Amidst the deepening crisis China's economic strides point to its inherent strong foundation, and more so the Zarnowitz rule…
during the financial crisis of 1997-98 and the
dotcom bust in 2001, pundits were quick to predict a lengthy recovery period on the floor for Asian countries. The stress and turbulence that began to develop in world financial markets in early 2007, and which finally collapsed, plunged the world economy into recession in the final quarter of 2008. That again provided the pundits a perfect platform to come up with the stereotype predictions. Unaware of the resilience of the Asian economies (led by China and India, which are indeed leading the way out of recession) they put forth the argument that export dependent economies could not revive unless customers in the rich world did. Nevertheless, the rebound that the world is witnessing today has largely been ‘Made in China.’
There were some like Shujie Yao, Professor of Economics, University of Nottingham’s School of Contemporary Chinese Studies, who had predicted, “China will emerge from the global recession stronger and more quickly than any other economy.” It is in this context that it is important to analyse how China coped with the recessionary phase and finally bounced back. According to Michael Mussa, senior fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics, “The slowdown in China’s growth late last year probably owes more to the earlier tightening of Chinese policies and the wind-down from the Beijing Olympics than to global financial turmoil…” However, looking ahead to the fallout of the crisis, the response of the Chinese policy makers was indeed praiseworthy. The measures in terms of fiscal expansion as well as substantial easing of credit conditions helped the economy to bounce back. In the second quarter of the current fiscal, the annual rate of growth surged to 7.9% (the first ever acceleration ever since the financial stress deepened) as compared to 6.1% in the corresponding period last fiscal. Thanks to the government stimulus conditions are definitely improving; the 4 trillion Yuan ($ 585 billion) stimulus plan being implemented by the Chinese government comprises infrastructure spending, tax cuts and various other incentives to induce consumers to buy cars and electronic goods. Along with this the government tackled other industries efficiently to boost employment levels in the rural areas too. This spurt in consumerism and the investment momentum in turn will lead to a virtuous cycle of economic activity.
To make the stimulus plan all the more effective, the government on the other side also exerted pressure on the banking institutions to lend more. The results of the measure (albeit a forced one) has been clearly electrifying; in the last six months the fixed investment spending has increased to 34% ( the fastest rate of growth witnessed in the last five years) while over the same time period the annual rate of money supply has doubled to 28%. What is worth mentioning here is the fact that the Chinese banking and finance system does not have the risky financial instrument, the derivative and asset backed securities (the same innovative financial products which led to the crisis). Furthermore the strong belief of the citizens that their national banks are well capitalised reflected that the foundations of the corporate structure remained strong. In times, when the western economies were wilting, China successfully freed itself of its dependence on exports and developed a more efficient market based domestic economy (much to the surprise of the same pundits who vehemently argued that the export dependent economy could not revive unless the customers in the rich world did). What is evident is that it is the strong foundation, the government aid, economic stability that are the driving forces behind the Chinese success story.
The strength of the economic recovery is what is to be pondered upon. Nonetheless, considering that the economy has been able to heal internal factors, it can be indisputably argued that China has a more solid base to lean on.
during the financial crisis of 1997-98 and the
dotcom bust in 2001, pundits were quick to predict a lengthy recovery period on the floor for Asian countries. The stress and turbulence that began to develop in world financial markets in early 2007, and which finally collapsed, plunged the world economy into recession in the final quarter of 2008. That again provided the pundits a perfect platform to come up with the stereotype predictions. Unaware of the resilience of the Asian economies (led by China and India, which are indeed leading the way out of recession) they put forth the argument that export dependent economies could not revive unless customers in the rich world did. Nevertheless, the rebound that the world is witnessing today has largely been ‘Made in China.’There were some like Shujie Yao, Professor of Economics, University of Nottingham’s School of Contemporary Chinese Studies, who had predicted, “China will emerge from the global recession stronger and more quickly than any other economy.” It is in this context that it is important to analyse how China coped with the recessionary phase and finally bounced back. According to Michael Mussa, senior fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics, “The slowdown in China’s growth late last year probably owes more to the earlier tightening of Chinese policies and the wind-down from the Beijing Olympics than to global financial turmoil…” However, looking ahead to the fallout of the crisis, the response of the Chinese policy makers was indeed praiseworthy. The measures in terms of fiscal expansion as well as substantial easing of credit conditions helped the economy to bounce back. In the second quarter of the current fiscal, the annual rate of growth surged to 7.9% (the first ever acceleration ever since the financial stress deepened) as compared to 6.1% in the corresponding period last fiscal. Thanks to the government stimulus conditions are definitely improving; the 4 trillion Yuan ($ 585 billion) stimulus plan being implemented by the Chinese government comprises infrastructure spending, tax cuts and various other incentives to induce consumers to buy cars and electronic goods. Along with this the government tackled other industries efficiently to boost employment levels in the rural areas too. This spurt in consumerism and the investment momentum in turn will lead to a virtuous cycle of economic activity.
To make the stimulus plan all the more effective, the government on the other side also exerted pressure on the banking institutions to lend more. The results of the measure (albeit a forced one) has been clearly electrifying; in the last six months the fixed investment spending has increased to 34% ( the fastest rate of growth witnessed in the last five years) while over the same time period the annual rate of money supply has doubled to 28%. What is worth mentioning here is the fact that the Chinese banking and finance system does not have the risky financial instrument, the derivative and asset backed securities (the same innovative financial products which led to the crisis). Furthermore the strong belief of the citizens that their national banks are well capitalised reflected that the foundations of the corporate structure remained strong. In times, when the western economies were wilting, China successfully freed itself of its dependence on exports and developed a more efficient market based domestic economy (much to the surprise of the same pundits who vehemently argued that the export dependent economy could not revive unless the customers in the rich world did). What is evident is that it is the strong foundation, the government aid, economic stability that are the driving forces behind the Chinese success story.
The strength of the economic recovery is what is to be pondered upon. Nonetheless, considering that the economy has been able to heal internal factors, it can be indisputably argued that China has a more solid base to lean on.
lapses in the country and one had assumed that after an attack of this magnitude the Government of India would leave no stone unturned to avoid such mishaps in future. But it does not seem that way as numerous warning calls from Home Ministry in regards to security concern on using Chinese equipments in the telecommunications sector have fallen on deaf ears so far. In India there are currently more than 470 million wireless subscribers and as wireless communications are on an unsecured network, the security agencies have raised issues in regards to Chinese vendors like ZTE and Huawei supplying equipments to various telecom operators in the country.
be 300-years-old without the body ageing – will women suffer from menopause at 55 or can they go on bleeding (sic!)? We don’t know the answer to that one. At the moment, there is a mechanism which stops women from bleeding when they are 55 and males produce less sperms when they are older and can’t become fathers. Now, whether those factors will change – I don’t know. It is possible if you make genetic changes that can actually extend the bleeding period, so that you can have children when you are 200-years-old. But I don’t know. That hasn’t been discussed as far as I know. All they are looking at is the way of stopping the increased inefficiency of cell replacement in very old people so that your body stays younger. Whether it stays younger reproductively – I don’t know.
West Bengal by-elections has become 70:30 – with the Trinamool Congress (TMC) gaining at the expense of the Congress. Now out of the 10 assembly seats where by-elections are to be held on November 7, the TMC will contest seven seats and the Congress three. Earlier, TMC leaders had planned to leave all four north Bengal seats to the Congress, while keeping the six in the south for itself.
its share of popular hill stations. Darjeeling and Shillong in the east, Shimla, Nainital and Mussoorie in the north, Ooty and Kodaikanal in the south and Mahabaleshwar and Lonavala in the west, to name a few, attract travellers and leisure-seekers virtually round the year. These corners in the mountains are surrounded by awesome natural beauty. They are dotted with streams, waterfalls, neo-Gothic churches, elegant bungalows and awe-inspiring vice-regal lodges.
barriers to success. Lord Ganesha is invoked before one starts anything new in life or business. Praveen Jaganath Naik, Trustee, Siddhivinayak Temple, says, “We don’t remember our grandparents'names. But we can never forget the name of Ganesha." Ganesh Chaturthi has its origins at the beginning of Sanatana Dharma, usually known as Hinduism. However, the festival took its present form in 1893 when Lokmanya Tilak, the social reformer, initiated it. “Tilak recognised the wide appeal of Ganesh and popularised Ganesh Chaturthi as a national festival," says Naik. Tilak wanted the festival to facilitate community involvement in the form of intellectual discourse, poetry recitals, plays and concerts at a time when the British rulers prohibited political and social gatherings. 
freedom struggle. The first revolutionary who fasted to death was Jatindra Nath Das. In 1929, he was being tried in Lahore Jail, where demanding equal jail rights for Indian prisoners, he started his Fast Unto Death. He continued his struggle despite all odds and finally died after 63 days of fasting. 
then you must pay a visit to Dharward. In Lokapur, 30 kilometres from Dharwad, lives the ‘Narasinganavar Family’. This family, which traces its lineage back to the 16th century, consists of as many as 140 members. All of them stay in a single house. Speaking to TSI, Manju Narasinganavar, one of the family members, says “It is fun to be at home. It is like celebration every day”. Agriculture is the main source of income for this family and they together own about 300 acres of land. As they live far away, they have taken a house in Dharwad exclusively for their children’s education. Here they don’t feel suffocated, neither do they yearn for privacy. Though many of the in-laws stay here, as Manju says, “patience is the key to the success of our family ties”.
forever. Distinguished by their fabric, weaves, prints and embellishments, the first definite mention of saris in the written form comes in the Mahabharata in the episode of Draupadi’s disrobing while the bust of a priest wearing a drape dated to the Indus Valley civilisation is the foremost pictorial depiction of the garment. The sari can be draped variously (Dravidian, Kodagu, Gond, Bengali to mention a few) but the most popular variant is the modern nivi which originated in Andhra Pradesh. Saris bear strong regional identification (Chanderis of Madhya Pradesh, Aranis of Tamil Nadu, the self explanatory Benarsi silk, the Balucharis of West Bengal and the Gadwals of Andhra Pradesh) and have even crossed over to foreign lands to inspire some truly weird designs (think Zandra Rhodes).
be comfortable with the term Bollywood. Its roots lie in an event that goes back a couple of decades. Ram Lakhan was ready for release when a devastating earthquake struck a part of India. The government requested me to turn the premiere of the film into a fund-raising show. I readily agreed. The Mumbai premiere was a runaway success, so we decided to replicate it in other cities. The event took on the dimensions of a full-fledged road show with high doses of glitz and glamour thrown in. The stars would appear in full finery, in tuxedos and bow-ties. The ladies, too would be designer togs topped off with sparkling jewellery and striking accessories.
I had the dream to capture these amazing camel scenes from above. But I had to wait for the last two days of my last trip to achieve that goal. It was always too hot, too dusty, without any wind. But the thrill was always there. Hanging around these beasts, from the first ray of the sun till the last, expecting some breeze to lift my kite. Finally that magic moment came, and my flying camera could become an unusual and privileged witness. A few feet above the heads, as silent as a butterfly.