Budget Affair- BM Editorial

Mumbai, BM Press:

Sometimes its difficult to understand if market forces are determined by economy or economists. If its the latter, then we are living in a superfluous economy. Sensex crashed through the day by over 800 points as the budget was announced. And Mr. Pranab Mukherjee, is not a worried man and rightly so.

There are of course quite a few good things about the budget that people are missing out on. The Aam Aadmi has been taken care of and some actions have been in lieu with the existing programs like the Bharat Nirman, and there have been extensions to the earlier UPA programs. I think the disappointment is there because of the absence of reforms. But frankly there is nothing we should be worrying about. There has just been a slight correction in the market, that was riding on the anticipation of reforms by the newly formed stable government.

Let me remind you, that the world is not completey over the financial crisis and our priority still remains stability of our system, and sustainable growth.

Clearly the focus of the budget was on achieving a 9 % GDP growth and the growth imperative has triumphed over the fiscal deficit imperative this time. This signals that the government wants the money to be with its people for stirring up the dynamics. It would have been easier, like reformists thought, to focus on the deficit right now by some policy announcements but nothing in that direction has been seen. But that doesn't mean, there wont be any reforms. (Remember left is out of the government now). The current budget lays down the roadmap of future actions. And in simple terms, it is a realistic budget. It is what our economy deserves at this time. Fiscal deficit will surely be brought down but gradually and at a little later stage. For few more months, growth will remain the primary focus and when the next interim budget will be announced in early 2010 large scale reforms may be expected.

The loan waiver scheme for farmers has been extended by 6 months, there has been increase in exemption from Income Tax for women and senior citizens, army personnel has got some grants, students too have some subsidies, generation of 1.2 million jobs every year, and some items as usual became cheap and vice versa.

It indeed is a cautious budget, but if the tone of budget speech is anything to go by, we are in for some crucial developmental reforms in the coming months. Also disinvestment in public sector undertakings seems to be on cards. Only if people give it some time to materialize. Reforms cant be decided in a month of forming a new cabinet.

While all the debate of the goodness or badness of this budget will go on for some time, the wisest thing, perhaps, would be to wait and watch for Dr. Mukherjee's actions in the coming months.

Good Luck UPA!

The Audacity of hope!

While i write this many, around the world would be still stuck on their television sets watching history being made. Barack Hussein Obama is now the 44th president of the United States of America. And never ever i have been so excited to watch the swearing in ceremony of any leader of any country.

But with so much hope and hype, come a lot of expectations. And i believe he with his charismatic style of leading, pragmatic approach towards problems and great oratory skills definitely be able to bring about a catalytic change in the structure of the world.

What needs to be seen is how he deals with the current economic crisis in the world, the situation in Afghanistan and troops in Iraq and how much does he succeed in reaffirming that America can still be what their forefathers had dreamt it of being.

I really hope that Mr. oBaMa lives up to the expectations of restoring peace in the world and turns out to be the real guide to the change. Long Live Mr. President.

I would not hesitate is stating that BM truly idolizes Barack oBaMa.

Has Indian Recession just begun?

Mumbai, BM Press:
The world economy is reeling under recession and its ripple effect has not left India uninsulated. The recent cuts, constant and gradual, in the CRR and the SLR by the reserve bank of India goes on to show the efforts beign made by the finance ministry to pump in enough liquidity into the system. The good signs had already been visible as the inflation rate came down to almost 6 % for the last two weeks, and banks reduced key interest rates.
However, for the Indian GDP, theres bad news. The elephant was riding high since the dawn of this decade, thanks to the IT revolution. Indian IT companies and the software exports by these companies have had significant contributions to the GDP for many years now. But are the halycon days over for Indian IT? Well, the recent events atleast suggest so.
The world bank banned the fourth largest indian IT firm, Satyam, for any operations for 8 long years. The next few days followed worse events for the company. We all now know about the (Raju ban gaya conman) event, which is considered as the biggest fraud ever in indian corporate history. With Satyam, not just the business that it brought to india from the world but survival of families of 53000 employees is at stake. Thankfully, the government is making all efforts to ensure its survival. Here we simply have to wait and watch.
But Indian IT industry recieved yet another major setback when the World bank again banned Wipro citing 'conflict of interest' as the reason. If such things continue and the Indian IT exports take a hit then the country's GDP is sure to be highly affected, add to it the effects of the recent financial crisis.
Also, on the other front, the indian transporters are leaving no stone unturned to bring a rise in the prices of essential commodities once again by resorting to strikes nation wide. Job cuts have just begun, big international projects are slipping off our hands, lacking confidence of FIIs, et al. Huh!
Lets hope the situation is not as bad as it atleast seems to be and the elephant once again gets back on its feet as early as possible.

(Have your say, post ur views in the comments section, www.mehtabhavin.blogspot.com)

A stitch in time will save India!

Its not for no reason that one would fight to get the control over any place that is called almost a heaven, if not completely a heaven. But things this time around are far more intense than one can imagine. Some call it a freedom movement, while others claim it to be an identity crisis for this place whereas other little influential persons are busy politicizing the issue not realising the hazards. If you are still confused about what i am talking about, let me cut the whole story short.. Kashmir is in serious danger!

Not that the Jammu and Kashmir has faced very less problems since India's independence, but this one, by far, is most difficult to address as unlike the previous problems, it seems to arise from our own side.

Little did any one know that a protest over handing a piece of land to The Amarnath Shrine board for better facilities of the pilgrims would take such an ugly turn that the local party i.e. the Hurriyat conference has demanded freedom for Kashmir, let alone the cross-border problems. The thought itself provokes many and irks my feelings towards those trying to seperate the land from the nation. They have put us in the similar state, we had put the British in, by chanting slogans like "Give us freedom" , Quit India", etc. Mind you the former was a different issue altogether.

But the question that lies is... are they justified? Or is the Indian government unable to satisfy the demands of the J&K janta? Or is it that some people are just trying to turn the tide in their interest in the heat of the moment? The questions are many... but there's no body to answer..

Ever since the introduction of Article 370 that has special provisions for the state, the valley has been in controversies for reasons associated with treatment of Muslims to that of issues with Kashmiri pandits and various other local communities. While our Pakistani counterparts are all willing to gain authority over the region, any mishandling of the issue by the government can cause irreparable damage to the nations developments which historically will be regretted.

But as the saying goes, "In every adversity ,there's an opportunity!"
So i believe this is the time when the Manmohan Singh government has to take some tough calls and act with a lot of metal in the blood. It is the time for the Indian government to set an example before the world that how secular as a country we are. This is also an opportunity to show the British a way of dealing as we would have expected them to during their regime. All in all, its a golden chance to do things, a chance for a real reform in the valley.

Though giving in to the demand for a free Kashmir is far from a thinkable solution, the first step should be to control the upsurge(read violence and protests) by some means to get on with negotiations. Once able to reach there, J&K citizens should be assuaged by Kashmir given treatment as any other state of the country and not as just an extension of the territory, even if that calls for an amendment in the Article 370 or the worse scrapping of it. Then various trade reforms are necessary. High mobility within the state and intra state trade with jammu anf Kashmir is required on a large scale. High subsidies, even if they are a burden in the short run, special allowances, grants and sanctions for various development projects and the like are necessary steps. This will not only gain the trust of the Kashmiri people but will also keep the local politicians busy with such projects and avoid any kind of a frenzy situation for the center.

These might seem very optimistic and idealistic but realistically for solving problems of Kashmir, it is very essential to solve the problems of the kashmiris. This might at least stabilize the state and give it a respectable position in India's growth story.

I really wish that India always remains a united country and for this people of this nation have to come forward and voice their opinions. It surprises me to know that we are from the same urban city where some made it a fashion to speak shout "Save Tibet". Wondering why nobody has still come forward for saving kashmir.

"Assam se gujaraat tak, bengal se maharashtra tak
jaati kahi dhun ek hain, bhasha kahi sur ek hai,
kashmir se madras tak, Kehdo sabhi hum ek hai,
aawaz do hum ek hai.... jaago!!!!

Jai Hind! Jai Bharat!

Regards,
BM

India attacked!! Again!!

BM Press:

In my last post on this issue on May 19th (I feel scared!) i had mentioned about the jaipur blats and next possible intentions of the terrorists.. This is an extract from my article-

"Also i feel that not much can the government do as most of the times a new organization openly undertakes the responsibility of the blasts or the act. This time it was another new organization some *** al**hindi* which claimed the act and not only did they do it successfully, but they also had the guts to release the video of their plan and mail a news channel using words"*fida*yin* wait Modi" indicating some unaccomplished mission."

this has unfortunately turned out to be true as Bengaluru(5) and Ahmedabad (16 serial blasts) have been their next targets and Surat in Gujarat has also been targeted with 20 live bombs found and diffused in a single day. This time again there was a new organisation little known 'Indian *ujha**din', and again a mail has been sent openly to the news channels of Mumbai being their next destination...

GOD, PLS COME TO OUR RESCUE... things arent improving and dont seem to.. I would not want to repeat my appeal to the citizens as they stand to be same as in the earlier post.

Does any one from the system administration have an answer for our worries?

The Gujjar saga- This is how our democracy works!

The Gujjars have been maligned for the violent methods they adopted to voice their demands for a quota. But one cannot fault the principles on which their agitation was based.

The original list of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes prepared in 1950 has expanded over the years. So there is no reason why groups such as Gujjars, who feel that they deserve quotas, can't agitate for ST status.

In any case, the BJP before it won the elections in Rajasthan had promised ST status to the Gujjars.

The Gujjars have a pretty strong case for being included in the ST list. Besides the Gujjars themselves, there are many who believe that they've been hard done by when compared to the Meenas.

The Meenas, who have a similar socio-economic background as the Gujjars, are classified as STs and have cornered most of the central government jobs in Rajasthan.

The Gujjars, by virtue of being a nomadic group, have always found it difficult to mobilise and articulate their demands.

This year's agitation, as well as the one last year, is an illustration of the political maturity and clout of the Gujjars.

There are some who have pointed out that the Rajasthan government's move to grant a 5 per cent quota for Gujjars flouts the existing 50 per cent limit fixed by the Supreme Court.

But we shouldn't forget that the Constitution does not limit the quantity of reservations. There are many sociologists who believe that scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and other backward classes together make up more than three quarters of India's population.

So why should there be a 50 per cent limit to reservation?

It's no use bemoaning the fact that groups like Gujjars are demanding and getting quotas and opening the door for more such agitations. So long as there is reservation on the basis of caste and tribe, we can expect groups to mobilise along identity.

Only when the system of reservation is changed, can we expect movements such as the one in Rajasthan to cease.

(Views of TOI correspondent-Prodosh Mitra. Endorsed by BM)

Realty Prices to go up?

Mumbai, BM press:

Considering the latest announcements that have been made with regards to the construction sector and given the increase in steel and cement prices, a price rise in the realty industry seems inevitable.

Last week it was announced that VAT i.e Value Added Tax @ 5% will be levied on all constructions after june 2006. A day later came an announcement of builders being able to charge a 4.5% service tax. Obviously, no builder is going to pay the VAT from his own pocket and the burden will be ultimately transferred to the final buyers.

Also adding to this is the Inflation rate of India which is close to 8% making basic necessities more expensive than ever. And the RBI increasing the Repo rates are adding tho the woes as getting loans has just got a lil more burdening.

So buying a dream home is proving to be a costly dream now.. Watch out for the growth in Tier II and Tier III cities. And if any plans to invest in the realty sector/lands or plots do take these cities into consideration.

"Mere desh ki dharti sona ugle, ugle heere moti... ..mere desh ki dharti.."
Apparently, nothing comes for free in this world... so what if u grow diamond and gold in your backyard.. all hypothetical!!

I feel Scared!!

The recent terror strikes at jaipur and the previous incidences of violent terrorist attacks on Mumbai and other places all over the country has suddenly made me ponder and think that "We are NOT Safe"."At all"
Don't know why, but i am feeling more scared than ever after these serial blasts.
They might have taken place far away from us but it is an eye opener that the terrorists network is already reaching out to the tier II and III cities like Jaipur and metros and the heaven J&K are not the only ones affected by it.
After every blast the government comes up with some schemes for the victims and their families and an assurance of fighting the terrorists with more stringent policies and aggression. But whats the state of affair? The strikes are still on.
Also i feel that not much can the government do as most of the times a new organization openly undertakes the responsibility of the blasts or the act. This time it was another new organization some *** al**hindi* which claimed the act and not only did they do it successfully, but they also had the guts to release the video of their plan and mail a news channel using words"*fida*yin* wait Modi" indicating some unaccomplished mission.
One might also think why Jaipur as the spot. The reason could be to announce their prescence to international people as Jaipur/ Rajasthan is the most visited place by the foreign tourists after Goa and Kerela in india. or may be some other reasons..

But the bottomline remains that India is not a terror free state at all and i seriously don't feel that any one can be safe any time here. U cant be safe while traveling in the trains or the buses that go to your home, the crowded stadiums of cricket matches can be their next target, u can never be sure to send your family members to the market place alone...

What has to be done? Do we give up to these attacks? What is it thats going wrong?
We only have two options:
1. Let the things be as they are and live with them, and
2. Take up the responsibility of changing the situation and promise our kids a better and a safe future.

The choice is yours...

I have no intentions of scaring any one of you. But all that we need to do is be ALERT citizens and co operate with the system. Encourage education, general as well as moral in the backward areas so unemployed youths are not dragged into these things. Not only do we have to be alert, but we also need to keep others alert about the situations. Do some self Policing. Your one moment of presence of mind can save hundreds of lives and families.. I hope we can contribute something to our motherland.

God let there be peace in this world....

(Please send in your ways to tackle terrorism in the comments section. If satisfactory solutions are generated, I PROMISE to put my efforts in conveying them to the masses and the Government authorities. Lets Join Hands for a free world!!)


Regards,
BM