Sri Lanka : on the Up!

Sri Lanka has always been a challenge for India. Historically, Politically & Ideologically!

It is said that in earlier times Sri Lanka,  Maldives etc were part of the Indian land mass. It was only a few thousand years ago that it broke away and became different land masses with their own languages.

This is seen in the similarities in culture, beliefs and the lifestyles. It is because of the troubled past, political militancy and extreme poverty that it has always ben challenging for Indian government to support the lankans; especially so, after the assassination of prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.

In my recent visit to Sri Lanka, I was surprised to find the super smooth highways, great tourist transport, good transport infrastructure, port development and Casinos running in the city. Also big real estate developments are taking place in Colombo at a hectic pace.  !

Funny thing is : 80 percent investment is Chinese.

The local guide couldn't stress more on the subject about how chinese investment has changed lives of scores of Lankans in past 3 years. They could never imagine such tourist traffic, neither the amount of work happening around them. In next 5 years, it wont be surprising to see Colombo rivalling Macau.

It is clear India lost a huge advantage in spite of the close proximity to Sri Lanka in the last decade.

However all is not lost yet, and the current government is working overtime to ensure this. The invitation of their new president to Narendra Modi's swearing in was a master stroke and change a lot of perceptions about India in lanka.

Also, it seems several projects since then have been taken up by Indian companies. Atleast China's growth has been curtailed in the country and going forward we can expect an equivalent position to China in our relationship with Sri Lanka.

But the Indian government has to move fast, very fast; if we want to steal the momentum from the Chinese as they are leaving no stone unturned to ensure India is unable to break into the space.

Sri Lanka, being the crown jewel in their "String of Pearls" strategy vis a vis India, Needs to be quickly turned around to the Indian side in order to break Chinese stranglehold over their infrastructure at the earliest.

Bengal : Completely Didi's

21st July is celebrated as Martyr's day by the current Rulers of Bengal. Ostensibly to commemorate the deaths of individuals against the forcible land grab by the earlier government.

This event has turned out today to be more a show of strength and a gauge of public mood than anything else.

While every year this event is considered  to be a landmark rally, this year was most special for Didi. This was the first year that the event was organised in the absence of Mukul Roy. This was also the first big event after the Saradha Scam took a toll on TMC in the recent past. This was also the event to gauge public mood before next years elections.

Didi and her supporters have reason to be pleased. This years rally passed the test on all counts by flying colours!

The attendance at the rally was huge by any standards. The mood was jubilant, People Happy.

This rally has also cemented another fact : Didi is here to stay.

Among all the dark clouds of gloom and doom predicted by some sections of  news media; This fact also has a silver lining. Any investor can be absolutely sure that TMC will be in power for next 10 years. Hence they will get all the support from the government in order to make their project successful.

But the before any such big ticket item happens, Didi has to handle the following issues :

1. Solve the Singur Tangle at any cost.

2. Go for the best Ease of business score in the country.

3. Ensure the Center( Read Modi) provides rightly timed support to Bengal. ( for this all kinds of support can be provided in the Rajya Sabha)

4. Utilise such support and own resources in developing infrastructure, tourism and healthcare.

5. Utilise the golden opportunity of the ports investment, 4 Nation Road treaty, Eastern freight corridor, Ganga Cleanup projects.

These will help in bringing much needed outside investor to Bengal and take it to the heights which is rightfully Bengal's.

Why Indians cant Invent?

We Indians are pretty smug when it comes to our contribution of Zero to the world.

Whenever anyone asks the question "what's India's contribution to the world ? " and we start reaming off things like Zero, Yoga, Spirituality, Worlds largest democracy, languages, Sanskrit etc.

But, when it comes to contribution which has effected Man's daily life across the world in the recent past, and we sincerely think about it, we really havent been able to do much.

Even those contributions which have come from Indians have mostly come abroad, in western institutions of US, UK, EU etc.(Remember Pranav mistry from MIT?).

Lot of us have questioned why is it that in spite of having a first class primary education system, we dont pursue excellence in thinking out of the box in our graduate programs, or for that matter our Post graduate programs?

It is a question we must seriously ponder over. A recent World economic forum ranking doesnt even list India as a nation spending anything significant (or even miniscule) towards R&D. No wonder we havent done much towards research or innovation.

But when I see these figures, It brings to my mind large number of advertisements I saw during the congress regime towards Biotechnology Research, and I am told by some senior scientists and doctors that the government is quite supportive of research in areas which can help in rural health, crop productivity and health, space research etc.

If this is true ( and I believe it is) then we must find out where is all this money going?  Why are we unable to do something real with it?

One thing which comes to my mind is the submissive culture we Indians have learnt to grow up in. Perhaps that (and our confused social fabric) doesnt allow us to experiment( remember the photo journalist in 3 idiots), or maybe even when it does, we are really looking at ways to make a quick saving which will allow us to get a route to western institutions where they pay better for research!?

Whatever the case may be, It is clear that there is a genuine need for us to think bigger, bolder and way out of the box which will allow our children to talk about contributions of not aryabhatta but a certain living Indian who has given the world while still in an Indian institution, what others couldnt in a foreign university like the MIT.

Some probable areas of research which can make a real change in lives could be Health (cure and vaccines for Malaria, Dengue, Cancer), Space exploration, Next thing in Information Technology, Credible alternatives for GM food without the side effects, Maybe a better Flying machine?.

Whatever that invention is, one thing is certain, we Indians, known for our Jugaad, Mehnat, and long lineage, do have the capability to still build an ecosystem which can foster the best brains in the country to come up with the next big innovation for the world.

With the new CSR spend rule, it will be worthwhile for large PSU and private companies to consider investing in New Age think tanks, Research focussed universities and setting up large scale scholarships and talent search competitions for innovative thinking and fresh ideas towards changing the world.

And, what better time for it than now, with our population demographics being in our favour compared to the world!

The Long road to development - The collapse of the Modi Mania!

The past 20 months have seen a huge roller coaster of expectation. First came the frenzy towards the Magical Modi Mania, then came the exuberence over his coronation, then people started talking about giving him "time", and now, off late, even the most ardent supporter is turning incredulous whenever he sees or hears about Modi or BJP!

Now,lets turn our attention towards other parts of the country:

a) North West : Saw upsets in Haryana & Delhi, challenges in Punjab(Akali Dal?), UP(Akhilesh?), MP(Vyapam?), Chattisgarh(Dr Raman Singh?), Maharshtra(Local issues), Rajasthan{Lalit Modi(who is the bad M now eh?)}, Delhi (Self Immolation)

b) South : Talk about Amma(Exoneration), Chandrababu Naidu (Exasperation) to DMK's (Decimation)

c) East : Jharkhand, Orissa, Bihar - (Undergoing baptism by Fire), West bengal (Catch 22), the famed North east (getting a raw deal it seems)

Lets look at the financial indicators :

a) Taxation & Doing business has become tougher
b) Inflation, while under control is trying to rear its Ugly Head.
c) RBI still not toeing the Govt line, and keeping it under a leash
d) Collections still not pretty, and world is still under a lot of Stress
      (or is it Euress leading to Chess? (China's stress))

So all in all, a pretty topsy turvy year under the Modi regime till now.

However, there is a silver lining to all this. India's position in the world stage is more secure, and upright. PM Modi's foreign visit & Swachh Bharat has given a leg up to cross country travels, Better quality FDI and FII is expected within the ecosystem and Defense & Electronics manufacturing is sure to get a fillip.

But the view from the east is this :

1. Structural changes take time : Changes to NITI Aayog, National Rejuvenation Programs, restructuring of policies etc are all going to take atleast 2-3 more years to start being visible.
2. Subsidies are gone : Brace for high growth in exports and world trade when Oil increases and the common man is burdened with heavy burdens of unsubsidised fuel & gas.
3. Large scale cleanup of books effect short term funds availability hitting short term growth.
4. Cautionary stances adopted by Amma and Didi bode well for future legislations and remain to be seen how future work relationships are curated.
5. With above in mind, the author is convinced it will take atleast till October 2016 to even start seeing on ground activities on new projects, funds release in good flow and feel good stories.

But all said and done, one thing is for sure, people have finally realised(or slowly realising) that Hon'ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi is after all, a Human being. And with this, the people are feeling cheated. Everyone thought he was a Superhero (With the famed comic videos circulated through Namo's marketing team still fresh in everyone's mind), and wanted him to perform as he promised.

One fervently hopes the present BJP government and its office bearers are keeping this in mind while performing their daily duties. However, recent interactions by section of Business & Industry with several high profile senior ministers felt that the mood is high handed, and the result feather lite.

A very dangerous combination indeed.