi was the third Gujarati to make it to the cover of the prestigious magazine after Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel."

Blogs that ******** for years

Increasingly i get a lot of request to suggest what I read in terms of blogs.

Here is my blog list:

1 Dr Dey-http://www.deeshaa.org/

2. Amit Varma-http://indiauncut.com/

3. Dr Ajay Shah-http://ajayshahblog.blogspot.com/

4. Rajesh Jain-http://emergic.org/

5. Gulzar -http://gulzar05.blogspot.com/

6 .Dr Anantha-http://tgs.nationalinterest.in/

7. Nitin-http://acorn.nationalinterest.in/

8. Amol-http://mostlyeconomics.wordpress.com/

9. Dr Roy-http://independentindian.com/

10. http://www.eastasiaforum.org/

11 Deepak-http://capitalmind.in/

12. Satya-http://prayatna.typepad.com/education/

13. sauvik-http://www.theantidoteblog.com/

14. Sanjeev-http://sabhlokcity.com/

15.http://centreright.in/

transforming India Big Ideas for developed nation

The title of the post is a book by Dr Atanu Dey, a very aptly named one. It is very lucid way of looking at the complexity of economics of poor India. The entire book is freely available in pdf here. I had seen the earlier version of the book before the current print edition. Dr Dey has created a great website for the book to be more interactive and engaging.

Squandered political capital

Interesting readings:

1. Why I am quitting my job for earning wages under NREGA?
2. Schooled into brands and brands into schooled
3. Is it a reversion to command economy? Is it that you are reasserting the need for a socialist economy?
4. Economist Lant Pritchett calls India a flailing state
5. Ladies and gentlemen, it is time to place your bets
6. Wizards economics

‘too many cooks spoil the broth’

BJP leader Jaswant Singh questions the ruling congress governments folly economic policies. It is worth taking note the below paragraphs:

• Is it a reversion to command economy? Is it that you are reasserting the need for a socialist economy? Are you placing the public sector banks back on the commanding heights of the economy? I am unable to discern that central purpose — not because I am deficient in understanding, but because I do hold that this very important document, which comes only once a year and is a statement of the fiscal policy of the government, is deficient in conveying what has happened and why has this happened.

• I personally feel there are far too many economists in this government. I believe that there are more economists infesting this government than any other government. Despite all these economists, all this is happening, raising a very serious question. You are surely familiar with the saying ‘too many cooks spoil the broth’. But, these ‘too many cooks’ are not simply ‘spoiling the broth’, Mr Finance Minister, they actually do not let the broth to be cooked. That is why, we suffer this deficiency. 

This gentleman rightly point out that the:

• It is understandable that this government is following its socialist tendencies on spending, masked in the guise of 'coalition politics'. By not passing on actual prices into the economy - whether in power, oil and gas, coal (all energy), fertilisers, railways, etc -it is increasing the disequilibrium of this economy. 

Prof Ila on With increased import duties on gold, we return to pre-liberalisation thinking

Another vote motive

The imbecile is talking about striking balance of federalism in India. Why can't the Union Government better manage the national security first and leave all else to State Governments?

The DNA newspaper chief editor Mr Aditya says, rightly, that:

• "No governance means that citizens will be spared large social expenditures such as the farmers’ loan waiver or the proposed food security bill or other such plans which are basically meant to bribe a section of voters. No governance means that we will not suffer crony capitalism such as the gifting away of land or coal or gas or other natural resources to big industrialists in an opaque and suspect manner. No governance means less chance of a scam, now that everyone is breathing down the government’s neck, ready to whip out a draft CAG report when there’s a whiff of graft or pestering it for a Lokpal bill."

Self-Talk at travel and land of M K Gandhi

If I was asked to go by sarker Airline I felt every time how I am going to manage the shoddy people who continues to behave "mai baab sarker" while serving the customer. This was greatly cooled by two beautiful kids (less than 6 year old) during my recent visit to Hyderabad. These kids were asking all kinds of nice questions.

Another painstaking journey, yet again by sarkar airline today morning. Unlike my usual practice of self musing, I was not really  musing myself on anything. In fact, I had forgotten the fact that I am coming after 6 years to the land of the great man who was born on this land and lifted the ignorance of world masses.

Quite surprisingly, how the time takes me to places where I have been put up today! I was not determined to write this blog from such a important place any time soon or my life time at all. Yes, I am writing this from the very place where the great Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi faced the trial of sedition in the Central Hall of the Government Circuit House at Ahmedabad on the 18th of March in 1922 under "section 124A of the Indian Penal Code" and and sentenced to six years' imprisonment. Read the full story from here. From today's context the relevant of sedition and need for reform.

Remember words of B R Ambedkar and M K Gandhi on 'Arms'

Great free market liberal economist B R Ambedkar said:

"To deny freedom of opportunity, to deny freedom to acquire knowledge, to deny the right to arms is a most cruel wrong. Its result to......... .and man."

From the article "Society must arm itself to counter communistterror" by a friend Arvind:

• Communists pose the greatest threat to freedom and property rights. Communists also oppose the right to own arms which are necessary to defend oneself and one’s property. 
• While Sri Lanka showed tremendous resolve and smashed the LTTE which described itself as a Marxist-Leninist outfit, Nepal meekly capitulated to the Maoists. In India, the Naxalite problem persists because home minister Chidambaram responds to bombings with warnings as though the Naxalites would tremble at the prospect of receiving a strongly worded letter of reprimand.
• Chidambaram also reveals remarkable political naiveté when he claims that poverty causes communist terrorism. 
• Both the home ministry and the Election Commission display their incompetence by recognising the CPI(ML)-L as a political party despite the Naxalite group flouting the Representation of People’s Act. 
• The constitution of the CPI(M) too uses inflammatory language and states its aim as “the establishment of the state of dictatorship of the proletariat.” It also calls for the recruitment of “militants” and prescribes a “revolutionary outlook” for its leadership. 
• Carter and his Democratic Party actively interfere in global politics and lobby for the Marxist-Leninists in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, East Timor and South Sudan, places where American churches collude with the communists. These communist terrorists can be defeated only by using arms.
• A few months back, the Madras High Court ruled that citizens had the right to use arms to defend themselves. This ruling should be welcomed as an armed populace will make India as peaceful as Switzerland which has a high rate of gun ownership. In an armed society, operations like the Mumbai terror attacks will last just a few minutes.
• Arms were easily accessible to Indians before the British disarmed the country. Even priests used firearms to protect temples.
• The people must once again arm themselves and remember Gandhi’s words on the ban on weapons, “Among the many misdeeds of the British rule in India, history will look upon the act of depriving a whole nation of arms, as the blackest.” 

Planned chaos or planning for chaos

Indian Economist Bibek as I expected! says “I wish press releases by Planning Commission were better drafted." In fact, there is a lack of skill for drafting important communication with general public in India in public interest. See yourself the press release of PC, utterly...the very first para. This one was after damage.

 From IE editorial 19 MPs kill a Budget.

Blind spot is the real hurdle

From Saving India from the Keynesians by Shanmuganathan "Shan" Nagasundaram

• "While there would be impediments to implementation as cited above, the bigger stumbling block lies in the realization by the economic team as to why the above is the right thing to do. For a team that has paraded the NREGA as its flagship achievement, indulges in price controls as a way to manage inflation, has praised ministers for presenting socialistic budgets (for example, the railway budget, where passenger fares have not been revised for the last eight years and due to the burgeoning deficit, there has been a nominal increase in 2012), the intellectual blind spot is the real hurdle. With the repeated hyperbole in the mainstream media of Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh being a "brilliant economist," and given that he has surrounded himself with advisers who are essentially welfare/Keynesian economists, salvation truly lies only within."

The scions of those dynasties

There is a consensus in academia both India and abroad about whether Nehru ruling was far more freer or his daughter's ruling as Prime Ministers of India. Most people agree that the former is factually correct and the later is incorrect. In fact, Indira's ruling ruined more than what it did for the country. The moot question I am underlining here is neither is true. Even learned people tend to make blind mistakes. I was told by several well known economists in India (whom I don't want name here) that until Nehru's period India was going on ''right path'', what they mean right path is only they knows how they define; but one thing clear to me when I discuss with them that these people simply are not aware of what Rajaji and others wrote about the kind of economic system we need in India and the long tradition of economic freedom. Half a century later we realized that we are ahead of terrible path!


With these words, let me quote to you from today's newspapers:


From ToI lead article:  "Lecherous Kennedys. Dictatorial Nehru-Gandhis. Bushes on the warpath. We do not care. Let the dynasties live on. We will always give the next generation another chance." The wild game is here in this article is the India-US politics: Rahul Gandhi vs Mitt Romney


Bachi says something funny, yet cruel joke!. She says "Karl Marx may have had a considerably different take, but ever since UPA-1 decided to jettison the CPM, we have had to follow Groucho instead." Hold your breath! She goes to say "Welfare states know the dangers of poverty becoming a lifestyle choice. But when our politicians get into the act, it is more pernicious."


I do have a story may be slightly different from this one for my small writings.


Private school revolution in Bihar Perhaps I should mention what the spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar said yesterday about government schools in India. He said "It's often seen that boys from government schools are into Naxalism and violence. Those from the private education system are not into these things. They move ahead with an ideal and teachers are responsible for it," 


Who said it is completely wrong to be "illiberal"


OK, let's ponder over this one para: "When we have carped a bit about the ethical wasteland our society seems to have become, we say “schools must teach values, that is the long-term solution”. It’s just another one of the kicks, which Shukla laconically observed."

Growth mania

Mostly today's Indian newspapers are talking about growth vs poverty.


While Indian Express expressed "Any public debate on poverty tends to blend reason and emotion." The ET says that economic growth helps in reducing poverty but interventionist scheme like NREGA is an important tool for that makes limited sense.


Prof Panagariya has a piece in ET which argues that Rajiv Gandhi had no political game of fame of his own in winning elections. All he used was the political game developed by his mother and grandfather.


Budgeted failure: The left people never try to see other side of the same coin as far as the freeing of gold import is  concerned. Here is poor professor who argues for more restriction of gold import.


Liberal economist Dr Ashok V. Desai says: "The finance minister has chosen to tax gold. This in my view is stupid; gold is so easy to smuggle that taxing it will collect no revenue and revive gold smuggling." 


Other readings


In India, History Literally Rots Away
India will be superpower 
Writing on the wall

Morning Readings

In today's Bare Talk column. Dr Ananth says that "On the international stage, the Group of 20 (G-20) is dead." And therefore the "only way the world can find a sustainable way to grow in future is to abandon the US intellectual framework that defined the post-World War II global economy. For that, the US economic and intellectual dominance have to be replaced with wisdom appropriate and relevant to developing nations with their own long civilizational histories. That, in turn, requires that developing nations stop fighting with one another, bury their differences and forge a durable alliance."


Instead of "who wants a federal front?" where is the "federal front"?


Many of you may not know, late Prof V K R V Rao's close relative is S L Rao. He says that:

"It is wrong to attribute the budget’s deficiencies only to coalition compulsions. The budget does do something right, especially on investment, but fails on many other fronts. It does not ensure growth or assure that inflation will remain under control. With general elections due in 2014, this is the last year that the United Progressive Alliance could take bold decisions. It has not taken them. This will ensure that the economy will be under stress and that the 2014 elections will be fought on economic grounds. And with a Congress that had let the country down badly on what was assumed to be its strength, namely economic management."

Yet, half change in DSE

Dear Readers,

I thank you all for visiting this blog! For some reasons I have been out of touch for long time now. Finally I assure you that henceforth I will be in touch with you all regularly.

Here goes the first installment!

It is not that easy or common to hear from the professors at Delhi School of Economics arguing in favour of directly financing for something or other thing in India. But here is an exceptional! 

Prof Rohini says "The budget speech reflects seriousness on the problems of governance and waste within the public sector. Completing the Aadhaar project will allow all transfers to go through a reliable and common database. Experiments such as pricing domestic LPG at market prices and giving subsidies directly to consumers seems a useful step in controlling leakages and eliminating black markets." 

But I still wounder why these same professors are not getting the similar logic and reasoning in respect of directly funding the students/trainees in schools and training institutions in India?

In the view of misguided scheme like MGNREGA, it took years to realize the fact this scheme has alone caused the raise of labour cost in the manufacturing in India.

Here is a quick reflection on the Budget, Rural Development Ministers saying about NREGA and the realistic assessment of the damages done by NREGA.

Ponzi Budget

“The word Ponzi comes from Charles Ponzi, an American-Italian, whoin the year 1919, promised to double investors money in 45 days. What heessentially did was to create an illusion of a successful business by using themoney brought in by new investors to pay off the old investors. Essentially,the capital of the scheme was used to pay interest as well as repay the moneyinvested. This is what is happening with most governments the world over now,including the Government of India.” 

Liberal economist Dr Ashok V. Desai says: "The finance minister has chosen to tax gold. This in my view is stupid; gold is so easy to smuggle that taxing it will collect no revenue and revive gold smuggling"

Surjit Bhalla argues that...the impression that après moi, le deluge , then he must seethat disaster has struck the Indian economy, and he has been able to doprecious little about it. Maybe he has even caused it? Time for the PM to go —mid-term polls, anyone?

May be, this is the time to ponder whether you were in the domain of " Eternal Optimist (EO) and a somewhat older Consistent Realist (CR)"

Supply side economics or sideline the economics of supply side

The nine Budgets that the UPA government has presented so far read like the rise and fall of the Mughal Empire. 

Pragati@60

The March Issue of Pragati is out. It has turned 60th Issue this month. It has many interesting articles dealing with national security issues, financial crisis and governance, food (un)security in India, Aryan cult theory, (re)looting under NREGA etc.

Here is a PDF version of March Issue.

It's the System, Stupid

Last week on my way to Hyderabad I had wonderful meeting with Prof P V Indiresan who writes a column in The Business Line.We talked about different issues dealing with politics, society and leaders in India.

The latest column begins with: "Habit is a very persistent thing. You remove the ‘h' in it, ‘a bit' remains. You remove further the ‘a,' the ‘bit' remains. You remove the ‘b,' ‘it' still remains. You remove the ‘t,' ‘i' remains. It is the ‘i' that is the most troublesome part. Practically, none of us is self-critical. All of us have so much ego that none of us will give up our habits — even when they are wrong."

Other links:

Dr Subramanian Swamy's recent  interview with The Hans India newspaper

Congress last chance for reforms

The Private School Revolution inBihar: Findings from a survey in Patna Urban

Why DoNations Fail?

A failure of success-NREGA

No science in 'cut and paste'

Historian Ramachandra Guha writes  "The elections recently held in Uttar Pradesh are, in this respect, a radical departure from the historical trend. Unlike Kerala in 1957, Tamil Nadu in 1967, West Bengal in 1977, or Andhra Pradesh in 1983, in this case the Congress entered the polls not as a dominant behemoth but as a party on the margins, seeking desperately to make a comeback in a state where it has had little influence in recent years."

Human rights industry

Arvind concludes with the below paras in his latest article in DNA: 

• "Corruption is rampant in the so-called human rights organisations and they routinely make false charges against weaker countries. These charges are used either to justify some aggressive action of the governments in Europe and the US or to bully the weaker countries into joining their certification schemes. Those who do not cooperate are blackballed as violators of human rights and trumped up charges are made against them. Leaders are accused of oppressing the people, riots are described as pogroms, and the employees in the human rights industry write articles in the media against their targets without revealing their affiliations.
• The human rights industry naturally attracts and employs those who feed off the system — the leftists, the centrists and the socialists. Many organisations like Amnesty International push the leftist agenda and are guilty of participating in extortion schemes. There is no reason to let the human rights industry harass businesses and live off the hard work of other people. They must be given the same treatment as extortion gangs and must be put out of business."

 Also read narratives of 60 years of India's economic growth vs political growth by Barun

Some Links

1. How Keynes overwhelmed Hayek
2.  Niti-mandala – The Indian PoliticalSpectrum
3. THE KOCHS VS. CATO
4. Green Revolution in India Wilts as Subsidies Backfire