Delhi Guardian

By  Ishaan Saxena Sep 16 2011 , New Delhi Tags:  News Outcome of the tug of war between growth and inflation to decide the fate The compendium of data released in recent weeks has sent shivers down the spine of industrial analysts. With stagnant growth and no recovery in sight, industry leaders are concerned. It seems the sluggishness would persist, at least in the remaining two quarters of 2011-12. Earlier this week, the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) numbers highlighted the disquieting trend. The figures are abysmally low. Industry grew at 3.3 per cent in July, the slowest in two years, whereas the manufacturing growth was 2.3 per cent. This was in line with the surveys by Ficci and CII released last Sunday. There are people who would like to adopt wait-and-watch approach. Monthly fluctuations in data, they say, are not a major cause of concern. The problem, however, is that all economic parameters reflect a paralysing picture. Inflation is sky-rocketing. GDP gro...

By  Ishaan Saxena Sep 14 2011 , New Delhi Tags:  India ,  PMEAC ,  Weekend ,  Economy The turbulence in the global financial markets t is likely to mount depreciation pressure  on rupee against the US dollar. t In comparison with the t developed world, the Indian economy continues to gallop at an impressive rate. However, some observers have expressed r concern about the recent slowdown in the growth rate. In the first quarter of financial year 2011-2012, the Indian economy registered a growth rate of 7.7 per cent compared with an impressive growth of 9.3 per cent in the same quarter last year. This was the slowest growth rate in six quarters. In last quarter that ended March 2011, the growth had sharply fallen to 7.8 per cent. The United Nation Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad), in a report published earlier this week, lowered the growth forecast to 8.1 per cent in 2011-2012 compared with 8.6 in the previous year. The Prime Minister's E...

By  Ishaan Saxena Sep 14 2011 , New Delhi Tags:  News Prices of manufactured products increase due to high cost of raw materials The rate of inflation shot up to 9.78 per cent in August, the highest in 13 months, with the inflation in manufactured products inching up to 7.79 per cent driven by high costs of industrial inputs. The inflation figures, coming just a couple of days ahead of the scheduled announcement of the Reserve Bank of India’s money policy on Friday, made a further interest rates hike almost inescapable, analysts said. RBI had already raised rates 11 times in 18 months in its bid to contain inflation. There were also indications of RBI action in finance minister Pranab Mukherjee’s reaction on Wednesday to the distressing wholesale price index (WPI) data. “It (inflation) is perilously close to double digit...RBI is also watching the situation like the government and collectively it would be possible for us to tackle the problem,” Mukherjee was quoted by ...

By  Ishaan Saxena Sep 12 2011 , New Delhi Tags:  News Data resurrect fears of broader slowdown amid rate hike fears Industrial growth plu­mmeted to 3.3 per cent in July, the lowest in two yea­rs, as manufacturing, especially the machine-building industry, took a major hit. With this, industrial gro-wth during April-July 2011-12 has fallen to 5.8 per cent from 9.7 per cent a year ago and manufacturing growth declined to 6 per cent from 10.5 per cent. This accentuated the fears of an economic slowdown with consequent tardy expansion of jobs and incomes. Even though Indian industry had anticipated this as was evident from the fin­dings of the surveys by two chambers of commerce, CII and Ficci, on Sunday, the official index of industrial production data on Monday came as a shock and sent markets tumbling. The reliability of IIP data has been questioned by many, including the Reserve Bank of India. But there was a near-consensus among analysts that industrial performance...

By  Ishaan Saxena & Soumik Dey Sep 11 2011 , New Delhi Tags:  Economy High interest rates, input costs lower manufacturing growth The Indian industry’s fears of a sharp slowdown have been confirmed. Two chambers of industry, CII and Ficci, on Sunday released the findings of surveys of member companies and industry associations, saying manufacturing gro­wth has had a setback up to September this year. Both surveys cited a variety of reasons, including high interest rates and input costs, which have decelerated output growth in many segments of manufacturing sector. Official industrial growth data for July are slated to come out on Monday, which are also likely to reproduce the grim picture painted by the surveys. Index of industrial production (IIP) data are available up to June and these have already shown a decline in overall industrial growth to 6.8 per cent in April-June 2011-12 from 9.6 per cent a year ago. Manufacturing growth too has decelerated to 7.5 per cent...

New Delhi:   In what many are labeling as an outright deceit, the Manmohan Singh led UPA government, in consultation with the President, overturned the resolution to adopt crusader Anna Hazare’s list of demand. This has raised hackles in the civil society camp. Contrary to popular belief, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh did address the country at 3:35 AM on Tuesday morning.  India TV broadcasted the short address. “I am deeply disturbed by the unfortunate events in the past few days. The country has been hijacked by an astute team which calls themselves the civil society. This is unthinkable in any democracy. It is my responsibility to uphold the democratic traditions of our country. In consonance with this objective, I, by the powers vested in me by the constitution, have decided to temporarily overturn the resolution. The parliament will deliberate the matter tomorrow which will be followed by a vote,” a cautious Prime Minister said. Political commentators are ...

As the obstinate anti corruption crusader enters the 12th day of fasting, the parliament is actively debating the specifics of the Jan Lokpal Bill. Inter party differences are bound to exist but there seems to be a general consensus that the anti corruption crusader must end his fast. Anna Hazare has managed to bridge the chasm between the government and the citizens of this country. But it's important to reiterate that he is only a catalyst in the movement, and does not represent the end itself. The nation was terribly dissatisfied with the blue turbaned, reticent, and pusillanimous stopgap prime minster. There was a profound sense of alienation we all endured. Our 'prime minister' refused to address the country at large and only chose to speak to the individuals who belong to a clique. His failure to take stringent action against the corrupt or looking askance at the shocking developments have reaffirmed what many believed. 10 Janpath and not 7 Race Course is the ...

At the risk of heresy, let me say this in the very beginning- I am not with team Anna. I am a bitter critic of the UPA government, but it would be erroneous to join the so called 'civil society' camp and point fingers at the government for all our collective problems. That would also mean that the middle class is clean and has not encouraged the culture of corruption. This is clearly not the case. Fasting for a cause is unthinkable in any other modern day democracy. What is stopping people from different castes from pouring into the national capital and fasting untill their demands are met? Since when did they start framing laws in fasting grounds and not the hallowed walls of the national parliament?  If someone chooses to fast untill death, well, then let them and don't cringe. There is an established system to tackle problems. What is taking place in the streets of New Delhi and other cities in the country (mind you not smaller towns or rural India) is not a sy...

Dear Mr. Chidambaram,  This letter is addressed to you instead of the Prime Minister for two reasons. First, he is terribly busy these days and I don’t want to burden him any further. We all know he is devoting his time an effort to improve the image of the government.The cabinet reshuffle, where the ministers were shuffled like a deck of cards, and daily scams are already enough to reckon with.  Second, I doubt he is any mood to communicate with the country. Choosing to speak to a select few news editors behind closed doors, and not the country at large which is what any responsible leader on a relentless mission to salvage the image of his government would have done, has sent a distressing message to most folks.  Our anti-social PM could not care less. So this is addressed to you. A perspicacious leader I have profound respect for.  These days, we’ve become cynical people. From inflation, rampant corruption, an inept PM, the all pervasive threat of...

Two events in the recent past have signaled a profound transformation in India ’s economic trajectory. The first was the twentieth anniversary of economic liberalisation which was announced by then Finance Minister Manmohan Singh. Economic reforms have left an indelible mark on India ’s growth story. It was a symbolic move which unshackled India from years of red tape which had stifled growth. The second was the government committee’s recommendation to approve 51 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retailing. Kudos to the government for shedding its paternalistic image which had hitherto prevented it from taking politically sensitive decision and espousing forward looking policies which are associated with an adverse effect in the short term. Needless to say that the concerns are galore but this is a very bold step from a policy perspective.                     ...

The brouhaha surrounding the Baba Ram Dev incident has disturbed many around the country. This has unfortunately diverted attention from the core issue of rampant corruption. It is imperative that, at this critical juncture, we stay focused on the central issue of corruption and don’t allow ourselves to be distracted by the hullabaloo. News channels are incessantly airing the Ram Dev story, and seem hell-bent on digging deeper into his past. The guru certainly has doubtful antecedents and for all you know he might have engaged in skullduggery to expand his yoga empire. But that is for the overburdened CBI to investigate. The police crackdown has been compared to the dreaded emergency during Mrs. Gandhi’s tenure as Prime Minister. Political parties have taken the opportunity to engage in recriminations. This turmoil seems to have diluted the force of the movement against corruption. Most agree that the government has been inept in dealing with the acute problem of...

The death of Osama Bin Laden has sent ripples across the globe. Governments around the world breathed a sigh of relief. The leader of the deadliest terrorist organization was finally put to rest after ten grueling years and billions of dollars spent to capture or kill him. The Indian government in a formal statement underscored the importance of eliminating terrorism stemming from Pakistan. For once the world knew that New Delhi was right all along. Pakistan is a sanctuary for terrorists and will continue to be one. I certainly can’t speak for the rest, but every time India’s terribly uninspiring leaders call upon Pakistan to put an end to terrorism ‘ emanating from its soil’ it gets me agitated. I distinctly remember the days after 26/11. Pranab Mukherjee, in an articulate and peremptory tone, gave stern warnings to Pakistan. If I remember correctly, his words were ‘ all options are open’ . The public was quite confident that India would take some serious action and ...

An event in the recent past has created shock waves in the national capital. The Noida sisters’, inexplicable decision to deprive themselves of food has made many wonder why someone would endure such misery and mental agony for an extended period time without seeking the necessary treatment. This event has certainly been very disturbing. Recent reports suggest that the sisters faced no financial hardship. The National Commission for Women (NCW) is seeking a report from the administration to better understand the underlying causes of this self-sequestered isolation and the subsequent illness. It is vitally important that this incident is not viewed in isolation but as a part of a much broader health care policy which seeks to alleviate some of the deficiencies which this unfortunate incident has brought to light.  Depression continues to plague the lives of millions in the country. Way back in 2001, a World Health Organization (WHO) study concluded that one in four I...