The Economist (March 30)
“India is often spoken of in the same breath as China because of its billion-plus population, economic promise, value as a trading partner and growing military capabilities.” Yet, in the common view, India remains a near power, rather than a great power. Despite shortcomings, India has much to offer and deserves a permanent seat on the UN Security Council. “Although poorer and less economically dynamic than China, India has soft power in abundance. It is committed to democratic institutions, the rule of law and human rights. As a victim of jihadist violence, it is in the front rank of the fight against terrorism.” India would be “a force for stability and an upholder of the rules-based international system.”
Tags: China, Democracy, Human rights, India, Permanent seat, Security Council, Terrorism, UN
Time (January 7)
The gang rape of a female student on December 16 has kept India on edge. Protests have been held demanding social change and “swift justice” for the woman who died on December 29. “The upheaval of the past three weeks has exposed other deep fractures, raising difficult questions not only about the status of women in India but also about increasing violence, widening class divides and the delivery of justice in the world’s largest democracy.”
Wall Street Journal (September 25)Wall Street Journal (September 25)
India is “taking steps to protect itself from Chinese encroachment, part of which involves the military. Like China, India too is launching a new aircraft carrier and there’s the danger the two navies will increasingly rub against each other. It’s an open question whether the two nations can manage these tensions and avoid spilling over into armed conflict.”
The Economist (September 6)
“The world’s most vibrant economies are shifting gear, away from simply building wealth towards building a welfare state.” Indonesia will become the world’s largest single-payer national health insurance program in 2014 when it provides universal health insurance. China has brought “pension coverage to an additional 240m rural folk, far more than the total number of people covered by Social Security, America’s public-pension system.” And in India pension coverage and a guaranteed work scheme have been extended. “The speed and scale of this shift are mind-boggling.”
Tags: China, Health insurance, India, Indonesia, Pension, Social security, U.S., Welfare state
The Economist (August 27)
Over 1,000 workers turned violent at the Maruti-Suzuki car factory near Delhi, killing an HR manager and leaving 96 others injured. The company is now reopening the plant, but there is still uncertainty about why the violence broke out. “The picture emerging is that of a young impressionable workforce with an average age of only 25. It was vulnerable to outside influences from political and other groups wanting to create unrest. Neither the shop floor managers nor the trade union officials appear to have had sufficient experience to handle industrial relations crises.”
Tags: Delhi, Factory, India, Industrial relations, Maruti-Suzuki, Violence
New York Times (August 1)
India outdid its recent outage (see below), with “all the makings of a disaster movie: More than half a billion people without power. Trains motionless on the tracks. Miners trapped underground. Subway lines paralyzed. Traffic snarled in much of the national capital. On Tuesday, India suffered the largest electrical blackout in history, affecting an area encompassing about 670 million people, or roughly 10 percent of the world’s population.”
India outdid its recent outage, with “all the makings of a disaster movie: More than half a billion people without power. Trains motionless on the tracks. Miners trapped underground. Subway lines paralyzed. Traffic snarled in much of the national capital. On Tuesday, India suffered the largest electrical blackout in history, affecting an area encompassing about 670 million people, or roughly 10 percent of the world’s population.”
Tags: 670 million, Blackouts, India, Power failure
Washington Post (July 30)
India has brought power failure to new levels. “While the midsummer outage was unique in its reach — it hit 370 million people, more than the population of the United States and Canada combined — its impact was softened by Indians’ familiarity with almost daily blackouts of varying duration. Hospitals and major businesses have backup generators that seamlessly kick in during power cuts, and upscale homes are hooked to backup systems powered by truck batteries.”
India has brought power failure to new levels. “While the midsummer outage was unique in its reach — it hit 370 million people, more than the population of the United States and Canada combined — its impact was softened by Indians’ familiarity with almost daily blackouts of varying duration. Hospitals and major businesses have backup generators that seamlessly kick in during power cuts, and upscale homes are hooked to backup systems powered by truck batteries.”
Tags: 370 million, Blackouts, Generators, India, Power failure
The Economist (June 23)
Business-process outsourcing (BPO) has been a boon for the Philippines. “Today the sector employs 638,000 people and enjoys revenues of $11 billion, about 5% of the country’s GDP. Last year the Philippines even overtook India, long the biggest call-centre operator in the world, in ‘voice-related services.’ The country now employs about 400,000 people at call centres, India only 350,000.” And the Philippines predicts that the number of BPO jobs could grow to over 1.3 million by 2016, with revenues of $25 billion.
Business-process outsourcing (BPO) has been a boon for the Philippines. “Today the sector employs 638,000 people and enjoys revenues of $11 billion, about 5% of the country’s GDP. Last year the Philippines even overtook India, long the biggest call-centre operator in the world, in ‘voice-related services.’ The country now employs about 400,000 people at call centres, India only 350,000.” And the Philippines predicts that the number of BPO jobs could grow to over 1.3 million by 2016, with revenues of $25 billion.
Tags: BPO, Call-centres, GDP, India, Philippines
Wall Street Journal (April 23)
Delhi is smart not to “trust” Beijing or simply “rely” on Washington. “India’s successful test of an Agni-V long-range, nuclear-capable missile shows the shrewdness of the world’s largest democracy. Delhi has looked past smokescreens from Beijing and Washington to judge hard realities.”
Bloomberg (March 6, 2012)
According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Carlos Slim of Mexico is now the richest person on Earth, surpassing previous frontrunner Bill Gates. Warren Buffet rounded out the top three. “The combined net worth of the 20 richest people is $676.8 billion. Nine are Americans.” At number 11, Mukesh Ambani was Asia’s richest. Hong Kong’s Li Ka-shing and India’s Lakshmi Mittal also made the top 20.
According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Carlos Slim of Mexico is now the richest person on Earth, surpassing previous frontrunner Bill Gates. Warren Buffet rounded out the top three. “The combined net worth of the 20 richest people is $676.8 billion. Nine are Americans.” At number 11, Mukesh Ambani was Asia’s richest. Hong Kong’s Li Ka-shing and India’s Lakshmi Mittal also made the top 20.
Tags: Asia, Bill Gates, Billionaires, Carlos Slim, India, Lakshmi Mittal, Li Ka-shing, Mexico, Mukesh Ambani, U.S., Warren Buffet
