Reflections

This is the 2 nd part of my ongoing conversation into the Budget and The Indian Economy with Mr Amitabh D Sinha, carried on from : Comprehensive Vs Bottom Up We had closed the previous article with a comment on the MSME Sector, and the problems it faces, particularly Credit and its attendant problems. Moving on : Me : The difficulty of extending credit to the rural sector and the MSME sector is rooted in two problems we face as a people : corruption, and lack of identity papers and formal banking access. These two problems together are creating a scenario of trouble. We are a cash economy, not a banking economy. I recall one of my Sales Officers did not have a bank account, neither any identity papers of any kind, nor any address proof in his own name - and this was in Mumbai. That is the hard reality of our economy. The aspect of cash in our economy is a well studied and known one. Our industry functions on cash and word {not nescecarily illegal - cash can be used...

This is a conversation I had online with a college senior, and a person working extensively in a consultative position with SME companies at a senior level, with a pedigreed work experience at senior management levels. This conversation is between two people of completely varied economic ideologies, and I hope will provide a glimpse of an alternative path of development. This is a slightly different approach I am adopting, and hope that people can connect, as in my opinion it gives an interesting insight into diverse viewpoints; I know I learned a lot from this conversation, and hope others can also glean a lot... The conversation links onward from my previous article wherein I had compared and analysed the Middle Class, wherein I had stated : “The cities may not like it, but there is nothing they can do about it. They are outnumbered 5.5 - 1 in Rural Urban Split, or perhaps nearer aproximately {from memory, could be off target} 9-to-1 in terms of income..” Excerpts from the co...

The recent budget presented by the FM Mr Jaitley took quite a few people by surprise, with especially the middle class – some members at any rate- feeling short changed. Despite that, I personally rate this budget as being among the best to come since 1991; sure there are negatives. Let me take the bull by the horns : Middle Class, you say. Let me be blunt : The Middle Class got nothing, which exactly what it deserved. No more, no less. And yet, in this nothing lies the true benefit to this class from this budget.   This Middle Class represents those educated people {should / dare I say barely literate? Education implies much more than degrees}; Those literate and degreed people who you can spot spitting on the roads, peeing on the roadside, paying bribes, ignoring accident victims. migrating from India... these people are in a position to do something about such ugliness - and CHOOSE to do nothing. Do they really deserve more than their fair share? Call me an idealist – bu...

PREAMBLE AND PERSONAL THOUGHTS Recents events have brought students and universities {well, one particular university at least} to the forefront of the public discourse and media attention, alongwith all its sad and regrettable consequents; this has given rise to yet another impassioned debate in Social Media, Media as well as normal homes  - with both the Pro BJP and the anti BJP lobbies again rising to the occasion, as it were. FB posts, Whatsapp updates in support of the BJP, or questioning it are the order of the day once again, after a short breather... Next, the Government : I am a middle roader. I criticize where criticism is warranted, praise where praise is due. I have begun to note a clear polarisation of camps into pro and anti BJP, and that makes me highly uncomfortable; both camps claiming the other is wrong, and both sides being demonstrably and completely wrong in at least some of their contentions. Having been questioned by close friends and family on th...

This was not a news item that had touched me; in fact, I had dismissed it as just another routine decision by the Government – the one on the National Flag, our beloved Tirangaa. Ok, I thought : so universities have to display the flag; nothing passed my mind – no issue, no question, no controversy. Therefore, I found it surprising when I started getting whatsapp updates on how Arnab is liked for his stance; I also ran into a couple of facebook updates on his now-famous Newhour Debate on the Tirangaa issue. My interest was piqued, and I watched the programme - with bile rising in my throat, tears in my eyes and with a mind numbed and shocked into total disbelief at the display – nay, the mind-numbingly tasteless display that was being presented on the screen. I mean, seriously – you are actually debating about whether or not the decision to tell universities to fly the flag is a correct one? Now how can this be a matter of debate? MY REACTION And yet – the evi...