Indo-Japan bonding

One must wonder why Indo-Japanese economic ties have been so comatose for years now. Japan had become inward-looking - fighting for almost a decade a persistently stagnant economy. It has since spurred itself into an aggressive rebuild mode under its new premier. This comes at a time when India, too, seems to have shed its laxity, after being transfixed by China's global trade blitz and its own internal faults. India's enormous appetite for new infrastructure today is matched by the established ken of the Japanese. While China is overflowing with resources and large-scale cheap labour, Japan is dependent on external sourcing. It has taken its strength from design, planning and optimising cost and time. This should prove useful, given the global commodity prices are also declining. A fast-track tie-up with Japan on critical infrastructure projects can serve interests of both nations. A report shows that India may be overtaking Japan to be the third-largest economy in purchasing-parity terms. This must provide us the required confidence to act the part, and promptly move to scale up trade and economic transactions with our old ally, Japan.
http://www.business-standard.com/article/opinion/letters-india-japan-bonding-113060501042_1.html

Lessons from the past

US capitalism has been known to be aggressive and fiercely dogmatic but the recent episode of American International Group (AIG) has also exposed its unabashed ingratitude. It has been almost five years since AIG’s stock dropped 60 per cent in a day, leaving the company tottering. The US Treasury rescued it with a $182 billion backup. Hence, the news that the multinational insurance company wants to sue the US government over the bailout shows its short memory. On September 16, 2008, AIG’s share prices had fallen over 95 per cent to just $1.25 from a 52-week high of $70. There was no cash for the next day’s critical trading. The Treasury arranged for a loan of $15 billion overnight, after AIG physically carried share certificates of matching value to the government vault. AIG’s Joseph Cassano, who later became notorious as one of the honchos of the 2008 financial collapse, had systematically entered into credit default swaps to insure $440 billion worth of securities, of which $58 billion were the highly toxic debt from subprime mortgage loans. With AIG’s spread of business, the US government had felt the company’s demise could be “disastrous” and posed a “systemic risk” to the global economy. In a testimony before the Senate Budget Committee in March 2009, the Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke declared, “AIG exploited a huge gap in the regulatory system and made irresponsible bets and took huge losses.”

Today, although AIG might feel it could have negotiated a better deal, the fact is that its board of directors had voluntarily agreed. From a corporate governance perspective, AIG is perhaps being extra cautious. But why was the company board not careful when it brought down not only a huge institution to its knees but also sent violent tremors across to every other major economy? Or, when its honchos struck an exorbitant sponsorship deal with Manchester United? Only the bravest of optimists can conclude that US capitalism has learnt its lessons of 2008

.http://www.business-standard.com/article/opinion/letters-lessons-from-the-past-113011800127_1.html

Build,Operate,No Transfer !

Out of power for a decade now, the BJP decided to follow the Build -Operate -Transfer  franchise route for Project 2014..Doyens had earlier completed the  " Build "  Narendra Modi was awarded the contract to go through with the rest of the job. The BJP is now finding to its dismay that Modi on his part ,has little intention of transferring the  operating profits to the owner -the party. The party watches in embarrassment as Modi toys with their doyens of yore who built it up,be it  allotting seats or constituencies.BJP sadly finds that it had not put any protective clause against absolutism in the Modi franchise .BJP was warned by wiser men that campaign 2014 could well duplicate the Gujarat " governance " model. But then wisdom  has historically been the antithesis of over- ambition and the BJP today and may be even the RSS tomorrow  could realise that it may  have run into  a Cul-de-sac , at the wrong end of this adage. But by then it may be too late.

 http://www.business-standard.com/article/opinion/letters-bjp-s-cul-de-sac-114032501162_1.html

A rally for none

The TMC rally in Delhi did not have Anna.In fact it had no audience. Mamata  perhaps expected to leverage Anna's crowd pull . Likewise Anna , with far less charisma than what he had an year ago,was counting on Didi's ground strength.Both of these did not come about. Veteran Anna sensed this in time and stayed away from the rally and abandoned Didi as he did with Arvind. In contrast his protege Kejriwal is creating traffic chaos on his Mumbai visit today .Time and tide wait for no man or woman and there is no wand that creates for you an euphoric following at your command. It has to be constantly earned and found deserving , every time. Wise men learn their lesson soon enough but many never do..

Pressing for contempt

Mr K's churning of the media cauldron might well seed a political acid rain,but nevertheless must kindle more serious thoughts..We would be scandalised if judiciary were to go to town showcasing  its even handedness citing verdicts in support . More so if a Judge " anchor " advertises his stern demeanour over media to  highlight his sincerity.In sharp contrast the Media  sells itself  as the ' most viewed ' channel or the ' most read ' paper and its anchor ' judge " shown  as a  tough examiner, this is accepted as  legitimately promoting a commercial stake.Yet today the  media thinks it fit to raise Cain and deem dissent over its attitude pari passu ,with contempt of court. Visual media,in particular, has to work on real time and is perhaps forced to place news  value over content and gets  driven largely by perceptions even as Courts judge at length on evidence .That  is a crucial difference.  The media itself goes on record that  it had promoted X yesterday with no protests and yet faces flak on its adversarial reports the very next. Which only underscores the inbuilt constraints of its calling. Remember that Media had the likes of the predatory News of the World ,  which then folded up in disrepute.

Abrading coalition

Congress like a curates egg,has always been good in parts. The BJP has not laid one for years now. Thus to the degree the  Congress  has any which way remained  predictable,the BJP to a similar extent is not. The medley of regional outfits have been bringing into the electoral kitty near similar numbers each time ,though with differing individual contributions. Here again their efficacy when  working  in combination as a ' Front ' ,has  been lack lusture. The only addition to the electoral brew this time is the fledgling AAP with no antecedents to go by. But fervour more than content makes AAP a catalyst that while remaining unaffected itself, is capable of inducing hitherto unknown side reactions in electoral chemistry.NOTA is no solace for a nation that has not seen any party rising above the rut or break newer grounds. What AAP might do is to scale down the seats of an upbeat BJP and to an extent help boost  the sagging fortunes of the Congress.With no change in other ingredients ,2014 would , in all probability, end up  in  BJP and Congress exchanging personal tallies . We stand to get  anotherAvatar of coalition politics wherein ,accountability at the Centre would  get dispersed and diluted even as  regional satraps leverage their electoral count to squeeze out undue allocations for sustaining  their captive vote banks. We might well land up with a PM looking  authoritative, but if past experience is any guide,even the best material is blunted soon enough ,in an abrading coalition.

reverse loyalty !

The BJP is  exceeding its ambition by fielding  Modi from  unfamiliar terrain in Varanasi .Notwithstanding an image build up,Modi faces a clear risk in the face of the combined onslaught of entrenched regional players. But for the SanghParivar ,Modi is a mere foot soldier in their march to a larger goal .Modi  could even  end up being  sacrificed in its  quest  to gain  influence over the 40 odd seats of Purvanchal. Any resultant loss of face of its "Poll-star " Modi in the  UP seat,would but be a collateral damage.However to ensure that their  Icon  remains the face of its national venture, Modi could anyway be given a " safe " haven in his native Gujarat, even if riding on two seats does  dim the aura of its candidate for PM's chair. Contrast this with Congress which stands by its leader through thick and thin and  would put the entire party at risk to buttress its leader, be it UPA-II then or elections now.. That is loyalty operating in reverse !.

Cost of foolishness

Cricket is no match for the game of politics and the Samajwadi Party on the eve of the 2014 poll, resorted to tactics most foul..Its record of governance of the state has been  abjectly wanting and its alienation with its minority vote bank almost total after its ham handed dealing of the Muzzafarnagar riots and thereafter , its neglect of  the rehabilitation camps . Mayawati riding  on an anti-incumbency sentiment  had perhaps closed all options to SP other than pitching in for a share of  the remaining cache of votes . In a thoughtless move  to upstage the BJP , to being  seen as  more nationalist , it has resorted  to laying outlandish charges  against students  cheering a Pakistani player in a game of cricket !.The SP today has managed to severely traduce not only the hard earned credentials  of this great nation but has dealt a  blow to its integrity as well. This is too big  a price to pay by a nation, in exchange for vacuous electoral edge to an insecure and wayward political outfit.

Pub Asian Age Mar 9
http://onlineepaper.asianage.com/articledetailpage.aspx?id=394658

Costly divorce

On the eve of national polls, both Congress and the Left are hard put to keep old political friends.They must be ruing today, their needless parting of ways at the fag end of UPA-I .UPA-II  then suffered two far reaching and adverse consequences . One, the liberal leaning NAC went on an overdrive of welfare schemes, since the Left was not there to share credit for such largesse and nation's fiscal economics was turned on its head even as adverse external and global factors induced monetary and systemic shocks on an economy that is seeing lowest growth and highest CPI  inflation. Second and perhaps even more important.The Congress now, had none in its fold to sound  the alarm or raise Cain over corruption. The Left had for long been given this role and was lending  its  shoulders for Congress  to fire on errant allies.Bereft of this time- trusted tool, the Congress found itself in an  administrative stasis and lost command over a disillusioned bureaucracy. Governance  became  adrift  and its low profile PM, a gentle family  physician  not cut out for decisive surgical interventions, was  helpless at the Congress's steep decline.

Pub Hindu Mar 8
http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/letters/runup-to-the-election/article5761466.ece