Recently in News Category

Google is an inspiring company.. no doubt..

If you are a techy, especially ones who love developing web applications, and are amazed by how maps.google.com works and all.. you..

should

try

the wave.

It is a new thing Google is going to launch - this year end.

What does it do? Stuff you *should* see for yourself.

http://wave.google.com/ - see the demo there. .

For non-techys too, the demo in the above link will be interesting.. but if you have a skill of ignoring selective words spoken to you.. the tech words that the presenters use.

You would have heard about the recent restrictions that US government is putting on outsourcing services and export trade for other countries.. majorly affecting Indian and Chinese interests in the US market.

I subscribe to a newsletter from a non-government, non-profit 'National US INDIA chamber of commerce', which reports 'clear-and-accounted' lobbying of some Indian companies in the US for easing US stand on its restrictions..

India Inc paying millions on lobbying in U.S.

Wednesday,6th May 2009

Washington: Indian companies, including top corporate entity RIL and industry body Nasscom, are paying thousands of dollars on lobbying with lawmakers and government departments in the U.S. on issues ranging from immigrant visas to bilateral trade and individual business ventures.

Four Indian entities - Reliance Industries, Nasscom, Sun Pharma and Orchid Chemicals - have together paid close to $2,75,000 (about Rs 1.4 crore) towards lobbying their causes during the first three months of 2009, says the disclosure reports filed by lobbyists firms with the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Out of this, RIL has paid $1,90,000 to BGR Holding, a high-profile lobbyist group that has many Fortune 500 firms and foreign governments as its clients, for providing 'strategic counsel on issues related to trade.'

Incidentally, the U.S. Congress and House of Representatives are currently considering new legislations to penalize companies that supply petroleum products to Iran, which includes RIL. The penalty could include a ban from doing business in the U.S. Besides, Nasscom has paid $70,000 to the same lobbyist, BGR, in the first quarter of 2009 for lobbying on international technology and immigration issues.

Indian software industry has reacted sharply to the recent moves by the U.S. administration to put curbs on H1-B visas, a skilled foreign worker visa that have largely been given to Indian IT professionals in the past.

While the payment made by Sun Pharma in Q1 2009 is below $5,000, Orchid Chemicals has paid $10,000 for lobbying on issues related to the U.S. drug regulator FDA's policies. Sun Pharma's lobbying issues have been related to the citizens' petitions and FDA reforms. While there are no past disclosures about RIL's lobbying attempts, Nasscom, Sun Pharma and Orchid have been quite active on this front in the past.

Purnima Voria, Founder/CEO
National US India Chamber of Commerce (NUICC)

My take:

US 's recent restrictions on trade is more so like war-time Restrictions / Sanctions which could have very serious reverberating summary effect on the industries.. especially in India, because India's software industry and general economy itself is very much dependent on business with the US.

While US is doing this as a economy-saving measure for themselves, they are actually making it worser for them without realizing it, because these restrictions would mean many US industries or products built there will be more costly than in recent past, though there will be advantage that unemployment problems in US will get a breathing, and also US people will grow more mature to have competitive salaries in their jobs and more drive to make cheaper products or services.. rather than thinking cheaper always means outsourcing or allowing the markets to import.

An important thing of Note about US: I don't know How and Why the US legalises things like Lobbying the senate and lawmakers, spending billions for election campaign taking money through donor companies/industries itself, and all..

If bribing a senator to help work on a law is accounted as legal as 'Lobbying' or such people as 'Lobbyists', accounting those costs, then it is like just running a Casino.. not a government I think.

Also, if companies/industries can donate huge sums legally (after paying taxes) to the republicans or democrats, and if the parties can spend any amount for election campaigns, then I think they are just making all their hard earned money flow into forming a government which will then run the casino.. and all politicians and lobbyists make lot of money, and people make "nothing".. all this legal.

It is typically a routing that politicians in america have created over the years to bring all the money to their coppers.

There are presidential campaign reported expenditure websites and accounted statements online, which have something like 20-60 billion US$ being spent by the ruling party's next presidential campaign. That is a horrifying canal route bleeding every American's pocket to make that sum. The capitalist organizations bleed the people by over-pricing their products, then donate it to presidential campaign funds. .. This happens in every country.. but then, it will only be a few hundred millions.. not any close to the figures that americans pay to their president and his people.

First Americans have to correct all this, rather than stupidly thinking that buying services from India / China is costing them their economy. Buying from these countries could only make their economy stronger because of cheaper costs.. Is it real that they don't understand that ?, and they still believe all their president's and governments words about where all the money has gone ?..

I can't believe I missed the news on this.. Tata Nano the people's car.. had a people's car type launch, mostly because everybody of Auto industry turned out to be critics of the dream of Ratan Tata.

Ratan Tata has done a show to launch the car, on 10th of this month in Delhi.. Some videos of this are posted on youtube.com here

p.s. You may not be able to view the video already from youtube because either youtube.com has deleted it, for copyright reasons or for avoiding too many hits. I was able to view two parts of the video, but the 3rd returned a 'sorry' message from youtube

More than the car, I was worried about the inspiring, but aeging Ratan Tata.. he definitely seemed unhealthy and I-may-fall-anytime kind of postures during the entire show at the launch. Bless him well.. and here are some pics.

Though probably this will be my first auto-review post.. I am so encouraged to type my opinion of Nano if you care, I guess Nano will have a slow start.. and might take an year or two to have expected kind of boom in numbers in sales.. because of the friction every innovative product has in india (remember indians are a demanding audience).. How big a success and revolution Maruthi 800 created when it was launched and for so many years later that.. is something we all know... so we can expect a repeat of that kind of history very very much with nano.

The car, to be honest, to keep away my or even your critical / sceptic thoughts about it.. in comparison to cars and their costs like a Maruthi or Hyundai or Ford ones... nano looks good, affordable, as safe and economic as a Maruthi or Hyundai or Ford is. Not bad or sceptic at all like we careful, demanding indians critic about.

Another thing I observed on the launch function was, almost all employees of Ratan Tata seem to share a fright to get near him or be near him, probably not fear but having worked for him, they know the bigness of him and respect him so. Anyways, nice to see a dream indian project completed, that too when the whole world challenged that it is not possible.. I remember how somebody said from some country they are going to make a $100 laptop, and never were able to keep the promise.

I am going to remember the last photo above.. Tata with the Nano like a pet by his side.. look at the size of them.. cute little creature it is.

News: Delhi airport has been authorized to pick money from travellers when they arrive at the airport. 1000+ Rupees ($20+) from international travellers, and 200+ ($4+) from domestic travellers.. for the sake of developing the delhi airport.

How many times have you cribbed losing money or shouting back at politicians and local organizations demanding you money to organize a local political meeting or fund their campaign, or develop a building or infrastructure like a temple in your locality... "for your growth why should I lose my hard earned money" you would say when they throw a cheeky smile and say "madam, we are doing this to help you, society and well-being of everyone.. we promise".

And you thought that is something illegal they are doing and you sometimes have to do with it because they are powerful people.

Now its all legal with the recent news item.

As a traveller you hardly spend time at an airport, and it is only the airplane that transports you more than the airport's involvement in your transport, but still delhi airport will charge you for developing their services, not for using their service, but because you landed at the airport.

They are charging passengers rather than doing this to the airliners.. because airliners in India are already poor and begging on the next street corner it seems..

End of day, every corportation wants to exist well right from citibank, to delhi airports, and politicians will exist and help the corporations exist, but people have to pay for existing.. though the former's source of income is purely the latter.

This horrible trend, if it catches up, which I guess it definitely will, is going to make you not just pay tax, but toll charges on the road, airport usage charges at the airport, part entry fee at the government maintained parks, and much more.. you earn your money, and pay tax.. and politicians and government officials, get the tax, their salaries, the scam loots, various bribe/extortion money, etc.,

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News two says: Finance ministry of Indian government has decided to let loose funds from FDI as local funds with a new scheme..

And all business newspapers are hailing the idea as a good one.. which is to be announced in the forthcoming budget session.

Capitalism is required but only as long as we can control the gates from being wide open.. but this move suggests they are removing the entire compound wall and trying to put a one-time entry fee at the gate alone.

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For example, until now, walmart USA can start operations in the name of walmart India with 51% of administration held with the Indian management, the remaining 49% administration (or the actual ruling administration) from the USA. ... and all funds they invest in india are considered foreign-investment and have limitations on how it can be used or what ROI they can take back...

But if the news becomes real, it suggests walmart can invest in a 100% indian managed company called talmart India. and invest huge sums of money, and actually do whatever an indian company can do, though they are actually foreign investments which should have limitations. This is because their FDI on talmart will be considered local investment since they have already existed and invested like an FDI on walmart India.

Because there won't be limitations, they can challenge all of indian market, like reliance fresh challenged all hawker based grocery in india.. and finally at the end keep or take all their earnings from india back to their country without any issues.

Practically speaking it is correct that they are investing and they are taking back their profits.. out of their hard work.. but ethically speaking we are allowing a larger economy to suck blood from a 48+ times weaker economy assuming they will push more and more money to make india larger.

Taking competition head on from foreigners and still surviving is fine.. US does, UK does, but we have a huge band of poor, dying, or weaker sections in soceity than what the west has.. and rather than helping these bands from thinning.. even after so much light as from somebody calling an indian community "slumdogs", the ministry of finance goes bang-bang with capitalism to impress americans to work more with indians..and share each other's markets..

Who does it help?
The rich obviously.. so the rich get richer. When the west allows indians more space in their market for goods and services, it is the rich set of indians who do exports that get benefitted.

The poor get more poorer.. because when the west comes into india and takes away a share of our market for goods and services, growing companies or small industries lose work on competition.. and more companies means more employment for the partly or fully educated poor which will tempt them and keep them out of agriculture and other important industries that the un-educated poor survive on.

The basic truth behind businesses coming to India, is:
1. Survival of the fittest.. more money, bigger economy, they will survive, even if we indians compete with all our money with them..
2. Foreigners would invest in India.. not to serve indian economy, but only to make themselves more richer, or to shift their recession here.

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Long live the Indian polity and the finance ministry's executies with all how-to-suck-people's-money ideas.. they sure should get ready retirement pensions and jobs from corporates for helping them loot the people who serve as their vehicle to office.

If the finance ministry gets time, they should sit and think what reforms they are doing as equal to what they are doing for corporates, or FDI, and tally the numbers to understand that they are doing negligible to raise India's poor.

It is simple math.. and here's a crude sample of the numbers.

End of day, waive a 6000 cr farm loan, 2000 cr NREGA and show that on Television as achievements to raise the poor.. but are we forgetting the fact that 6000 cr farm loan waiver was debt not new fund injection for poor..and that in no way will raise the bar, but only encourage them buy more loans.
And the 2000 cr NREGA project is used by people who are unemployed only because of all the other anti-poor / capitalist reforms.

So, you make the fire and then after sometime send the fire service to douse it, doesn't mean you are serving the people.

And finally, the reform worth given to corporates would be nothing less than 200,000 cr in any financial year.. which overcasts a huge shadow over the 6k+2k above making it entirely negligible.

All of India seems to have gone dry this summer.. temperatures in central and south India are soaring into the 40's of the Celsius scale. Ice is melting heavily making thicker rivers in upper northern parts of India.

And the satellite images show almost no clouds.. "We are Running Dry"... make your prayers.

Picture src: Insat image
(This picture source updates regularly, and is listed permanently at the bottom of homepage on this blog www.harishpl.info)