Saturday, January 05, 2013

IRAN: ELECTION

Iran’s done well as a democracy

So much so that French President Nicholas Sarkozy branded the election result as a fraud and attributed the subsequent unrest as the result of Ahmedinejad’s failures in his first term. There were also many discreet protests against Obama’s as well as Sarkozy’s victory but these were never brought into limelight by the western media. Such petty gestures only show the Western world in a poor light, and elevate Ahmedinejad further in the eyes of the Iranian people.

In fact, Iran has proved to be a fine example of a democracy in this election. Going by voter turn out rate, Iran fared better than many successful democracies. Iran had voter turnout of 85%, slightly better than France, which had 84% in its 2007 presidential election and the US, which had a mere 61% voter turnout in 2008 presidential election. Rather than wasting their time in wishing Ahmedinejad away, the western world would do better to accept the reality and look to improve their relations with Iran. 


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
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Friday, January 04, 2013

US: POVERTY

One look at the First World reveals a much darker side to poverty
 
Although these hapless Hispanics have a poverty rate of 22.5%, stunningly, this figure is still lower than that of African Americans, 24.4% of whom languish below the poverty line! The better off Asians and the Whites have a poverty rate of 11.8% and 8.2% respectively.

Across the Atlantic, in Britain, 12.4 million families, which make up 22% of the population, resides below the poverty line. A research has revealed 7 million workers compulsively live at less than 6.50 pounds an hour. In this trying time economic slowdown across the world, poverty is no longer a myth amongst the developed countries, but an alarming reality as is evident in France with 6.2% living below poverty line, while Netherlands has the figure at 10.5%. Any day better than the poverty figure of Africa... 50%!
 

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
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Thursday, January 03, 2013

The Confusing Congress Chimera

 Just a few days ago, I was in Lucknow arguing vociferously with my father-in-law. He is a die hard supporter of Congress and would have cast his vote in favour of Rita Bahuguna Joshi. I personally think the chances of her winning are about as high as Shah Rukh’s Knight Riders winning IPL 2. But then faith and optimism are eternal. In fact, my father-in-law, who is a middle class Bihari settled in U.P. is convinced that there is a strong undercurrent in favour of Congress this time in the Hindi heartland. He is almost wistful when he talks about how the glory days of Congress can come back with Rahul Gandhi by the time the next Lok Sabha elections are organised. I have come across hundreds of such Congress well wishers who are sick and tired of regional parties ‘holding the nation to ransom’. I empathize with them, but can’t help pointing out some hard realities that make the challenge of reviving the Congress so formidable for Rahul Gandhi and his well meaning earnestness.

Here is a list of major states where the Congress can hope to win a lot of seats on its own: Assam, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarkhand, Orissa and Karnataka. That works out to about 230 plus seats. Here is a list of states where the Congress cannot hope to win even a few seats without strong regional allies: West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and J&K. That works out to almost 300 seats. The last time Congress won in Tamil Nadu was in 1967; it was 1967 in West Bengal; 1984-85 in Gujarat, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh; 1991 in Orissa, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan and Maharashtra on its own. In the states where the Congress can win many seats on its own, the party already has about 110 out of 130. In the second category of states, the party has about 50 out of 300.

Even a school child will know that it is the second category of states that will be the biggest challenge for Rahul Gandhi and his so called youth brigade. To be able to cross even 200 Lok Sabha seats, it needs to at least double its tally in the second category of states. More importantly, Rahul Gandhi needs to plan and execute a strategy which can help the Congress have even a decent chance of winning a large number of seats on its own in Maharashtra, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand which send almost 225 MPs to the Lok Sabha. Currently, the Congress has just about 50 representatives from these important states.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
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Saturday, December 22, 2012

India’s most high profile sibling rivalry

It’s slated to be the largest non-pharma deal this year (till date), if successful. But the Bharti-MTN deal is much more than that, for it can potentially be a major game changer in corporate India’s most high profile sibling rivalry – that of the Ambani brothers

Guess who benefited from this public demonstration of the bitter spat and subsequent split? Sunil Bharti Mittal and Airtel because Mukesh and the thousands and thousands of his employees switched over to Airtel connections!

The reverberations of that ‘switch’ are being felt even today; even as the second instalment of the UPA regime settles down to govern the country. You guessed it right again. We are talking about the latest bombshell that was dropped by Sunil Mittal recently when Bharti announced a ‘New Deal’ (You can call it an agreement, a merger, a reverse merger, an acquisition or whatever word takes your fancy!) with MTN, the South Africa-based telecom giant. An excited Sunil Bharti Mittal has said on that deal, “We are delighted at the prospect of developing a partnership with MTN to create an emerging market telecom powerhouse. This opportunity also represents a first of its kind in developing an Indian-African initiative that would serve as a shining example of South-South cooperation.”

One year ago, it looked as if Anil Ambani was all set to steal the thunder from Sunil Mittal when ‘agreement’ talks between MTN and Bharti collapsed and Reliance Infocom emerged as the new and favourite suitor. One year down the road, you could say that the wheel has turned full circle and the lead established by Sunil Mittal and Airtel as the unquestionable number one telecom player from India now looks unassailable.

Some simple facts – most of them known to you by now – will establish why Sunil stands taller than Anil. The $23 billion deal – the largest non-pharma deal in the world in 2009 so far – will create an entity that will automatically become the fourth largest mobile service provider in the world with more than 200 million subscribers. Just recently, when Airtel had announced celebrations to mark the accomplishment of a 100 million subscriber base, Sunil Mittal had already hinted to this magazine (see exclusive interview) that the 200 million milestone will come far more quickly. If the deal goes through – as most analysts and insiders expect it to – what Sunil had hinted at will have already happened! And it will happen thanks to a mind bogglingly complex ‘agreement’ that will involve both cash and fresh equity. Once the deal goes through, Bharti will hold slightly less than 50% of MTN equity while MTN, in turn, will hold a 36% ‘economic interest’ in Bharti. The term ‘economic interest’ is jargon being bandied about right now because there is still some confusion about how much equity foreign investors can hold in an Indian telecom entity. As of today, foreign investors, including the largest shareholder Singtel, hold almost 74% of the equity in Bharti – the limit allowed as per existing rules.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.



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Monday, December 10, 2012

Issues that really needed to be urgently addressed

The UPA announced some schemes for the working class, but largely ignored the issues that really needed to be urgently addressed, says vikas kumar

It is deplorable that in most of the states, the minimum permissible daily wage is less than Rs.50; the level of minimum wages rises above Rs.100 only in four states.

It goes without saying that even such low minimum wages are not always paid. Seasonal variations in availability of work and calamities of various kinds – from drought to social conflict to reduction in demand – adversely affect employment and livelihoods on a regular basis. In the tenure of UPA government, Jan Swasthya Bima Yojana was launched, to provide cover of up to Rs.30,000 for workers below the poverty line. But a majority of the working class does not even have any idea about the benefits of the scheme till date. Interestingly, the Congress’ manifesto for this election pledges that, if re-elected, it will cover all families under the poverty line within the next three years. Moreover, as M. K. Pandhe, trade union leader, laments about another problem, “When banks are giving 8.5-9.5% rate of interest for 400 days, it is ridiculous that EPFO is providing 8% rate on 30 to 40 years deposit.”

The manufacturing sector, has been hit in the mid section by age old labour laws like the Industrial Disputes Act of 1947 and the Factories Act of 1948. Provisions like restricted working hours for workers and restriction on contract labour discourage businesses. And ultimately, they are also affecting the labour market. The UPA also failed to address these concerns of the manufacturers, and take the initiative to herald a new era in Indian industry. That is extremely callous. If labour reforms are not done, entrepreneurship is discouraged, and it ultimately hits the workers hard.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

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