saMvaad

British TV Ads

Kevin Drum was taken for a ride by these fake TV ads. If you want to watch the real ads, C-Span has them for you. I wonder if three minute ads will ever make it here in the US. As for the election on May 5th, it seems that the Labour will be back in power with a fairly comfortable majority, in spite of all the problems over Iraq. There have been speculations that Gordon Brown will take over from Tony Blair sometime in the middle of the term, if the Labour do get back to power, but Blair has refused to comment on these speculations.

Death of a Princess

I just watched the Frontline re-broadcast of Death of a Princess. The film (a docu-drama) is very well made, deeply stirring, and no doubt controversial.  Unfortunately, no home videos of this will be available, and I am not sure when is the next time PBS will air it. There is still very little that I know about the Arab culture, but the Death of a Princess no doubt furthered my understanding of the complicated nature of the Arab, specially Saudi society. A job well done by Frontline, again.

Changing Food Habits in India?

Today's Times has an article on changing food habits in urban India. The important piece is not the so called competition between traditional and modern eateries, but increasing usage of precooked or processed food. I remember the times when packaged flour (Atta) was introduced in the Indian markets by Hindustan Lever, and it was a big deal. More and more processed food is entering the food market now, and it will be very interesting to see how it evolves. Masala Pasta anyone?

P.S. Sepia Mutiny has more on high-funda food.

Update on Indians in the Blogosphere

A couple of months ago, I promised myself to dig through the blogs whose writers share Indian origin. Here is an update on that effort:

Blogs that I enjoy:

• Rashmi Bansal of JAM magazine writes about the Youth in India on YouthCurry
• Saheli's thoughtful musings and observations

Blogs that I visit regularly:

• Amit Varma's India Uncut
• Nerve Endings Firing Away by Patrix
• Gaurav Sabins' Vantage Point
• Hail! Mount Helicon: A group blog on writers and books
• Dilip D'Souza thinks that Death Ends Fun is a funny title for a blog!

Also on my radar:

• Amardeep Singh at Lehigh University
• Yazad's AnarCapLib
• Sepia Mutiny is a unique ABCD group blog
• In Confidence is infrequently updated
• Mélange
• I don't read enough of Interim Thoughts. I wish that there were more blogs from a business perspective.

Recently discovered:

• Zainab Bawa's CityBytes
• My Funny Clementine is an anonymous personal blog

I am sure that I will find more gems going forward.

UPDATE (04/25): Ganesh has compiled a list of blogs written by Indian journalists.

What the Pope also stood for...

Juan Cole reminds us about some of the things Pope John Paul II stood for.

John Paul II was often an inconvenient man, whose moral vision would be upsetting to the US Republican establishment if it were taken seriously. He opposed the death penalty, to which George W. Bush is so attached. He opposed the Iraq War. He condemned laissez-faire capitalism and cared about the exploitation of workers, who he felt should have a dignity that is seldom bestowed upon them by the Walmarts and other firms in the US. And he cared about the rights and welfare of the Palestinian people in a way that virtually no one in the American political establishment does. He symbolically blessed the Palestinian claim that Jerusalem is the eternal capital of the Palestinian people.
That is, the Pope's message sometimes had a strong progressive content, and he was in some important ways on our side. That progressives might have had differences with him on some issues should not forestall our celebrating his progressive legacy.

I think that Cole's argument is very persuasive. I would encourage you to read the entire post.

Bullish on India?

In a speech delivered at the Reserve Bank of India, the Managing Director of the IMF sounds quite bullish on India's economic prospects. Excerpts:

...One estimate indicates that the poverty rate fell from 41 percent in 1992-93 to less than 29 percent in 2000. The reform process has made steady progress, despite changes in political leadership. Looking ahead, it appears that the broad path of reform—if not the pace or details—is firmly established. And success begets success. India is now more than ever a focus for international investors, who are eager to take part in a new India.
...Information technology is far from the entire story. A few examples: India is projected to have the second fastest growing tourism sector of any country in the world over the next 10 years. Steel production in India is now among the lowest-cost in the world. Pharmaceutical and biotech firms are likewise very competitive internationally. And Indian firms are increasingly carrying out their own R&D. Last year alone, Indian pharmaceutical companies filed about 200 patents.

Of course, there was a dose of advice on what to do as well.

...First, reducing the borrowing needs of government would help free resources for private investment, which remains low by regional standards.
...Second, public investment is also low compared with much of Asia. India's large infrastructure gap acts as an important constraint on growth.
...Third, lower fiscal deficits will improve financial intermediation.
...Quicker cuts in tariffs, combined with a lowering of nontariff barriers and improvements in the business climate, would allow Indian business to achieve scale economies and to fully take part in international production chains.
...India needs to continue to restructure its domestic economy, to allow it to reap the full benefits of globalization.

Quite frankly, this does not sound to me as a bad advice. Interestingly, Mr. de Rato talks about the role manufacturing sector in creating jobs as opposed to Stephan Roach.

I want to say one word to you... just one word...Interdependence

The Hindu gets it, India, Pakistan and Iran get it, unfortunately the US doesn't.

For India, the Iran pipeline is — to employ North American argot — a no-brainer. Specifically, it offers a number of advantages. First, the import of natural gas from Iran is a vital element in India's quest for energy security. Secondly, the pipeline project opens up a new and potentially exciting chapter in the bilateral relationship between Islamabad and New Delhi. Each side gets an economic stake in the other and this can only engender stability and predictability in the political equation. Thirdly, the Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline grid can be extended into Turkmenistan to allow Central Asian and Caspian gas to flow in. Finally, the grid could also be extended eastward from India to northern Myanmar and China's Yunnan province, thereby tying India, China, Pakistan, Iran, and Central Asia into a common energy network that would lower costs of transportation all round. India would be most unwise to give up all this and more for the chimera of an "energy dialogue" with a country that continues to deny it technology, equipment, and fuel for its civilian nuclear industry.

I am doubtful that the current US administration can be relied upon to understand the concept of interdependence. More later.

UPDATE (05/06): Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline by 2010

The Importance of being Lalu Prasad Yadav

or should I say Ram Vilas Paswan? Today's editorial in Hindu discusses how Lalu Prasad brought a lot of backward classes to the polling booths. Bihar is widely acknowledged to be one of the worst governed states of India. Inspite of being rich in terms of natural resources, Bihar has seen unprecedented levels of inequality, corruption and lawlessness.  All of this makes it a very interesting place to observe from the political perspective. It seems that in the recent elections, Lalu Prasad's MY (Muslim-Yadav) strategy did not work as well. What is more, the voter turnout was one of the lowest in past several decades. While many will breathe easier knowing that Lalu Prasad is no longer in power, it is likely that he will be a part of any power sharing arrangement that evolves in the next months. Otherwise, it will be time for Bihar to go to polls again next year.

Union Budget and Economic Survey of India

Details on India's Union Budget for year 2005-2006 and Economic Survey for year 2004-2005.

Update (03/04): Chetan Ahya and Stephen Roach at Morgan Stanley are not impressed. More later.

Update (03/10): IMF Country Report on India (pdf file):

1. The five papers presented here paint a picture of an Indian economy that has made great strides, but has more to do to accelerate growth and reduce poverty.
2. Growth has been solid for a number of years, but a move to a permanently higher growth path—as envisaged by the Indian authorities—is not yet assured.
3. The service sector has led India’s growth, and its success provides valuable lessons for economic policy more generally.
4. India is poised to become a major destination for foreign direct investment, but broad reforms are needed.
5. Tax reform can help generate needed fiscal adjustment, while contributing to higher growth.
6. Finally, for the recent recovery in private investment to take hold, the financial sector will need to play more fully its key intermediation role.

I am yet to read this report fully, so I have no comments to offer.

Indians in the Blogosphere

There are a lot of bloggers on the web who are either from India or have an Indian heritage. I have not, however, consciously tried to keep track of the Indian Blogging community, should there be one. I have known Dina Mehta's Blog because of World Changing. I saw Ashish Hanwadikar post comments at EconLog. The rest, I have just surfed on to for one reason or the other. At first brush, many of these appear Libertarian at which I am somewhat surprised.  I will try to read at least a few of them regularly as I find out more.
P.S. Thanks to Anita, here is a list of bloggers of Indian origin.