WTO
-Formed on January1 1995 to replace GATT.
-WTO director general is Pascal Lamy, a French.
Failure of Doha Talks because
1) US,China and India did not converge on agriculture trade.US gives export subsidies and India has import tariffs on which there was dispute.
2) Industrial tariffs and non tariff barriers.
Other topic discussed in Doha was Access to patented medicines. Developing and poor countries pay a large money for patent cost of basic medicines to developed countries. After Doha talks, poor countries were exempted from paying the patent royalties.
Non Tariff Barriers:
WTO rules force countries to remove tariffs. Hence use of non tariff barriers has increased. Non tariff barriers can be :
1) To protect Health and Sanitation
2) To protect deletable natural resources.
3) Product Standards
4) Child Labor
5) Pollution
6) Restrictive Licenses
Kyoto Protocol
-4 greenhouse gases identified : CO2, Methane, Nitrous Oxide and Sulphur Hexafloride along with clouroflourocarbons.
-Developed Countries to reduce their GH emissions by 5.2% of their 1990 levels by 2012.
-Carbon Credit Trading would be used by industries. This approach will be better than levying pollution taxes on the industries by the govt.
-Climate Change bodies have predicted a change of 1-5 degree Celcius between 1990 and 2100
US Position
US did not sign the Kyoto Protocol, because developing countries like China and India have been exempted from signing it, even though China is the largest emitter of CO2 in the world and 2nd largest emitter of greenhouse gases (after US).
Note: It is predicted that due to global warming, malaria will increase worldwide by 3% because mosquitoes survive better in warmer world.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Sectoral Study
Health Care
-Pre-Independence there was high mortality rate and state of health care was very bad.
-Post liberalization, private players have come in and it has lead to increase in health care facilities. Further lot of Private-Public partnerships have come in.
Health Care Services now constitute 3% of GDP and see a big growth potential.
Health care includes the following :
1)Medical Service Providers:Physicians, Hospitals, Nursing Homes, Clinics
2)Pathology Labs and Diagnostic Centers
3)Pharmaceutical Companies
4)Medical Equipments Makers
5)Third Party Vendors (for Laundry,Catering)
Increasing Demand:
a)Since more and more Medical Tourists are visiting India now (more than 1lac/year) from Africa, West and MiddleEast, India has a demand which needs to be met.
b)Major challenges in healthcare in Inida are accessibility, quality and efficiency leaving a huge scope for improvement
c)Better health consciousness, life expectancy and quality of living has increased domestic demand.
Government Action:
a)Reduction in tariffs on medical equipments and drugs.
b)Lower interest in lending for pvt sector hospitals with 100+ beds.
c)Community Health Insurance for poor. Rs.30k cover is available for Rs.2 per day for people below poverty line.Govt pay Rs.100 per annum for them.
d)Constant RnD by govt and pharma companies.
___________________________________________________________________
Retail Sector
-14% of the Indian GDP
-4% is organized and 96% is unorganized
-Highly Fragmented.Highest no. of retails outlets per capita in India.
-FDI is not allowed except for single brand retailing
-Rural Retailing through ITC's e-choupal and HUL's Project Shakti
-IT is used as a retailing tool.e.g. Amazon.com
-India's 1.1b population with 300m middle class attracts retailers
Advantages of FDI :
a)Wider choice to consumers .
b)Benefit to farmers through bulk sales to large retail outlets
c)Technological Upgradation such as cold chain,better supply chain,better customer relationship and other best practices. Access to International Quality Goods and Services
d) WalMart is 200b$ while our retail industry is worth just 300b$. So a huge scope of growth.
Disadvantages of FDI:
a)Companies like Walmart would sustain losses for multiple years to eliminate Indian retailers and to create monopoly. Retail is a major employer in India and millions would go job less if Wal Mart were to enter the retail segment.
India is labor intensive country while western countries are capital intensive.
b)China and Malaysia opened FDI in retail recently but were forced to enact new laws to control the rapid expansion of the new foreign malls and supermarkets.
c)Our manufacturing is 21% while Services is 60% and retail 14%.
So we should invest more in manufacturing so that the retail employment goes to manufacturing and and also to ensure that more Indian goods are sold by the retail sector. Only then can we afford FDIs.
Actions:
-Govt. should support the movement of unorganized retail to organized retail via easy financing.
-Also cold storage, hygiene and efficiency in supply chain should be introduced by the govt so that if FDI comes in future, we are competitive.
____________________________________________________________________
Educational Sector
Advantages of FDI in Higher Education:
1)Mediocre Teaching Infrastructure will give way to Quality Teachers.
Imagine studying Quantum Physics from Stephen Hawking.
Currently in India, number of years of experience decide salary of a teacher rather than the quality of his work.
2) Schools like Harvard, Stanford may start their branches in India. World class schools and knowledge at India would slow down the brain drain.
3)Every year there is an outflow of US$4billion as Indian students go to abroad universities and pay the fee there.This can be saved via FDI.
4)Students from neighboring countries will then come to study in India, thus contributing to the education revenue in India.
5)Critics might say that this may lead to commercialization of education. But at least such universities would be better than hundreds of private universities run by politicians.Also, its perfectly possible for a university to be profitable as well as deliver high quality education at the same time. Afterall, all profit making firms deliver high quality products too.
6) Considering the current shortfall in supply of institutes of higher education as compared to the demand, its not possible for the government alone to deliver high quality institutes. In a knowledge economy, we need private players too.
Points to Take Care:
1) UGC may act as a regulator, but it will have to stop administering and controlling global colleges with Nobel Prize winning professors on their rolls. However UGC and AICTE will be useful in providing guidelines to colleges and disclose information about the colleges to the students, so that the students are not duped by some college.
2) Issues such as Reservation will be unacceptable to foreign schools who would not let their brand image be tarnished by sacrificing merit.
3)FDI in elementary and primary education may be an issue because the child will be exposed at an impressionable age to a curriculum which may not be inline with th social and cultural values of India.
Regulation In Education:
Regulation increases the cost of higher education.e.g. AICTE used to collect 50lac rupees per course and used to keep in a joint account for 10 yrs .Also the red tapism in the license raj of education regulations deters the genuine educationalists from setting up institutes.Hence these days most institiutes are started by politicians who can circumvent the license raj rules easily.
-Pre-Independence there was high mortality rate and state of health care was very bad.
-Post liberalization, private players have come in and it has lead to increase in health care facilities. Further lot of Private-Public partnerships have come in.
Health Care Services now constitute 3% of GDP and see a big growth potential.
Health care includes the following :
1)Medical Service Providers:Physicians, Hospitals, Nursing Homes, Clinics
2)Pathology Labs and Diagnostic Centers
3)Pharmaceutical Companies
4)Medical Equipments Makers
5)Third Party Vendors (for Laundry,Catering)
Increasing Demand:
a)Since more and more Medical Tourists are visiting India now (more than 1lac/year) from Africa, West and MiddleEast, India has a demand which needs to be met.
b)Major challenges in healthcare in Inida are accessibility, quality and efficiency leaving a huge scope for improvement
c)Better health consciousness, life expectancy and quality of living has increased domestic demand.
Government Action:
a)Reduction in tariffs on medical equipments and drugs.
b)Lower interest in lending for pvt sector hospitals with 100+ beds.
c)Community Health Insurance for poor. Rs.30k cover is available for Rs.2 per day for people below poverty line.Govt pay Rs.100 per annum for them.
d)Constant RnD by govt and pharma companies.
___________________________________________________________________
Retail Sector
-14% of the Indian GDP
-4% is organized and 96% is unorganized
-Highly Fragmented.Highest no. of retails outlets per capita in India.
-FDI is not allowed except for single brand retailing
-Rural Retailing through ITC's e-choupal and HUL's Project Shakti
-IT is used as a retailing tool.e.g. Amazon.com
-India's 1.1b population with 300m middle class attracts retailers
Advantages of FDI :
a)Wider choice to consumers .
b)Benefit to farmers through bulk sales to large retail outlets
c)Technological Upgradation such as cold chain,better supply chain,better customer relationship and other best practices. Access to International Quality Goods and Services
d) WalMart is 200b$ while our retail industry is worth just 300b$. So a huge scope of growth.
Disadvantages of FDI:
a)Companies like Walmart would sustain losses for multiple years to eliminate Indian retailers and to create monopoly. Retail is a major employer in India and millions would go job less if Wal Mart were to enter the retail segment.
India is labor intensive country while western countries are capital intensive.
b)China and Malaysia opened FDI in retail recently but were forced to enact new laws to control the rapid expansion of the new foreign malls and supermarkets.
c)Our manufacturing is 21% while Services is 60% and retail 14%.
So we should invest more in manufacturing so that the retail employment goes to manufacturing and and also to ensure that more Indian goods are sold by the retail sector. Only then can we afford FDIs.
Actions:
-Govt. should support the movement of unorganized retail to organized retail via easy financing.
-Also cold storage, hygiene and efficiency in supply chain should be introduced by the govt so that if FDI comes in future, we are competitive.
____________________________________________________________________
Educational Sector
Advantages of FDI in Higher Education:
1)Mediocre Teaching Infrastructure will give way to Quality Teachers.
Imagine studying Quantum Physics from Stephen Hawking.
Currently in India, number of years of experience decide salary of a teacher rather than the quality of his work.
2) Schools like Harvard, Stanford may start their branches in India. World class schools and knowledge at India would slow down the brain drain.
3)Every year there is an outflow of US$4billion as Indian students go to abroad universities and pay the fee there.This can be saved via FDI.
4)Students from neighboring countries will then come to study in India, thus contributing to the education revenue in India.
5)Critics might say that this may lead to commercialization of education. But at least such universities would be better than hundreds of private universities run by politicians.Also, its perfectly possible for a university to be profitable as well as deliver high quality education at the same time. Afterall, all profit making firms deliver high quality products too.
6) Considering the current shortfall in supply of institutes of higher education as compared to the demand, its not possible for the government alone to deliver high quality institutes. In a knowledge economy, we need private players too.
Points to Take Care:
1) UGC may act as a regulator, but it will have to stop administering and controlling global colleges with Nobel Prize winning professors on their rolls. However UGC and AICTE will be useful in providing guidelines to colleges and disclose information about the colleges to the students, so that the students are not duped by some college.
2) Issues such as Reservation will be unacceptable to foreign schools who would not let their brand image be tarnished by sacrificing merit.
3)FDI in elementary and primary education may be an issue because the child will be exposed at an impressionable age to a curriculum which may not be inline with th social and cultural values of India.
Regulation In Education:
Regulation increases the cost of higher education.e.g. AICTE used to collect 50lac rupees per course and used to keep in a joint account for 10 yrs .Also the red tapism in the license raj of education regulations deters the genuine educationalists from setting up institutes.Hence these days most institiutes are started by politicians who can circumvent the license raj rules easily.
Friday, February 20, 2009
Crises DeMystified
Found a Simplistic Explanation For the Sub-Prime Crisis. Check it out here:
http://flowingdata.com/2008/11/25/visual-guide-to-the-financial-crisis/
Meanwhile,I did a Retrospect on the previous Recessions:
The Dot Com Bubble Burst:
Powered by the internet boom from 1995-2000, several new dot coms came up and expanded at tremendous speeds. The dot coms were governed by the principle of "Get Large or Get Lost". Solely driven by the objective of growing fast, these firms dismissed standard business models and solely focused on increasing market share at the expense of their bottom line. Though on paper, many of these firms were loss making, they invested crazily on expansion through increased advertising. They relied on IPOs and Venture Capital for funding during their initial loss making days. Since it was important for them to grow as fast as possible , they heavily spent in their respective domains and quoted the examples of Amazon and Google, which too were initially loss making.
The growth of dot coms triggered a simultaneous growth of the communication companies which sensed a growth in the broadband connections and invested heavily in fiber optics.
The burst began in March 2000, following a series of events:
1) The massive by-chance sell orders of high tech stocks, such as IBM, Dell, Cisco, which happened on a single day.
2) Declaration of Microsoft as a monopoly.
3) Decelerated spending in computer hardware, post Y2K .
The above incidents triggered a collapse of the stock market and the eventual bubble burst.
The Great Depression:
1) Triggered by the Wall Street Collapse in October 1929. People had taken huge amounts of loans from banks to invest in the stock market which had been going up.
When the NYSE collapsed, people lost huge amounts of money, triggering bankruptcies, job cuts and business closures.
2)Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act was passed in 1930. This act placed tariffs on imports to protect domestic industries. Because of this act, both exports and imports fell decreased by 1/3rd, contributing to the Depression.
3) Federal Reserve Bank policy: The Federal did not release sufficient money into the market when the recession started. Hence people started accumulating the money and consumed less.
4) Before the Depression and after WW1, there had been a heavey invest,ent and expansion of industries. So there was over production and by 1929, supply far exceeded the demand.
http://flowingdata.com/2008/11/25/visual-guide-to-the-financial-crisis/
Meanwhile,I did a Retrospect on the previous Recessions:
The Dot Com Bubble Burst:
Powered by the internet boom from 1995-2000, several new dot coms came up and expanded at tremendous speeds. The dot coms were governed by the principle of "Get Large or Get Lost". Solely driven by the objective of growing fast, these firms dismissed standard business models and solely focused on increasing market share at the expense of their bottom line. Though on paper, many of these firms were loss making, they invested crazily on expansion through increased advertising. They relied on IPOs and Venture Capital for funding during their initial loss making days. Since it was important for them to grow as fast as possible , they heavily spent in their respective domains and quoted the examples of Amazon and Google, which too were initially loss making.
The growth of dot coms triggered a simultaneous growth of the communication companies which sensed a growth in the broadband connections and invested heavily in fiber optics.
The burst began in March 2000, following a series of events:
1) The massive by-chance sell orders of high tech stocks, such as IBM, Dell, Cisco, which happened on a single day.
2) Declaration of Microsoft as a monopoly.
3) Decelerated spending in computer hardware, post Y2K .
The above incidents triggered a collapse of the stock market and the eventual bubble burst.
The Great Depression:
1) Triggered by the Wall Street Collapse in October 1929. People had taken huge amounts of loans from banks to invest in the stock market which had been going up.
When the NYSE collapsed, people lost huge amounts of money, triggering bankruptcies, job cuts and business closures.
2)Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act was passed in 1930. This act placed tariffs on imports to protect domestic industries. Because of this act, both exports and imports fell decreased by 1/3rd, contributing to the Depression.
3) Federal Reserve Bank policy: The Federal did not release sufficient money into the market when the recession started. Hence people started accumulating the money and consumed less.
4) Before the Depression and after WW1, there had been a heavey invest,ent and expansion of industries. So there was over production and by 1929, supply far exceeded the demand.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
We dont need no education
Before I say anything, I would let Mr. Pramod Muthalik's credentials do the
speaking :
He has 45 cases pending against him in courts and is wanted in 11 districts of Karnataka.
Recently he showcased his support to the Hindu suicide attackers, who according to him are 1000+ in number.
Do we want such culture vultures to do our moral policing?
Why did he target women in the Mangalore Pub incident?
The reason is not limited to the instant fame which he derived to meet his political and personal ambitions. A concurrent reason is the fear in the Talibanised minds of criminals like Muthalik, who are afraid of progressing, socially independent women who can challenge men.
Sangh Parivars should remember that foreign investments are bound to bring in foreign culture. And Indian culture has always been about imbibing the positives from other cultures. So they should quite opposing everything "foreign" blindly.
Lets not forget the imbecile idea of RSS to come up with a cow drink (made of cow urine) to counter Coca Cola in India.
The above having been said, Peaceful Moral Policing through demonstrations has a place in a democracy. Youngsters today should use prudence while treading the delicate line between liberal thoughts and Indian culture. We should be proud of our 5000 year old culture, and at the same time take the positives from other cultures. "Prudence" would be the key here.
I hereby demand a special attention from the Indian parents in Mumbai, who send their toddlers to American accent classes. Its high time the parents drop their inferiority complexes and start taking pride in what they are.
speaking :
He has 45 cases pending against him in courts and is wanted in 11 districts of Karnataka.
Recently he showcased his support to the Hindu suicide attackers, who according to him are 1000+ in number.
Do we want such culture vultures to do our moral policing?
Why did he target women in the Mangalore Pub incident?
The reason is not limited to the instant fame which he derived to meet his political and personal ambitions. A concurrent reason is the fear in the Talibanised minds of criminals like Muthalik, who are afraid of progressing, socially independent women who can challenge men.
Sangh Parivars should remember that foreign investments are bound to bring in foreign culture. And Indian culture has always been about imbibing the positives from other cultures. So they should quite opposing everything "foreign" blindly.
Lets not forget the imbecile idea of RSS to come up with a cow drink (made of cow urine) to counter Coca Cola in India.
The above having been said, Peaceful Moral Policing through demonstrations has a place in a democracy. Youngsters today should use prudence while treading the delicate line between liberal thoughts and Indian culture. We should be proud of our 5000 year old culture, and at the same time take the positives from other cultures. "Prudence" would be the key here.
I hereby demand a special attention from the Indian parents in Mumbai, who send their toddlers to American accent classes. Its high time the parents drop their inferiority complexes and start taking pride in what they are.
God save the SWATians
Pakistan's deal with Tehreek e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) to let them control the jurisdiction of SWAT via the Sharia law is a testimony to un-orderliness in Pakistan.
Despite the presence of more than a lakh Pakistan soldiers in the SWAT valley, the TTP was able to show its strength. This points clearly to the fact that the Anti-America sentiments amongst the locals and the soldiers makes them support the Talibans.
But Pakistan should keep one thing in its mind. Just like there were no good Nazis, there won't be good Talibans too. The Sharia law in itself is senseless in today's context. It cuts apart basic fundamentals rights of speech, education and religion.
It will specially come down heavily on women, who will be treated as third grade citizens in their homeland.
The Talibans have already started showing their true colors. Musa Khan, a Geo TV journalist was slained by the TTP for his coverage of Taliban's historical atrocities.
Only Allah can save the SWATians now.
Despite the presence of more than a lakh Pakistan soldiers in the SWAT valley, the TTP was able to show its strength. This points clearly to the fact that the Anti-America sentiments amongst the locals and the soldiers makes them support the Talibans.
But Pakistan should keep one thing in its mind. Just like there were no good Nazis, there won't be good Talibans too. The Sharia law in itself is senseless in today's context. It cuts apart basic fundamentals rights of speech, education and religion.
It will specially come down heavily on women, who will be treated as third grade citizens in their homeland.
The Talibans have already started showing their true colors. Musa Khan, a Geo TV journalist was slained by the TTP for his coverage of Taliban's historical atrocities.
Only Allah can save the SWATians now.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Retrospect on IPL
Brief:
Its official now : The recession will have no impact on IPL 2009.
Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Piterson have been auctioned for 7.5 crores.
The recent auction made me do a retrospect on this entire IPL turn of events.
-IPL Idea was derived from NBA, European Football Leagues and ICL.
-Its the Ultimate Reality TV: Team owners, actors without makeup,News channels, Newspapers and the on-field antics of players.
-The IPL shows that it is completely possible (as the economists Paul Baran and Paul Sweezy had argued long ago) for monopoly capitalism to create social wants and then proceed to fill them.
Economics:
The Stakeholders are :
Franchisees, Players, BCCI, TV Channels, Advertisers, DLF, Audience
BCCI gains 1 b$ from TV channels by selling rights
TV channels gain from advertisements
Players gain from money paid by franchisees
Franchisees gain from :
a) Popularity of brand value.e.g. for Kingfisher
b) Tickets sold at stadium, sale of merchandise at stadium.
c) Sponsors which they inturn get. e.g. Tag heur supported SRK for kolkata Knight Riders
d) Part of revenue from selling TV rights
e) Part of money from central sponsor (DLF)
f)Every franchisee has a built-in insurance policy, at least partially, in the form of inflation. The franchise fees, which forms the bulk of their expenses, will remain constant through 10 years. But revenues they earn by way of ticket sales, team sponsorships, merchandising, etc., are expected to rise each year, thus, making it easier for them to become profitable as the years go by.
Its official now : The recession will have no impact on IPL 2009.
Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Piterson have been auctioned for 7.5 crores.
The recent auction made me do a retrospect on this entire IPL turn of events.
-IPL Idea was derived from NBA, European Football Leagues and ICL.
-Its the Ultimate Reality TV: Team owners, actors without makeup,News channels, Newspapers and the on-field antics of players.
-The IPL shows that it is completely possible (as the economists Paul Baran and Paul Sweezy had argued long ago) for monopoly capitalism to create social wants and then proceed to fill them.
Economics:
The Stakeholders are :
Franchisees, Players, BCCI, TV Channels, Advertisers, DLF, Audience
BCCI gains 1 b$ from TV channels by selling rights
TV channels gain from advertisements
Players gain from money paid by franchisees
Franchisees gain from :
a) Popularity of brand value.e.g. for Kingfisher
b) Tickets sold at stadium, sale of merchandise at stadium.
c) Sponsors which they inturn get. e.g. Tag heur supported SRK for kolkata Knight Riders
d) Part of revenue from selling TV rights
e) Part of money from central sponsor (DLF)
f)Every franchisee has a built-in insurance policy, at least partially, in the form of inflation. The franchise fees, which forms the bulk of their expenses, will remain constant through 10 years. But revenues they earn by way of ticket sales, team sponsorships, merchandising, etc., are expected to rise each year, thus, making it easier for them to become profitable as the years go by.
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