ANIL PANDE says that the Madhya Pradesh CM is trying to win on the development plank. But his critics say that the strategy, if not inclusive, can prove to be worthless
Last year, in October, when corporate honchos were
inking deals at the Indore Global Investors Summit, a substantial number of activists were protesting near the bust of Mahatma Gandhi at Regal Crossing, not far away from the investment summit. Among others, they were joined by activists from Narmada Bachao Andolan, and displaced farmers and tribals, who lost their land due to development projects in Neemach and Riwa districts. Needless to say, their feeble voices had no takers. The voices of the investors were amplified by the promised investments of Rs.120,000 crore.
The reason: in the last couple of years, development and good governance have emerged as vocal election planks. The days of ‘social engineering’ and ‘booth management’ have passed. Now, even people voting along caste lines expect a certain level of governance from their elected representatives. And, for a change, “governance” is determined on the basis of overall development. Poll pundits predict that as more youth participate in the electoral process, the development plank will continue to take a frontal position. At present, more than half of India’s population is constituted by people under-25 years.
In fact, development was one of the reasons why the BJP returned to power in Madhya Pradesh. Poor infrastructure did Digvijay Singh-led Congress government in. But now, the tables have turned. The BJP has completed four years in power. What’s more, development will once again be the frontal rhetoric in the forthcoming polls. Naturally, the BJP is worried. It wants to present a good report card to the voters. It wants development and the only way it can be done, says the BJP, is by inviting foreign capital.
That is why CM Shivraj Singh Chauhan is busy with his single agenda program. He has been successful in signing MoUs for projects worth more than Rs.225,000 crore in 2007 alone. Noted economist Alok Puranik finds foreign capital as the only way to initiate developmental projects in the state. Nevertheless, he wants the development to be inclusive. He predicts: “State governments focusing on investments in agriculture and manufacturing sectors have strong chances of returning back to power.”
To boost foreign investment, the CM organised a 2-day summit for global investors last year, where 102 MOUs were signed. Under these, foreign capital will flow in areas like power, IT, , food processing, education and health. As many as 550 investors from various countries participated in the summit. Although skeptics have expressed reservation on these proposed projects, works on 38 of them has begun.
Experts believe that if all these projects are implemented, Madhya Pradesh will break into the league of 5 most developed states in the next five years. Already, the state is pegged to become the ‘power capital’. Similarly, there are lofty plans to make the state an educational hub. New investments will boost per capita income in real terms and GDP. In fact, experts believe that the state’s revenue receipts will increase by 250%.
The sector that will benefit the most is power generation. Reliance Energy has inked a deal of Rs.50,000 crore. Jayant Mallaiya, Minister for Industries, believes that power generation is the key to development. He explains, “Our primary aim is to make Madhya Pradesh self-dependent in power. In fact, we believe that in the coming years, we will have surplus power with us. It will also boost the state’s economic development.”
Nevertheless, there is another face of development. Compared to power and food processing sectors, investments are meagre in agriculture. Most of the benefits from investments are likely to be wrested by the upper classes. Sunil, a noted social activist, says: “Foreign Capital will lead to destruction and not construction. Fertile land is being sold to industrialists at throwaway prices.” But CM Chauhan thinks otherwise. He assures that the benefits will trickle down to all classes. He adds, “The only way to eradicate poverty and bring prosperity is through investments. The agriculture sector is heavily burdened and it will be illogical to increase it any further. We need revenues. We are for balanced development. We will give equal priority to agriculture and manufacturing.”
For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article
Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008
Last year, in October, when corporate honchos were
inking deals at the Indore Global Investors Summit, a substantial number of activists were protesting near the bust of Mahatma Gandhi at Regal Crossing, not far away from the investment summit. Among others, they were joined by activists from Narmada Bachao Andolan, and displaced farmers and tribals, who lost their land due to development projects in Neemach and Riwa districts. Needless to say, their feeble voices had no takers. The voices of the investors were amplified by the promised investments of Rs.120,000 crore.The reason: in the last couple of years, development and good governance have emerged as vocal election planks. The days of ‘social engineering’ and ‘booth management’ have passed. Now, even people voting along caste lines expect a certain level of governance from their elected representatives. And, for a change, “governance” is determined on the basis of overall development. Poll pundits predict that as more youth participate in the electoral process, the development plank will continue to take a frontal position. At present, more than half of India’s population is constituted by people under-25 years.
In fact, development was one of the reasons why the BJP returned to power in Madhya Pradesh. Poor infrastructure did Digvijay Singh-led Congress government in. But now, the tables have turned. The BJP has completed four years in power. What’s more, development will once again be the frontal rhetoric in the forthcoming polls. Naturally, the BJP is worried. It wants to present a good report card to the voters. It wants development and the only way it can be done, says the BJP, is by inviting foreign capital.
That is why CM Shivraj Singh Chauhan is busy with his single agenda program. He has been successful in signing MoUs for projects worth more than Rs.225,000 crore in 2007 alone. Noted economist Alok Puranik finds foreign capital as the only way to initiate developmental projects in the state. Nevertheless, he wants the development to be inclusive. He predicts: “State governments focusing on investments in agriculture and manufacturing sectors have strong chances of returning back to power.”
To boost foreign investment, the CM organised a 2-day summit for global investors last year, where 102 MOUs were signed. Under these, foreign capital will flow in areas like power, IT, , food processing, education and health. As many as 550 investors from various countries participated in the summit. Although skeptics have expressed reservation on these proposed projects, works on 38 of them has begun.
Experts believe that if all these projects are implemented, Madhya Pradesh will break into the league of 5 most developed states in the next five years. Already, the state is pegged to become the ‘power capital’. Similarly, there are lofty plans to make the state an educational hub. New investments will boost per capita income in real terms and GDP. In fact, experts believe that the state’s revenue receipts will increase by 250%.
The sector that will benefit the most is power generation. Reliance Energy has inked a deal of Rs.50,000 crore. Jayant Mallaiya, Minister for Industries, believes that power generation is the key to development. He explains, “Our primary aim is to make Madhya Pradesh self-dependent in power. In fact, we believe that in the coming years, we will have surplus power with us. It will also boost the state’s economic development.”
Nevertheless, there is another face of development. Compared to power and food processing sectors, investments are meagre in agriculture. Most of the benefits from investments are likely to be wrested by the upper classes. Sunil, a noted social activist, says: “Foreign Capital will lead to destruction and not construction. Fertile land is being sold to industrialists at throwaway prices.” But CM Chauhan thinks otherwise. He assures that the benefits will trickle down to all classes. He adds, “The only way to eradicate poverty and bring prosperity is through investments. The agriculture sector is heavily burdened and it will be illogical to increase it any further. We need revenues. We are for balanced development. We will give equal priority to agriculture and manufacturing.”
For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article
Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008
An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative
Read these article :-
ZEE BUSINESS BEST B SCHOOL SURVEY
B-schooled in India, Placed Abroad (Print Version)
IIPM in Financial times (Print Version)
IIPM makes business education truly global (Print Version)
The Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM)
IIPM Campus
Top Articles on IIPM:-
IIPM makes business education truly global-Education-The Times of ...
The Hindu : Education Plus : Honour for IIPM
IIPM ranked No.1 B-School in India, Management News - By ...
IIPM Ranked No1 B-School in India
Moneycontrol >> News >> Press- News >> IIPM ranked No1 B-School in ...
IIPM ranked No. 1 B-school in India- Zee Business Survey ...
IIPM ranked No1 B-School in India :: Education, Careers ...
The Hindu Business Line : IIPM placements hit a high of over 2000 jobs
Deccan Herald - IIPM ranked as top B-School in India
India eNews - IIPM Ranked No1 B-School in India
IIPM Delhi - Indian Institute of Planning and Management New Delhi ...
domain-b.com : IIPM ranked ahead of IIMs
Read these article :-
ZEE BUSINESS BEST B SCHOOL SURVEY
B-schooled in India, Placed Abroad (Print Version)
IIPM in Financial times (Print Version)
IIPM makes business education truly global (Print Version)
The Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM)
IIPM Campus
Top Articles on IIPM:-
IIPM makes business education truly global-Education-The Times of ...
The Hindu : Education Plus : Honour for IIPM
IIPM ranked No.1 B-School in India, Management News - By ...
IIPM Ranked No1 B-School in India
Moneycontrol >> News >> Press- News >> IIPM ranked No1 B-School in ...
IIPM ranked No. 1 B-school in India- Zee Business Survey ...
IIPM ranked No1 B-School in India :: Education, Careers ...
The Hindu Business Line : IIPM placements hit a high of over 2000 jobs
Deccan Herald - IIPM ranked as top B-School in India
India eNews - IIPM Ranked No1 B-School in India
IIPM Delhi - Indian Institute of Planning and Management New Delhi ...
domain-b.com : IIPM ranked ahead of IIMs
administration. Nitish Kumar, who had been at helm in various ministries at the Central Government, finally realised his dream in 2005, when NDA finally emerged as the victorious combination in the November elections. Nitish had earlier got an opportunity to get ensconced on the CM’s chair in 2000, however, this lasted only for seven days, when Laloo Prasad Yadav, his erstwhile friend, snatched away the opportunity from him. Earlier in 2004 too the opportunity had eluded Nitish by a whisker, when the President’s rule was finally declared in the state. A civil engineer by profession, Nitish has image of honest politician. During the days of Emergency in the 1970s, following the call from Jai Prakash Narayan, Nitish had plunged himself into politics. From 1974-77, he remained in the forefront of student politics in Bihar. In 1974, he was jailed under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA).
for a multi-million dollar project in Gurgaon and Dubai’s Limitless Holdings for a gigantic $15-billion township near Bangalore, DLF, which posted robust revenues of Rs.32.5 billion for the quarter ending September 2007, has just diluted 49% equity stake in eight of its residential projects to Merrill Lynch & Brahma Investments. That’s well in sync with its strategic objective to focus on home business & of course, to grasp a whopping Rs.16.85 billion (interestingly, the exact value, which it had locked while acquiring a 38-acre land from DSCL recently). While the company is observing a silent mode on these moves, R. K. Gupta, MD, Taurus MF told B&E, “DLF is now leveraging its huge land bank across top-tier growth cities for equity sharing. Definitely a move that will not only add to its growth story but will also mitigate the risk involved with the projects.”
that “there are huge inequities in the world. Even better-off citizens in most of the developing world face worse opportunities than the poor in rich countries. The fact that the country of birth is a key determinant of people’s opportunities runs counter to our view of equity.” Whatever the WB thinks of equity, it is at best only half-true. A close scrutiny will clearly exemplify that inequality has helped less developed nations to achieve economic growth and prosperity. Had it not been for the fact of inequality of income and cost of living, none of the billions of dollars of investments that has been pouring in China and India for over a decade now would have come. It is because of the relative backwardness and the consequent low cost that inspired the Western world to outsource most of its IT related work and production to India. It not only has helped India climb up the ladder faster than otherwise but also allowed it the leeway of time and energy to learn from such technology and business models to develop its own version of multinational companies. All this, thanks to the sheer inequality that existed, and is still existing between the First and the Third World. After all, even water doesn’t flow from a waterfall unless there’s difference in altitude. Hail inequality at times.
laptops have revolutionised the concept of working from home as well as working on the move? Year wise, the growth that the Indian PC market is experiencing is tremendous – across all form factors in the IT industry, fuelled by robust demand from large enterprise, SMBs, government & education segments. “2008 will see more escalation in the demand for notebooks”, avers Rajan Anandan, VP & GM, Dell India.