India, today, is one of the two hottest destinations for doing business. In fact this recession has shown the true colors of almost every country that was prospering. Every country except China & India have had negative growth. The growth in India is unparalleled with a near 6% GDP growth despite these testing times.

Hillary Clinton’s visit to India last week paved another path for bilateral ties. Defense deals, new trade agreements, joint ventures to fight climate change etc., are some of the key highlights of discussion during Hilary’s visit to India. Given the mandate that this election has thrown out coupled with Obama’s vision for India, the number of opportunities between India and US will only grow north.

If I were a business man and I had some innovative concepts or planning to expand my current footing, the first thing that I would do is to look at countries like India and China. Assuming I had a few million dollars to plan for a plethora of activities, my first few activities would include doing a survey, understanding the local requirements, hiring a team of experts locally, assigning them responsibilities, setting them targets and working with them to achieve my goals. Easier said than done, right ?

Now lets think practically – How many of us have a few million dollars to spare ? How many of us can afford to go to India often, stay there for a while and establish practically everything from scratch – A handful ?

A difficult proposition considering the effort required to set up your office, infrastructure, team etc., right ? So, what happens when you land in India – How will you be treated ? Will you be cheated ? How are the hotels ? Is everyone transparent enough ? What is your support level ? Who can you contact, in case you need help ? Do you need to take insurance ? How can you trust the doctors there ?

A million questions in your mind and you don’t have your answers. You wish there were answers to all these questions, so you could happily venture out in India without having to worry about individual and organizational credibility. You wish there was a helping hand to walk you through your road to success. You wish there was someone responsible who answered all your queries. You just wished !

Until about a few years ago, these wishes would have been mere wishes, with entrepreneurs and businessmen wading in the dark experimenting with the truth and reality of life in India. But now, things are different, way different than you can imagine.

A company called Entry India has made the life easier for Americans to start business in India. In their own words

Our Mission at Entry India is to Bring India Opportunities and US Businesses Closer.

The First Step towards this is to be aware of the ‘opportunity’. Our opportunity reports are specially designed for small businesses, start-up companies and investors to quickly size up the opportunity and get prepared to seize it. Our personalized approach to collect, organize, validate, and disseminate information is uniquely effective in overcoming entry barriers and ensuring successful outcomes for you.

India is beckoning U.S. companies. Let us take you there.

Entry India has recently completed their Delhi Travel Directory . Whether you are traveling to India for pleasure, business, study or medical care, the best way to ensure a successful and hassle free trip is to be thoroughly prepared for the trip. Delhi Travel Directory covers important information for planning your trip to Delhi and practical personal, business and government contact numbers and information you will need while in Delhi. It is a resource created by Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) for NRIs to make their endeavors in Delhi successful especially when they visit Delhi for personal or business purposes.

Like Delhi, there are plans to come up with Directories for Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai etc. What more? Each of the associates/address listed in this directory are handpicked and qualified by Entry India LLC. It can’t get better!

Dr. Mahendra Pratap, one of the partners with Entry India, presented ‘Doing Business in India’ at the 14th BMM Convention’s US-India Trade Fair/Expo on July 04th, 2009. Here is a glimpse of the presentation.

Still thinking ?

Popularity: 26%

In the brief moment it takes me to press the button of my choice on the voting machine, I become the master of our rulers and that feeling is exhilarating, though only in fleeting. Democracy above all forms of government is the most natural and enduring because in principle, every individual citizen is counted and respected.

Unfortunately, in our country, the power I wield is very ephemeral. Till I get another chance after 5 years at pressing that button again, the people whom I am supposed to have anointed to rule over my destiny run amuck. They amass wealth, plunder, and run rough-shod over the people on whose behalf they govern. During those 5 years, I become part of an amorphous, formless crowd. Let me tell you the sad story of Dr.Binayak Sen so that you may understand the other side of the dance of democracy.

Young Binayak wanted to be a doctor and he went to C.M.C, Vellore to do his M.B.B.S in 1966. He was a gold medalist and was selected to do M.D course in paediatrics. Here again he excelled and was among the top students. He then joined the faculty of the Centre for Social Medicine at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Though as a bright doctor the world was his for the asking, his idealism led him to join a rural health programme in Madhya Pradesh.

Later, he And his wife, Illina, a teacher, chose to go to rural Chattisgarh, to work with mine workers’ unions. The husband-wife team plunged headlong into various projects aimed at improving the rural health and education of the community. The tribal Adivasis lived in a world of abject poverty, injustice and a system that bred exploitation. He then worked for a salary of Rs.600.

Dr. Sen and his wife, Dr. Ilina Sen, founded Rupantar, a community-based organization aimed at training and supporting community health workers in several villages, fighting against alcohol abuse and violence against women. Dr. Sen has been involved in various other organizations committed to developing a low-cost, effective, community health programme in the tribal and rural areas of Chhattisgarh. He holds the postion as the Vice President of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL).

It soon became clear to him that health of the community he sought to serve was linked to organized movement towards attainment of human rights. He raised his voice against human rights violations and the fake encounters involving supposed Maoists. He also spoke up against the war waged by the government of Chhattisgarh against the adivasis in Dantewara in the name of Salwa Judum which is an army of private citizens armed and supported by the government supposedly to fight the menace of the Maoists. What Salwa Judum initiative has achieved is to pit Adivasis against Adivasis and break their bond and unity.

On 14 May 2007 Dr Binayak Sen was arrested and thrown into a Raipur prison on trumped up charges of supporting Naxal activity in Chhattisgarh. He is charged under various draconian laws pertaining to sedition, waging war against State under various sections of the repressive Chhatisgarh Special Public Security Act, 2005 and the Unlawful Activities Act, 2004 (Amended) and various sections of the IPC. He has been denied bail though the case against him is very weak. To compound matters, Dr.Sen has a weak heart condition and he has been denied permission to get treated in Vellore Medical Mission hospital.

Two years of continuing sentence in jail is the price a non-violent, peace loving Dr.Binayak Sen has paid for giving three decades of his life for the sake of the poor and the voiceless. It is a shame that we in India allow a person like him to be sent to jail while carrying on our shoulders some elected looters and murderers masquerading as our leaders. Just as we celebrate the greatness of our democracy through these elections, Dr.Sen’s case should prick our conscience. In this case, the less said about the Indian judiciary, the better. It has repeatedly denied Dr Sen bail for two years.

Is it not frightening when the state wages a war against its own citizens and the rights of the individual is confined only to the constitution? What is even more depressing is that Dr.Sen is a non-issue for most of us Indians.

There is a nice quote from Martin Niemoller to wake us up. “First they came for the Jews. I was silent. I was not a Jew. Then they came for the Communists. I was silent. I was not a Communist. Then they came for the trade unionists. I was silent. I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for me. There was no one left to speak for me.”

At the heart of democracy is the right of the Individual. The rights of the individual should last beyond the act of voting. It should last a life time. We have a long way to go.

Image Credit: contact@binayaksen.net

Popularity: 37%

Rakeysh why didn’t you call it Kala Bandar???

May be the film makers get carried away by the critical acclaims they receive for their work. Movies like Delhi 6 are results of such situations. Movies like these would stops these film makers from getting carried away with their success and bring them back to their senses. This is the only good this movie can do instead of the kind of entertainment and success it is ought to provide and achieve respectively.

Plot – No Spoiler (Frankly there is nothing to spoil)

Delhi 6 is a story which takes place in a locality in Delhi, the capital city of India. The last digit of the postal code of that particular locality ends with 6. Well that is the logic behind the title. Roshan (Abhishek Bachhan) is an NRI “kid” who brings his grand mother (Waheeda Rehman) back to India as she wants to spend the rest of her life in her home country.

Roshan is not used to the typical ways of Indian life style and friendly neighborhood and finds all happenings around rather amusing. To his surprise, there is a rumour going around about a wild animal called KALA BANDAR which keeps attacking the people in that specific region.

Meanwhile, he falls in love with a neighboring girl Bittu (Sonam Kapoor). The story then takes on and portrays how the rumours about Kala Bandar would turn the very friendly people in that region harsh on one another, while addressing strong religious issues.

Performances:

Abishek Bachhan had nothing to offer as the story demand very less from the lead actor. We hardly find Sonam Kapoor and for guys who liked her seeing the promos- a suggestion, stick to promos. Huge ensemble cast with no justification of their roles.

Music:

The only saving grace of the movie. Rahman gave one of his career best scores, alas this turned out to be a damp squib.

Script And Direction:

Rakeysh seems to be a bit too inspired with his own experiences and seem to have lost it totally while scripting this fare.

This movie strives to explore and investigate the greater levels of how stupid few of the Indians could get and exhibit it to people all over the world. And it succeeds… fails… Whatever!

Image Credit: Delhi 6

Popularity: 22%

Delhi 6- A weak story line with tit bits of entertainment here and there. I appreciate the effort Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra attempted to deliver a message on harmony in the movie. But there was no punch in the message. Movie definitely does not have fine ending just like Rang De Basanti did not have one. I wish Rakish improves this art of “finishing a movie” in his next venture. Overall nice attempt, and I really hope every individual realizes the harmony shown in the movie between the two communities.

First half of the movie is packed with parallel stories amongst sizeable number of characters. Some are very funny and some are tolerable. If you are eager to watch the movie for the sake of watching songs on the big screen, then it’s bad news for you. It’s disappointing to see 6-7 songs are crammed in the first half of the movie without showing them full. Except for Masakali, it’s a complete injustice to Rehman’s talent by not showing full songs.

Film is a story about an American born Roshan (Abhishek Bachan) coming to India and his experiences in Delhi. It was proved yet another time that its love which binds people in India and makes it special to live. Sonam Kapoor was really good in the movie as middle class girl aspiring to be the next Indian Idol to find her identity and live her dreams. I found that she at least had some role in this movie to show her mettle, in contrast to her role in Saawariya. I could not understand the connection of Ramleela (A Ramayan Play) running parallel in the movie.

For all those fashion buffs this movie has very less for you to look for anything about fashion. Film critics have more subjects to thrive on, in the movie. I am sure all the Delhi-ites will be easily connected to the movie. Some dialogues are very hilarious.

There is a suspicious character Kala Bander (black monkey) in the movie that becomes the base of the story. Sometimes it looked a bit annoying, however it portrayed the Indian superstitious beliefs very well. It was also good to see how these irrational beliefs are being misused by politicians. There are a couple of nice mockery scenes about news channels on how they look for spicy news to increase their TRPs.

First half of the movie is very abrupt with so many parallel characters and second half is packed with emotions. I would say you could probably watch it once for the funny dialogues and for the message that Rakish wanted to deliver on harmony.

Image Credit: Delhi 6

Popularity: 18%

Heard sales of Skoda in India have gone up by 32% in the last year. Also did the sales of other companies have almost doubled in the last 5-6 years. Prediction says they will triple by 2015 or 2016 with some 3 Million cars. Exciting to see the pace of growth.

Cars like Tata Nano which lower prices are definitely going to be catalysts in this growth.

The next thing that comes to mind, is the traffic problem. Road widening, flyovers etc may ease but not solve this problem. The average speed of traffic in Hyderabad is around 10-15 kmph. Imagine what would be the state of traffic, say after a 25 years and the rate of pollution would be like unmanageable.

Only solution to this problem is to strengthen the Public Transport system. Projects like Metro railway system are a big success in Kolkata and Delhi. However, railways alone cannot effectively address the problem.

The focus should be shifted to road transport. Here are a few tried and tested practices that our government should look into. If these have worked elsewhere, they can definitely work to a good extent:

• Enhancing reach of public transport to every nook and corner. More money should be pumped into them to make buses which would reach all the sections of the society maintaining the frequency and the timeliness.
• Special lanes have to be allotted on selected roads for public transport, which would help them clear the traffic and encourage public to take the bus.
• Discouraged to usage of personal transport. Some countries levy congestion charges to keep this under check.
• The prices should be increased on cars, road taxes and even the parking fee too. Rules should be passed and strictly followed so that no car older that 10 years or so wouldn’t be on road.
• Many people chose personal transport for luxury, facilities should be creating around public transport so that they can use their transport only till the public transport station and then take public transport.
• Most important of all, the mindset of people needs be changed to respect traffic discipline and not viewing use of public transport as loss of status.

If the government takes up the issue seriously in upcoming cities we can definitely see a better transport in India.

Image Credit: eirikref

Popularity: 9%

Rahman, aren’t you satisfied with all the awards that you are winning for your work last year? Isn’t the Golden Globe that you won this year enough? How could  you do this? How could you bring up another winning score?

Yes, I am talking about Delhi 6.

Simply put, Delhi 6 is a fantastic start for AR Rahman (ARR) this year. After a year full of hit scores and a Golden Globe on the shelf, ARR has set the standard for himself so high that any less quality would not be accepted.

Released in such a situation Delhi 6 is a complete justice! The variety of music that you will find in this album diverse. You have Hindustani Classical, Rajasthani Folk fusion, R&B, Bhajan, Quawali and a few melodies, in short total value for money.

Let’s start with the songs.

Masakali – Already a hit track, this song is likeable right from the start. Some simple lyrics, coupled with excellent singing and fantastic rhythm. This is my most favourite track in the album.

Delhi 6 – Kick-off with simply vocal suddenly kicks in the heavy electric guitar and continues there on with mix of beats and rap. This will become the anthem for Delhi youth pretty soon! The track is very groovy and will soon be on all DJs disk kits.

Dil Gira Dafatan – Cool, simple instruments and melody is key in this track and vocal take the tune through different chords while the background remains. Some very pleasant guitar and listening to track makes you feel as if you are on a train that is passing through hills.

Bhor Bhaye – Hindustani Classical, perhaps a track used in Background Score. I am not adept at reviewing such tracks.

Aarti Tumhare – Devotional Mata Bhajan, again very good lyrics here by Prasoon Joshi and track manages to infuse devotion. I am not too perfect rating this and I checked with my wife, who is very fond of Mata Bhajans and she rated this 10/10.

Arziyan – Quawali style. This is something that ARR never went wrong with. Piya Haji Ali, Almadat Moulah, Noorunallah, Khwaja Mere Khwaja and now Arziyan. Just with two primary instruments, Harmonium and Tabla this song just takes you in. It is almost 8-minute song, but you won’t realize it is so long as after first few minutes you are into it! Excellent.

Genda Phool – Rajasthani folk fusion. Believe it or not this short song is simply fantastic. It is a Rajasthani folk style song mixed with solid western instrumentation. Fusion at its best, outstanding track!

Rehna Tu – Melody Again – AR Rahman renders it with élan. Simple rhythm and great instrumentation adds life this track. Towards the end of the song, don’t know what instrument it is, sounded like a muffled flute, but adds a classical touch to the song. Very good.

Kala Bandar – R&B. This track is perhaps the grooviest track in the album. Straight away a Club number. Blazee has a gala time with Rap. Couple of bits in the song sounds like Dil Ka Rishta from Yuuvraaj. Some breathless singing, sound like Breathless by Shankar Mahadevan (Raga Kalyan, I am told is the Raga for all breathless songs and that is why they sound similar). With totally western instrumentation and rock solid bass it is a celebration in ears.

Noor – Amitabh ends the album a few lines, passable.

Prasoon Joshi demonstrates variety and his vocabulary with a tough jobs on hand he delivers. One thing that I need to tell you is that this album will rattle the rust from those bass drivers in your speakers/headphone. This one packs a punch.

ARR continues his form and deliver yet another winner and forces me to ask, “Will you do this to your next album, Blue?”

Starring: Abhishek Bacchan, Sonam Kapoor

Produced By: UTV Motion Pictures

Directed By: Rakeysh Om Prakash Mehra

Music By: AR Rahman

Lyrics By: Prasoon Joshi

Popularity: 18%

Like any other person who is travelling abroad for the first time, I was surprised to see the quiet traffic flow on the roads. For me, that was the first amazement I experienced when there were no traffic snarls and gnarls. That time a hardcore Indian woke up in me and started to question when would I see such behaved traffic in India? It was not too long ago I thought of it, and I was very pleased to find this news in New Delhi. Our capital has observed No Honk day on 1^st Jan 2009. One of the NGO has carried out this and their aim is to move from No Honk to Never Honk.

Usually as per the driving code of conduct, you honk on the roads to indicate that you are in emergency and need to go fast OR showing displeasure on somebody who broke the traffic rules. Of course we in India usually do have a different definition for honking though.

This honking reminds me a short story that really happened with me. One fine day on our lunch table I was with an English and a Spanish guy discussing about different things in their respective countries. The English guy was picking on traffic in India, which I was trying to defend, and suddenly this Spanish guy gave his perception on traffic in India, which I found really impressive. As there is no lane driving in India, we honk just to make sure the other person who is driving before us about our location on the road. In other words, the sound of honk makes the person realize (or visualize in the brain) about various vehicles and their position on  the road coming from back or sideways and adjust accordingly on the road. I thought I couldn’t give better explanation than this at that time. For the benefit of those who do not know about lane discipline – Driving vehicles one after the other in a lane in a disciplined manner and there is strictly “No Overtaking” on the city roads.

The problem why we can not have this lane discipline followed easily in India is due to variety of 2,3 & 4 wheel vehicles on the roads for e.g.: Auto rickshaws, cycles, mopeds, scooters, cars, buses etc. I believe all these traffic disciplines are possible only with some following changes in our driving system:

• Improvise our public transport tremendously with more buses, underground systems etc.
• Implement congestion taxes on the roads, which would indirectly make people, rely on public transport and reduce congestion on the roads.
  

Sounds like a Herculean task right? These things cannot be done overnight, coming years are to vouch for such changes and make driving a pleasure than a pain in India.

Popularity: 18%

The last 10 days have been very testing for Indians. The events in Mumbai were very depressing and Indians world over reacted with anguish and vented their anger against a system that failed to prevent the outrageous acts in Mumbai. But the subsequent events have shown that despite all that is wrong in this country, there is still hope for us Indians.

Here is why.

Assembly election turnout:

Despite the resentment of voters towards politicians, people turned out in large numbers to cast their votes and make sure their voice is heard. The polling numbers were at record high and reached as high as 70% in Madhya Pradesh. Even in J&K, the turnout has been very high by historical standards.

This once again proved the faith of Indians in the democratic process. The vibrancy of our democracy seems to be getting better.

Election results:

The most impressive part of the elections is that the electorate gave a balanced verdict.  While pundits will discuss endlessly about which party won and which party lost(actual and psychological battles), the real winner is once again Indian democracy. Voters appear to be making more informed decisions and are not swayed by rhetoric. In 3 states (Delhi, MP and Chhattisgarh), the incumbent Chief Minister won.

All these 3 CMs promised good governance and development and delivered on their promise. 

These leaders were low profile, displayed a sense of humility and worked with discipline towards producing positive results. They are good examples of Level 5 leadership.

These CMs gained the trust of the electorate because they worked towards improving the life of these people. It is very satisfying to see that the electorate are becoming more assertive and are demanding accountability from the people they elect.

Kashmir

The people of Kashmir came out in large numbers to vote. While this cannot be construed as a wholehearted support for the Indian position on Kashmir, people there are expressing their choice and are resorting to more peaceful means to get their voice heard.

Mumbai terror aftermath

The objective of terrorists was to break the psyche of the nation and to plunge the nation into riots. But the Indian public showed extraordinary restraint in their reaction to the terror attacks. Despite the enormous anger against the security lapses, Indians did not resort to violence. They came out in thousands on the streets to express their sympathies and to show solidarity with the victims.  

Their anguish and fury were vented in a remarkably peaceful way but with great effect.

Politicians were forced to resign (Shivraj Patil, Vilasrao Deshmukh, RR Patil),  apologize for their insensitive remarks( V.S. Achuthananthan) and admit the lapses in the security apparatus (P. Chidambaram).

Muslims  came out in great numbers to denounce Pakistan and showed us why we are a great country despite our differences and mistakes. 

The business community exhibited resilience and the stock market held its own by shrugging off the negative sentiment associated with terror attacks. We must also be thankful to the security forces (despite all the criticisms heaped on them) for preventing the razing down of Taj Hotel. A total destruction of Taj would have been a symbolic victory to the terrorists but fortunately we can continue to cherish its heritage and beauty.

World Opinion

The whole world saw the 3 days of carnage live on TV and was appalled by what was happening.  Some of my American colleagues expressed their surprise on seeing how ill-equipped our police were in fighting(with their old guns) these well armed terrorists with AK47s. But, they also expressed their sympathy and solidarity in fighting terror. The world media did talk about the Kashmir issue. But they also supported India’s stand against Pakistan and urged world leaders to force Pakistan to act quickly in nabbing the terrorists. The pressure showed on Pakistan and they have apparently arrested the masterminds of the attacks.

Does it mean that all is well?  - Not at all.

The government institutions are drowned in corruption. The election process is still soaked in casteism, religion and linguistic jingoism. Tickets are still distributed based on caste and not competence.  However, the elections results have given a glimmer of hope and if each one of us plays his/her role as responsible citizens, we can slowly improve the system. At the end of the day, we get the leaders we deserve.  

So, instead of just talking and predicting doomsday scenarios like some  pundits  , if we vote for  good governance and competence, we can change our own future.

Signing off with lots of hope and optimism for the future of India.

Jai Hind.

India is Special !!!

Popularity: 17%

Yesterday I was scouring Internet and stumbled upon something, which read “Paul Merton in India“. The title caught my attention and I dove right into it. Well it is about a British Comedian, Paul Merton, and his travel to different cities in India. I watched a few episodes of this series on the Channel 5 website. I was certainly not happy of what I have seen.

Why was I unhappy? Here’s why.

The show lands in Delhi and visits Eunuch extortionists, there ends the matter with Delhi, moves on to Rajasthan to show us a temple filled with rodents, meet sadhu’s who worship Lord Shiva and hang heavy stones off their genitals. The show then moves to south, hits Hyderabad to show a 20-minute coverage of Friends of Snake society, where they catch snakes in neighbourhood.

Travels further southwest goes to Bangalore and guess what the show cover? Visits a jail and shows the details of

Image Courtesy: Wikipedia

caterer supplying food for a jail. Shows the condition of the jail, cramped people taking some strange dance classes. Get’s on a train and sets off for Chennai, meets an artist on train who paints with a brush in his mouth.

Episodes next week will cover the show will visit to Chennai and Mumbai and from what preview shows me, they will be on beach filming people fight, meeting Mumbai railway children who spent their life on platform and a record holder father who gets his genitals kicked by his son.

If this fair is supposed to seem funny, then well it at least did not seem funny to me. What leaves me baffled is purpose of this program? What is it trying to explain to people of Britain? Is it educating them about conditions in India? I disagree; it shows things that give an impression that the land of the country is full of street performers, snake charmers and other lot.

While it mentions cities as IT Capitals, Tourism spots, what follows the description is some content, which will leave a the same image of the country. Any person, who is shown such content, will carry a wrong impression of the country.

I am not denying that what has been shown happens in India, it does. However, I would have been glad for people to see all this along with the magical sculpture works of Belur and Hallebeedu of Bangalore, mind blowing palaces of Rajasthan, all those festivities, culture and lives of people, which depict other side of India. I feel showing only one side of the coin, is not right. People who have visited India might spot the difference, the rest might have a permanent impression and truly tag it “Incredible India”.

I hope Channel 5 comes up with something else, which will show India in true colours, rather than this portrait painted only in grey!

Do watch an episode or two on this Channel 5 and let me know what you think. For me my instantaneous reaction was, “There is more to India”.

Popularity: 16%

Image Credit: Harsh Mangal

By the grace of US economy meltdown Domestic Real Estate sector bubble seems to have busted.  Real investors are regaining their sense. After stock market, real estate is the most affected sector.  Indian real estate market which has grown at about 30% annually is slowing down.

Investors are not the only affected party.  Banks and financial institutions that have financed Real estate ventures, Real estate companies that have mushroomed in hordes in the last few years, brokers who market these ventures, politicians who bought plots near so called Special Economic Zones or what is called ‘corridors of growth’ and suppliers of raw materials who has put up huge investments in production with the notion that grown is real and will never go down, all seem to have been hit by the declining values mounting losses.

99% of the averages Indians still believe that putting money in real estate is the safest form investment and believe that real prices will always go up or remain where they are but will never come down.  They should be made aware of what has happened to real estate in US.  Owning a house or a piece of plot is considered as a status symbol in India.

In the past 4 years dream of own house for middle class India became a reality as they found a decent employment with Corporate India and easily available Housing finance.  With news of  amazing economic growth, NRIS pouring money in real estates (special ventures came up to cater to the needs of only NRI investors), Government coming out with SEZ, IT parks, Ring roads,  promotions held by Real estate companies ..  All contributed to the real boom.  Unknown companies became National companies in no time.

Some borrowed money at abnormal interest rates; some went for IPOs with mind boggling valuations and started huge projects without considering the actual demand and ways of financing and marketing their projects.  Couples of sectors mainly cement and steel benefited most from real boom.

Land and flat valuations sky rocketed.  In most of the metros 1 Crore worth flat has become a normal thing.  Developers started huge gated communities, luxury villas and developed plots.  In the name of projects they artificially increased the prices of the plots.  An acre of land which would have costed 5 lakh suddenly became 5 crore plot.

In Hyderabad alone prices increased 10 fold in 3 years.  Poor peasants became millionaires overnight.  Lush green fields paved way for black top roads and ventures mushroomed around urban areas.  Every other day we had a call from a real estate company offering plots or flats.

When everything was going well, Subprime crisis in US came into light and the real show started getting disturbed. With the recession that has almost set-in in most of the countries, liquidity crunch and falling stock markets, real estate also started coming down. 

Due to increase in Interest rates by Banks, demand started falling.  Real estate companies which were operating on Bank loans, initial booking amounts from customers and private borrowings could not bear the cost of funds as the sales plummeted. Raising cement and steel prices added to the cost and they had to raise the prices of flats and plots.

Infact sales went down not because there wasn’t enough demand.  It was lack of affordability that brought the demand down.  Even an employee of a Multi national company earning 50 thousand per month wasn’t able to buy a two bedroom flat as the average price of a 2 BHK was between 30 to 50 lakhs and his entire salary would go towards payment and a meager residue is not enough to maintain his life style.

Those who initially made money started bigger ventures and those who saw big bucks started fresh ventures.  I personally know a cash rich aquaculture farmer who ventured into real estate…  Totally unknown territory for him and now lamenting about the unsold flats.  Take a look at the valuations of the Real estate companies that came out with high valuations and their stock price in the past few days..

Companies that have taken the reality ‘Bite’

Now most of the companies are sitting on huge built up space and find no takers.  If the situation continues for few more months I am sure we will see more ‘Auction notices’ from banks and financial institutions in place of advertisements. 

If you want to but any real stuff in metros like Hyderabad, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune, Delhi or Chennai, be patient and wait for another 5 to 6 months.

Popularity: 16%

Image Credit: Michael Bialecki

5 blast rocked Delhi about a couple of weeks ago. I was shocked to see the spate of bomb attacks that are happening across our country. Bangalore, Ahmedabad and now Delhi.

Why are we succumbing to the terrorist’s whims and fancies ? Why can’t we have a well developed intelligence working round the clock to protect the nation from these atrocities ? Why can’t be even compared to any of the developed nations in fighting terror ? We have achieved many a milestones in the last 10-15 years – nuclear power, supremacy in IT, knowledge super power etc – then why do we always lag behind in these areas especially when we have a billion lives at stake.

Time we changed

Time to look at the existing laws from a different perspective – may be changing the Anti-Terror Law is the answer. Time we brought the guilty to the docks, time we rewarded the police and civilians appropriately. Time we acted sensibly as a nation fighting terrorism.

What can we do, as a country ?

At the very least here are some things we can do as a country – set up unparallel infrastructure – technology, networking capabilities, databases etc in order to curtail the activities of the suspects, have supreme intelligence system, empower selective civilians to act on behalf of the government and reward them appropriately (at least some tax waivers), make the various ministers , representatives of the people, government officers and bureaucrats accountable for their deeds etc.

The government should also take initiative to establish or re-engineer the way terrorism is handled
Set up Counter Terrorist Unit as a Federal initiative

• Give complete freedom and autonomy to these units
• Make the latest technology and gadgets available for their operation
• Hire skilled technologists, operators, field staff etc and reward them well
• Get them trained by the world’s best counter terrorism units
• Give them access to all sorts of records including that of telephone companies, licencing departments, passport office database, finger print database, counsullate’s office etc to name a few
• Make the department non-vulnerable to political interference or bureaucratic influence
  Seek accountability from each of the departmental heads within the unit
• Make its operation under cover i.e. nobody except the prime minister or the home minister should know how this is being operated on a day to day basis. The people who run this should not become public figures.

What can we do, as a civilian ?

Well, a lot of these fanatics’ whimsical fantasies can be terminated if we act as if tomorrow will never exist.  Some of the things that we would do to protect ourselves are

• Have hidden cameras or Close Circuit Television in different corners of the place of our house or work
• Report anything suspicious to police that seems even remotely like a threat
• Stay away from crowded places (almost impossible in India, though) especially when there is a threat declared. Patterns over the last few years suggest that an explosion takes place usually in crowded places
• Always be on your toes – keep your eyes and ears open for anything that you may come across
  Use RTI (Right to Information ) to your benefit. Find out what steps are being taken to prevent another attack
• Stop voting for parties that promote communal disharmony in any way

There are plenty of do’s and don’t's but most important of all is to understand the seriousness of the situation and act prudently.

Popularity: 26%

Dear  Dr Manmohan,

How is life in Delhi? I heard that you just scraped through the trust vote….I didnt say it, some one else said it. I also read it in Hindustan Times.  My hearty congratulations to you, Sir ! Tussi great ho ji ! You are indeed a King….No wonder Singh is King all over.

But  what am I hearing ? Your allies allegedly bribed the MPs to abstain from voting against the motion-That I must say wasn’t fair, if true. Please order an investigation

What I must say is that you have proved yourself to be a true Sardar. You had the last laugh and you have definitely made us proud – snub the Akalis, CPMs, BJPs etc. and move along the right path. You have my wishes.

As a netspyder, I have been watching the developments in India, over the last few days. I am glad that some conclusive decisions have been taken and the entire country is with you. However, I have certain qualms.

What I do not understand is

CPM going against their ideologies

Not that I ever cared for theirs, on any day.  Give them another term and they will take the country back to stone age. Now that you have the power, I’d like to see the changes that you bring about. You may have a second term in succession. Good luck !

Advani advertising his voice (Read Ad Vaani)

Even at this age he aspires to be more than a deputy.  My guess is he will become another somnambulist Prime Minister like Deve Gowda. Considering the future of India, I think there has to be an upper age limit for becoming the Prime Minister of the country. Else, they will not have the strength to tie their own dhotis before they go to some important meeting.  A true “miss-representation” is in the offing. Let me tell you this – you are way dignified and eloquent.  May you be our Prime Minister for another term.

TDP voting against you

TDP, I thought, is a progressive party. May be they are too hungry for another election.  I think they had enough of YSR. The truth is Andhra Pradesh has had its best time when TDP was in power. May be you want to ally with Chandrababu Naidu – he is a nice man. May be that’s the solution for progressive allround growth.

Criminalization of Politics

Do not understand the sudden emergence of the criminals, pseudo criminals, super negotiators, power hungry societal wastes – How could you even think of seeking their support ? On one hand you say let the government fall, we shall let the nuke go thru – great statement. On the other hand you are allowing the nuke to grow within the system itself. You are setting wrong examples to the youth of this country.  Stand by what is right – Taking support from criminals is nothing short of being a criminal. You did not do well on this scale.  I forgive you !

I still support you for what you have achieved but I don’t deter from calling a spade a spade. Do well, next time – Ok ?

Youth of the Congress

What are you doing with the Youth power? There is plenty of talent out there – Jyotiraditya Scindia, Rahul Gandhi,  Naveen Jindal,  Sachin Pilot et al. Give these young guns the power and see where they take the country. They are the future, they are the young battalions of the Congress. I think it is high time that you replace some of the outspoken octogenarians in your party and replace with the future of India. I am yet to see some commendable steps taken towards empowering the young politicians.

I have lots to speak and I will speak. It is upto you to take it or leave it. May be a true economist that you are, you should give an ear sometimes for a vote later. It pays !

That said- my vote is guaranteed. I will not say to whom, though. Keep guessing !!!

Satsree akal ji

~Kandamangalam

Popularity: 16%