What’s next in store for Indian Politics?

In recent assembly elections there has been a major drag in the ruling party’s political support. Today election results were declared for four states Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan which points out the ruling party, UPA‘s (primarily Indian National Congress) failure. The victorious opposition party BJP‘s mood is upbeat and is shining bright under the leadership of Narendra Modi. The UPA party’s president Sonia Gandhi in an interview said “This result calls for deep introspection. We have to understand to look at the many reasons for this defeat. We have to look into the way we did not take our message to the people.”

Indian National Congress not only has a very strong foot hold in the country but only has ruled the country for maximum time period. What has resulted in this quick transition in country’s political scenario? Will the trend in same in 2014 Lok Sabha elections as well? The following factors have been decisive off late and might affect the 2014 Lok Sabha elections as well.

1)      Policy Logjam: The ruling party runs a coalition government, with various regional parties offering external support. On multiple occasions it has been observed that Congress party’s policies are not always accepted by these regional parties and as a result the ruling party fails to delivers most of what it promises.

2)      Lacks leadership: Since 14^th Lok Sabha, over the last decade Mr. Manmohan Singh has been the Prime Minister of the country, but questions has been raised by many about his less vocal style of leadership. Though UPA is yet to declare its PM candidate for 16^th Lok Sabha election,  Rahul Gandhi is being seen as the top contender for UPA’s PM candidature. However Rahul , having made his political debut in 2004 have failed to emerge as a leader at least at the national level. Opposition party’s PM candidate Narendra Modi (who is highly popular for Gujarat’s success story and his strict administrative ability) is considered as a far better leader than Rahul Gandhi.

3)      Scam-tainted image: The country has witnessed several scams involving millions and billions one after the other under this UPA 2 governance like 2G spectrum, Common Wealth Games scam, Coal scam etc. The common people hard earned money is drained to Swiss accounts and in return they only get to see these billion dollar scams well presented in Television programs. People are now even tired of watching these much entertaining TV news programs and instead want to see programs about the growth of the country.

4)      Lacking pro-growth stance: In past few years the country has been going through a low growth trajectory. Price rise has been a persistent problem not mainly because of supply crisis but because of middle tier price escalation, lack of storage facilities, all of which can be avoided but nothing collective has been done in this regard. Job market has been dull and rising unemployment is not a good sign either.  

      If things are not sorted soon,the wind of political change will reach the other states in no time.Early elections are also possible if the ruling party fails to improve their governance.

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela .. a star of his time

South Africa has a long history of racism, dating back to the 17th century on arrival of the first European settlers to the African continent. The black majority populations were dominated and subjected to all forms of political and economic discrimination. White government enacted numerous laws to ensure a system of total racial segregation known as apartheid, meaning "apartness" in Afrikaans.

Today Nelson Mandela is considered as one of the world's most quoted public figures and is known for dismantling the legacy of apartheid through tackling institutionalized racism, poverty and inequality, and fostering racial reconciliation. In apartheid South Africa his words and teachings, like those of other African National Congress activists - were banned. Books written about him were banned - unless they portrayed him as a terrorist. Media organizations were prevented from reporting on him or using his pictures. He was jailed for almost three decades, 27 years to be precise. But nothing could stop his fight against racism, such was his determination. He was the first black South African become president, and the first elected in a fully representative democratic election.

He had received several honorary awards like Noble Prize, the Indian Bharat Ratna, the US Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the Soviet Order of Lenin and in South Africa he is often described as “the father of the nation”. He died recently died on 5th Dec, 2013 but the heroics of this legend will never be forgotten.

Sonianomics is a threat for Indian economy.

Today almost everyone is concerned about the recent depreciation in rupee valuations and India's dismal economic performance; the real reason for it all: Sonianomics and it's aftermath.
Sonianomics is about the party patron chasing her whimsical dreams and messing up the country's development prospects.It is mostly about keeping the family in power and buying enough votes by using taxpayers resources.Being at the helm of a political party involved in the biggest scams ever exposed such as the 2G spectrum scam, the 2010 Commonwealth Games scam ,the Adarsh Housing Society scam and Coalgate scam,it deserves no kudos for the damaging expeditions.
The major snag in the the decision making process is the bad timing when ruling government is pressing for the Food Security Bill.The bill is Congress Party President Sonia Gandhi’s pet project, and it is no secret that she pulls the strings of the government behind the scenes.The bill aims to provide subsidized food grain to around 67 percent of India's 1.2 billion people which is indeed a noble proposition, but implementing it in a time when the economy is already struggling with it's colossal problems is definitely not a bright idea."The UPA government's proposed Food Security Bill carries a slew of "economic consequences", including pressures on fiscal deficit, growth and inflation" Reserve Bank governor D Subbarao said."There will be pressure on procurement, there will be pressure of subsidy, there will be pressure of fiscal deficit that will have implications for growth and for inflation, implications for surplus income that beneficiaries of food security might have and how they might spend that and what implications they will have for inflation," he said.
Confidence in an economy does not collapse due to bad economics alone; it is usually the result of wrong choices made by politicians over a prolonged period of time.It is not the PM or the FM, for everyone knows they are not their own masters.
We will have to continue dealing with the lags of poor economic outcome resulted as an impact of the incredibly ridiculous Sonianomics for the next nine months until the next government is born.May god bless each one of us reading this article,with the much needed immunity booster,that we will surely need to be able to survive the threats from Sonianomics.

India's biggest problem and its solution

India's biggest problem today is it's looming Current Account Deficit.In economics, the current account is one of the primary components of the balance of payments.It is the sum of the balance of trade (i.e., net revenue on exports minus payments for imports), factor income (earnings on foreign investments minus payments made to foreign investors) and cash transfers.The balance of trade is the difference between a nation's exports of goods and services and its imports of goods and services, if all financial transfers, investments and other components are ignored. A Nation is said to have a trade deficit if it is importing more than it exports.India recorded a Current Account deficit of 18.10 USD Billion in the first quarter of 2013. Current Account in India is reported by the Reserve Bank of India.

 It is needless to say that India currently is going high on imports overpowering the meager exports.Going by the official data the commodity categories that accounts for the majority of import are Petroleum, Crude & Products and Gold.So far,in order to normalize the situation various steps has been taken by  government,RBI official like import duties on gold and platinum has been raised to 10 percent from 8 percent, while the levy on silver has been increased to 10 percent from 6 percent.According to the newly appointed RBI governor Raghuram Rajan various steps has been taken to liberalize FDI and Indian government have been exploring some different options for stably and sustainably funding the CAD.The Reserve Bank of India began weekly sales of cash-management bills to further tighten liquidity and buoy the rupee.

 Dollar index reaching record high of र  62 further escalates the worrisome situation. A weaker rupee stokes inflation as India imports about 80 percent of its oil.Reserve bank must act immediately with pro-growth stance to “fix the leaks,”. In the short term there is a need to rely on the RBI with more plumbing measures while government on the other hand must formulate effective structural measures to improve the overall scenario.With Euro zone crisis nearing it's end, and US economic data getting better with time,India needs to aggressively promote its export business and strategically reduce its demand for imports by promoting manufacturing with attractive incentives.Gold import could further be raised to curtail the rupee slide.One aspect that has been truly  ignored is the usability of renewable resources in the transport system.Looking at the current trend of India's population growth and transport structure it can be easily predicted that if we continue relying entirely on the use of petrol and diesel,it would never be possible to live freely without high inflation.This could be a game changer for a strained economy like ours.How this can achieved is a big question,and this might also sound hypothetical ,but with advancement in modern technology, impossible is nothing.Already there has been some positive development in this sector,but with little bit of budget allocation and encouragement from government for R&D in this field could open up bright opportunities for Indian economy.While I am hoping for a better future and smooth functioning of India's economy please feel free to share your views and suggest better solutions.

Risky ride......

I am ill-fated to have witnessed such a horrendous accident on the Vidyasagar Setu (Second Hooghly Bridge,a toll bridge over the Hooghly River in West Bengal, India, linking the cities of Kolkata and Howrah) that took place just a few hours back.

A speeding motor-bike carrying three people,including the rider, being unable to locate the stumbling block(set up by the bridge authorities) due to the lightlessness condition, hit the obstacle, bang! ; resulting in instant death of two pillion riders and causing major injuries to the rider.The bridge authorities had started a reparation job,few days back.The area was not well-lit and quite accident prone,but the authorities were least bothered.May the two men rest in peace.

Over the years, several accidents have occurred on the bridge and it seems,little has been done to prevent such dreadful accidents.

Let me retrospect about another accident, that took place just about a month back. There was a case of a massive truck hitting the border of the bridge which broke down a portion of bridge causing a visual see-through on the side walls of the bridge.What disturbs me the most is that,it hasn't been repaired yet.Thousands of commuters have to use the bridge,on daily basis, to reach their office or other destinations.Considering the risks attached to so many lives,I was contemplating what really stops the authorities from carrying out the much needed repairs.It is a burning issue,and requires immediate attention from the governing bodies.

I know that blaming someone and going to sleep wont serve any purpose,i.e why I have tried my best to raise a concern and all I hope is to bring a resolution from the end of the bridge authorities and whoever is concerned.Please save valuable lives, at least it counts.