In this issue

Cover Story-Tryst with Destiny 20 Years of the Reforms The Revolutions that made a mark in India Khakhi Man of Mumbai Independence Day an earnest behest of an aspiring heart

A Monthly Newsletter from the Students of Department of Management Studies, IIT Roorkee

Dear Readers, As we enter into month of August, an air of freedom and honour fills our lungs and fills our hearts with pride. With Independence Day round the corner, the month of august is all about reminiscing our glorious past and focusing on our march ahead. This edition of Domination essays the great Indian story of progress and development tracing our countrys journey right from independence to the present day. It takes the reader through the series of achievements which have shaped the very fabric of our nation. This special edition comes to you, right from our hearts and goes out to every one of our fellow nation lovers. The cover story Tryst with destiny attempts to understand where we stand after 64 years of independence. Though its impossible to cover each and every facet of our nation the writer has penned down 5 different sectors namely: Education, Health, Infrastructure, Economic Condition and Science and Technology. There have been few events which through their impact have accelerated the growth of the country and played a crucial role in shaping our country as it stands today. These events were brought by utilizing the best of technology and the brightest of Ideas and are known as revolutions. A brief review of such events in The revolutions that made a mark in India This year also marks the completion of the second decade of throwing open our markets through the liberalization policy of 1991. Twenty years of economic reform throws light on the same. Along with development and progress, independent India also faces the monster of terrorism which reared its ugly head again in Mumbai previous month. The article Khakhi Man of Mumbai attempts to realistically probe the responsibilities and limitation of Mumbai policemen in these chaotic times. The Alumni Section introduces readers to Mahesh Bansal, the vibrant and talented DoMSonian who has managed to make his mark upon the world. To round off the edition we have Independence Day an earnest behest of an aspiring heart in the chlorophyll section. And as you grab this edition of Domination, ignite in you the passion and will to move ahead towards what we were born for Be Indian, by heart, mind and deed Jai Hind.

-Regards Team Domination

Cover Story
-Tryst with Destiny

20 years of the Reforms

Rajneesh Kumar Chetna Yadav Rohit Menon

The Revolutions that made a mark in India

L.Nikhil Reddy

Khakhi Man of Mumbai

Anupam & Paresh

Independence Day

Qutopia 19

DoMS-da-Evince Interaction with Mahesh Bansal

Regardez I'economie

Cover Story
Tryst With Destiny

Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom..The appointed day has come -the day appointed by destiny- and India stands forth again, after long slumber and struggle, awake, vital, free and independent said Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of Independent India on the eve of Indias Independence. Its been 64 since that memorable speech and we are all set to celebrate Independence day on 15
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answer these questions. In my opinion 64 years is a very short span of time in the history of any Nation, arguably of-course, still we have managed to make our mark on the globe. So whatever assessment one makes about the progress being made, has to be in sync with the above stated fact. It would be overstatement to say that we have achieved a lot, and I would be undermining our capabilities if I say none at all, still we all know we have a long way to go, independently, fiercely and magnanimously. To cover each and every facet of our Nation is beyond the scope of this article so I penned down 5 different sectors namelyeducation, infrastructure, science& technology, economic progress and health. journey of these sectors. Savour it. The next few pages will take you through the

August, 2011. Few questions

however hover around us as to where are we heading for after our tryst with destiny. What is that we have achieved collectively as a Nation and where do we see ourselves going forth from here, is a question that has to be answered. This article is an honest attempt to

Education
With its plurality and paradoxes, India never ceases to fascinate. Its ironic that the country that has amazed the world with its quality human resources houses a third of worlds illiterates. Undoubtedly we have produced the best of doctors, engineers, scientists but on the other hand we also have grim statistics in terms of literacy as we were ranked 105
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Tryst With Destiny

out of 127 countries by the Education for all Global Monitoring Report, 2008. The world could never achieve its target of every child in school till 2015 without India working on the same front. So the Year 2009 recorded a historical milestone not only for Indian Children but also for people working across the globe for child education as the Right of Children to free and compulsory education was introduced as the 86
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cessful to great extent. If we talk about the higher education in India the government has succeeded in maintaining a respectable level. Long back in 1953, the government had established the University Grants Commission in order to develop the higher education system with its primary role being to regulate the standard and spread of higher education in India. Past 64 years have seen a marked progress in the expansion of higher approval Today education .To of IITs 8 new quote a recent example IITs,5 IISc and 7 IIMs. compete with the best universities in the world and the managers from IIMs are at the leading front of various global multinationals. AIIMS too have been given global recognition due to the sheer number of patients treated and the economic pricing policy followed. Peeping into the current situation of literacy rate of India we have the provisional data of 2011 census. For purpose of census, in India, a person in age limit of seven and above, who can both write and read with understanding in any of the language is considered as a literate. India's effective literacy rate recorded a 9.2 per cent rise to reach 74.04 per cent. Interestingly, literacy rate improved sharply
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amendment of the

constitution. For the first time in Indias history, children (aged 6-14) will be guaranteed their right to quality elementary education by the state with the help of families and communities. Though the act has been introduced but there is a lot more to be done in terms of training the teachers, providing the infrastructure, checking the drop outs rate and removing several existing prejudices. Funding for the same is also an important issue. Also the role of private players is growing inch by inch. Apart from introducing the act the government has rolled out many plans to increase the percentage of elementary education since independence. The plans such as 'Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA), District Primary Education Program (DPEP), Operation Blackboard, Mid Day Meal have been suc-

Tryst With Destiny

among females as compared to males. While the effective literacy rate for males rose from 75.26 to 82.14 per cent marking a rise of 6.9 per cent, it increased by 11.8 per cent for females to go from 53.67 to 65.46 per cent. The most literate state is Kerela with a literacy rate of 90.86 per cent and the least literate is Bihar with a meagre 47 per cent (The stats for women is even worse, a mere 33 per cent). The gap between the rural and urban literacy rate is also very significant. As against almost

80% of urban people being educated the stats for the rural population stand somewhere near 60%. Its clear that all the efforts only prove to be toddler steps in the long journey we have to travel. But nevertheless their importance cant be ignored. Education will always play a pivotal role in shaping the nation and lets hope that we continue our march onwards on this journey unceasingly and relentlessly.

Health
Lets start with few eye popping facts-As per recent statistics, an estimated 40.9 million Indian patients suffer from diabetes currently which is the highest in the world! Total population: 1.15 billion, per capita health spending: $109 a year (compared to Brazil $765, Russia $5638 and China $342). Percent of population living on less than $1/ day: 34.7%. 30 million people in the country are infected with Hepatitis B Virus (HBV). Health sector is the lifeline for a nations wellbeing. Health is a primary human right and has been accorded due importance by the Constitution through Article 21.Despite this, progress has not matched the countrys economic growth during the last few decades. With steep income disparities, India is also struggling to tackle a "double-burden" of diseases which include infectious diseases affecting the poor on the one hand and chronic lifestyle ailments typical of fast urbanization on the other. Indias health indicators have continued to improve. Yes we have increased life expectancy from 32 years to 63.5 years (though the global average is around 67 years). But there is an equally convincing set of data stated above showing that we have a long way to go. A high proportion of the population continues to suffer and die from easily preventable diseases, lack of access to affordable and quality
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Tryst With Destiny

effectiveness of public health spending, unregulated private provision of health care, lack of adequate health insurance, little emphasis on communication to improve health and create demand for health services. As per the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the per capita public health spending is low in India, being among the five lowest in the world. Taking cognizance of the important role of public health expenditure, the Eleventh Five-Year Plan (2007-12) document suggests the necessity of building a responsive public health system with the need for increasing the public spending on health from 0.9 per cent of GDP to 2-3 per cent of GDP and stepping up investment on primary care, communicable diseases and HIV/AIDS prevention. At the present stage of Indias development, the health indicators have lagged behind the impressive economic progress evident over the past two decades. A new public health policy needs to be drafted which will reconfigure the health system to make it more efficient and equitable, so that this gap can be bridged.

care, and malnutrition. Women and children from low-income households are the most vulnerable. Problem areas include: Maternal and child health, child nutrition, communicable diseases, the new diseases on rise, unfinished agenda of communicable diseases and above all the challenge to deal with the financial burden. The government has taken several measures to improve the situation but still we lie far behind in this as compared to other countries who are on the same level of development. New measures recently launched include: National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) and Rashtriya Swasthiya Bima Yojana (RBSY). Launched in 2005 the NRHM supports a number of novel approaches to improve health outcomes, together with more traditional approaches to strengthen government service delivery. RBSY is a social insurance scheme aims to provide financial protection to BPL families against expenses related to hospitalization. Within 2 years since its launch in 2008 over 13 million BPL households have enrolled in RBSY. Few of the systematic constraints include low

Science and Technology

The innovations and advancements in sciences and the technological front form the backbone of almost every country. Todays dynamic world of continuous improvement
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Tryst With Destiny

largest paddy producer in the world finally surpassing USA . Green revolution was followed by similar revolutions in horticulture, milk and fisheries. The use of new age technologies and indianizing them (adapting these technologies to the local needs) we achieved tremendous growth in the production of fruits, vegetables, fish and milk. As a result we rank 1st in milk and milk products and 8th in fish catching.(Hard fact remains we are below the worlds average per capita consumption of milk, the two being 279.5 grams and 263 grams respectively). India has not looked back since its foray into computer science and technology .In 1987 when US refused to supply a Cray supercomputer, India developed its own supercomputer PARAM. Today we have placed an Indian supercomputer in the top 10 supercomputers of the world Even in the most advanced field of nuclear research India has held its ground. Because India is outside the Nuclear NonProliferation Treaty due to its weapons program, it was for 34 years largely excluded from trade in nuclear plant or materials, which has hampered its development of civil nuclear energy until 2009. Due to these trade bans and lack of indigenous uranium, India has uniquely been developing a nuclear fuel cycle to exploit its reserves of thorium. India
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and with new innovations coming in almost every minute, this is a sector which must be closely monitored and carefully planned. Gone are the days when India was totally dependent on the outer world for their technological support and for all technological equipment. The past 64 years have seen India progress tremendously in the areas of Science and Technology. We have always laid stress on developing our technological front. In Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehrus, own words ; Scientific institutions are temples of modern India, and play a key role in the gigantic task of national development and nation building. Under his leadership, innumerable national laboratories were set up, science departments in universities were expanded, institutions like IIT's, IIM's, and AIIMS were opened. In research publications too India ranks first in publication outputs in four areas Agriculture, Energy & Environment, Biology & Biochemistry and Plant & Animal Sciences. Besides setting up the best schools and colleges, and coaching the best minds of the country to be at par with the best in world India has not been stagnant in implicating the knowledge and developing and advancing on our technical front. The Green revolution in 1962 just proved to be the start of many revolutions to come. India has emerged as the

Tryst With Destiny

player in the arena of space technologies and has got many ambitious plans for the future. It was a major milestone when Indian scientists decided to plan a mission to the farthermost reaches of mankind- the Moon. During last few years, ISRO has emerged as a useful agency for the developing countries to launch their satellites. It has so far provided countries like Argentina and Indonesia to launch their satellites. This activity is also helping India in revenue generation and it is expected that in the years to come, India may be able to manage 10% share of this fast growing market. All this paints but just a glimpse of the scientific development and achievements of our country over the past 64 years. These scientific development although provides a rosy view of the scientific and technological community of the country the truth is that we still have a long way to go. We are miles behind the quality and quantity of research works being carried out in developed countries like America and China. And as Nehru used to quote Robert Frost miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep

has a vision of becoming a world leader in nuclear technology due to its expertise in fast reactors and thorium fuel cycle. India has a flourishing and largely indigenous nuclear power program and expects to have 20,000 MWe nuclear capacity on line by 2020 and 63,000 MWe by 2032. It aims to supply 25% of electricity from nuclear power by 2050. The Indian Space research programme is a success story of its own. Initially, space research was started as a part of India's atomic energy programme. This programme started in the year 1962 as the Indian Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) under the leadership of Vikram Sarabhai. Even at its inception the program was not developed to facilitate development of missiles as a by product but to genuinely achieve the dream of conquering the skies. Over the years now, the Indian space programme has maturated. India has its own launch vehicles capable of sending satellites into polar orbits. The recent chandrayaan-I and before that by simultaneously and precisely launching Ten satellites India has proved its strength in Space research. Today, India is emerging as a major

Infrastructure
Infrastructure of a country in its most basic form means the stock of fixed capital equipment in a country, considered as a determinant of economic growth . And as India tran9

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Tryst With Destiny

Talking about the air transport, there are a total of 449 airports and airstrips located throughout India. The government owned Airports Authority of India (AAI) operates 125 airports and civil enclaves out of them. The cities of Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kochi and Mumbai are served by privately (or joint-venture) operated airports. All operational airports handled a total of 143.3 million passengers (105.5 m domestic and 37.9 m international) in the year ended March 2011. The total number of aircraft movements amounted to 1.31 million and freight handled exceeded 2 million tons in 2010-11. The Power & Energy Infrastructure sector in India is poised for a major take-off. The APDRP (Accelerated Power Development & Reforms Programme 2002 - 2012) has seen an addition of around 22,000 MW during last five years. And during the next five years, a capacity addition of over 78,000 MW has to be setup by 2012. (A commitment of 15,600 MW capacity addition per annum ). At present we have an installed capacity of almost 1 68000 MW in the country.65 % of the power is generated by thermal processes and about 25 % is hydroelectric power. Nuclear power forms a 7 % of the same.
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-sitions into an economic powerhouse, the government has pledged to spend well above $1 trillion on various infrastructure projects over the next five to six years. Lets have a birds eye view of the sector. The most distinct part of Indias physical infrastructure development in recent years is the improvement in the road network across the country; every per sq. km. of surface area in India is now endowed with one km of roadways. India has one of the largest road networks in the world. Indian Government is planning to build 20 kilometers on an average every day as a major plan to overhaul the infrastructure and subsequently boosting economic growth. Currently India has the third largest road network with more than 3.314 million km (2.059 million miles) of roadways. Similar is the story of railways. Indian railways form the lifeline for the nation. Indian Railways is known to be the largest railway network in Asia and world's largest railway system under a single management. Indian Railways employs about 1.6 million people, making itself the second largest commercial employer in the world. Indian Railways proudly manage more than 7,500 railway stations in its periphery. It has a fleet of not less than 7800 locomotives, 40,000 coaches & 3,26,000 wagons

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Tryst With Destiny

India is the third biggest Internet market in terms of users, with over 100 million internet user base. The numbers might seem impressive but not if we view them in the light of the fact that we are the second most populous country of the world. If India plans to be at par with the other developed nations of the world a fast track infrastructure plan needs to be implemented as efficient infrastructure is a necessary support for all kinds of development activities.

However all this would almost be belittled by the progress we have made in the fields of telecommunications and information technology. India has the third largest (based on the total number of fixed/mobile subscriber lines) telecom network in the world and the second largest mobile network with over 840 million subscribers while the total number of telephone lines amounted to 875 million at the end of April 2011. India is the world's largest market for the number of mobile subscribers. Nowhere up to 20 million new mobile subscriber lines are being added every month.

Economic Progress
Indias success story will be incomplete without the mention of its economic progress made. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, at the time of independence, held a pro socialist outlook. Nehru was impressed with what he (and many others at the time) saw as the successful mobilization of resources for development by the Soviet Union. In the shadow of the Great Depression only a decade past, it seemed nave to believe that the private sector could successfully and reliably generate the investment that a growing economy needed. It is due to this that they favoured a socialist model for the development of the country in the earlier years. It is now debated as one of the biggest mistakes made by Nehru and his successors. The pro socialism approach churned out a form of government which is noted for many failures which included among its various disadvantage extensive regulation and red tape; and isolation from the world economy. India's per capita income increased at only around 1% annualized rate in the three decades after Independence. It was not until the mid 80s when India started opening its markets towards foreign investors that a new age of development was ushered in. After more fundamental reforms since 1991 and their renewal in the 2000s, India has progressed towards a free market economy. With the combined effect of Liberalization, Privatization and Globalization, India over the past 20 odd years has been on turbo boosters in term of economic development.
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Tryst With Destiny

ranked at places which seemed near impossible to achieve only a decade or two ago. The UNCTAD World Investment Report has reported India to be the second most attractive location for FDI for 2010-2012. India attracted FDI equity inflows of US$ 1,274 million in February 2011. The services sector comprising financial and non-financial services attracted 21 per cent of the total FDI equity. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have purchased stocks and debt securities worth US$ 222 billion in the financial year ending March 31, 2011, as per the data available with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). This high betting behavior supports the view that they strongly believe in the growth potential of Indian market. The Indian success story has its dark chapters too. Besides being ranked top in various list as seen above, we also top the charts of corruption, pollution and worse healthcare. The growth has been sporadic and uneven. The rate of poverty decline has not been higher in the post-reform period . The improvements in some other non-economic dimensions of social development have been even less favourable. India today employs one of the largest labour forces in the world. But the employment opportunities have not been able to
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Today India ranks 5th largest economy in terms of Purchasing Power Parity. The overall growth of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at factor cost at constant prices was 8.6 per cent in 2010-11 representing an increase from the revised growth of 8.0 per cent during 200910, according to the Advance Estimate (AE) of Central Statistics Office (CSO). India's large service industry alone contributes a phenomenal 57.2% of the country's GDP while the industrial and agricultural sectors contribute 28.6% and 14.6% respectively. India is today rated as one of the most attractive investment destinations across the globe. Major industries include telecommunications, textiles, chemicals, food processing, steel, transportation equipment, cement, mining, petroleum, machinery, information technology-enabled services and pharmaceuticals. The economic growth has been primarily driven by the expansion of services that have been growing consistently faster than other sectors. Many economist, after seeing the growth pattern of India may be able to skip the intermediate industrialization-led phase in the transformation of its economic structure. This has been quoted as a source of concern as well as appreciated as a modern growth and development model. Even in terms of investment India has been

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Tryst With Destiny

catch up with the growing labour force. Unemployment rate stands at 10.8%.The total deficits of the public sector-state and local governments, national government, and stateowned enterprises together--now amount to more than 10 percent of GDP. Inflation threatens to run amok and RBI has been pulling all stops to bring it under control. However, all said and done, India still com-

-mands a respectable position among the developing nations. The growth achieved by India over the decades, in spite of various handicaps, is nothing short of phenomenal. Whatever be the scenario, the world's economists now have an example of an economy that did not have remarkably favorable initial conditions but that has sustained rapid economic growth over two decades.

At this juncture, when the millennium has changed, our people and nation evolved, we look towards the future with eyes of promise and expectancy. Our nation has achieved much in past 65 years; we have transformed ourselves from a nation of oppressed to a nation revered. We have leapt forward, developing and shaping the country into one treated with awe and admiration. Our dreams are still big,

aspirations still higher, we foresee a future that will elevate our great nation to even greater heights. But as Panditji once said A theory must be tempered with reality. If we are to make the nation of our dreams a reality, much is to be done much to be thought about, much to be planned for, but ultimately much to be done. We have walked miles, we have leaped through many with poetic ease, but we have miles to go before the dream is a reality - The dream that we pledge on this day to work on with our heart and souls so that we can shape our own des-

- Chetna & Rohit DoMS, IIT Roorkee chetna.yadav07@gmail.com rohitmenonmech@gmail.com

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20 Years of the Reforms

Perspective Dr Manmohan Singh giving an interview after he presented the Union Budget in Parliament on 24th July, 1991. Chlorophyll Qutopia DoMS-da-Evince Regardez I'economie Change was in the air. The Berlin wall had been torn down just a couple of years back signaling the beginning of the end of the Cold War. The Gulf war had spiked up the oil prices. As the Congress government came to power in 1991, the economy was in shambles. Things got worse with Reserve Bank of India having to airlift 47 tons of Gold to the Bank of England & 20 tons of Gold to the Union Bank of Switzerland as collateral for a loan of $600 million to wave off Balance of payment crisis . It was in such turmoil that Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao brought in Dr. Manmohan Singh as Finance Minister in June 1991. Within a few weeks of action which started with devaluing the currency, revamping the Export-Import Policy (EXIM Policy), culminated in an epic budget speech on 24th July 1991 marking the watershed moment in independent India's history. As the years role on and we mark the completion of two decades of the reforms, the importance of those few weeks grows upon us. Gurcharan Das in his book India Unbound aptly pointed out that we may have got political Independence & democracy in 1947, but our economic freedom came only in 1991. Manmohan Singh as Finance Minister had his work cut out. The Balance of payment situation had worsened, the fiscal deficit had taken its toll and the double digit inflation was making life difficult for the common man. As he informed the parliament in his budget speech that the current foreign Exchange was sufficient only for financing two weeks of imports, it sent shivers through the establishment. He said "There is no time to lose. Neither the Government nor the economy can live beyond its means year after year. The room for maneuver, to live on borrowed money or time, does not exist anymore.
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20 Years of the Reforms

Perspective Chlorophyll Qutopia DoMS-da-Evince Regardez I'economie

The situation in 1990-91

Balance of payments : Sharpe decline in capital inflow during the late 1980s & early 1990s Fiscal Deficit : Gross Fiscal deficit rose to 12.7% in 1991 Debt Servicing: Internal Debt rose to 53% of the GDP by the end of the financial year 1990-91 which increased the debt servicing burden Foreign Exchange Reserves : About $600 million in June 1991, barely enough for two weeks of imports Political instability at the centre during 1990-91 add to the uncertainty The Gulf War spiked the oil import bill for India Double Digit Inflation was causing trouble for the common man

Actions proposed during July 1991 outlined in Dr Manmohan Singhs budget Speech of 1991
Devaluing the currency Revamping the EXIM Policy: export subsidies abolished. Import duty capped at 150% Liberalize the policy regime for Foreign Direct Investment Divesting stakes in PSUs, Referring Sick PSEs to BIFR and greater Autonomy to PSEs Banking & financial System reforms, Interest rates on Loans & Advances to be decided by Banks with RBI setting the floor price Full statutory power to SEBI & Capital market reforms Private Player to be allowed in Mutual Funds Reduce tax on dividend received from off-shore fund and long term capital gain Extend the tax concession under section 80HHC of the Income-tax Act to export of software

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20 Years of the Reforms

Perspective Chlorophyll Qutopia DoMS-da-Evince Regardez I'economie

The steps proposed may seem obvious in todays times but in the old days of summer of 1991 they were nothing but revolutionary. Dr. Manmohan Singh went on to present the union budget for the next five years till 1996 where he broadly followed reform agenda such as opening up Banking & telecom to private players. The subsequent governments mostly followed the contour set by him. Today, the Indian Economy has wholly integrated itself with the world economy having the 10th largest economy in the world with a nominal GDP of $1.53 trillion and a foreign reserve of over $310 billion. As, 20 years have passed since those frenetic few weeks of 1991, the reform process is still moving in fits and stops. Come this 15th August, the architect of the reforms, Dr Manmohan Singh will be giving his 8th Independence day speech from Red Fort as Prime Minister of India with his government embroiled in charges of

corruption and graft. The new challenges of corruption, terrorism, naxalism & inflation have to be tackled. The reforms wont be termed successful if it cannot bring about real change captured by improving social indicators such as poverty reduction, reducing infant mortality & maternal mortality rate, universal education & health care and improving basic infrastructure for all citizen of the country. As an end note, Dr Manmohan Singh ended his epic budget speech of 1991 by quoting Victor Hugo, the French poet & activist of the 19th Century no power on earth can stop an idea whose time has come. The idea of emergence of India as a major economic power envisioned in 1991 is on the verge of reality today. And an idea that the economic power hence gained will act as a catalyst for social empowerment is taking shape in 2011.

- Rajneesh Kumar DoMS, IIT Roorkee rajneeshkumar3@yahoo.co.in

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The Revolutions that made a mark in India

After the Independence, India in the span of 60 odd years has seen rather significant changes and improvements across several spheres Agriculture and Milk production, Information Technology (IT), Manufact u r in g, At om i c E n e rg y, Tele communications, Advanced Satellites, Defense, Automobiles, Consumer Electronics, Pharmaceuticals, Transportation (Airways, Railways and Sea links) and a lot many though one might argue we are considerably behind other developed and developing countries. However, taking into account the positive phenomenon that has been happening in the country, the future definitely looks promising and at this juncture, I would like to muse over and rivet my focus upon the three most important revolutions, as I see, that took place in the country that really made people around the world look up to us the Green Revolution, the White Revolution and the IT Revolution.

Perspective Chlorophyll Qutopia DoMS-da-Evince Regardez I'economie

Green Revolution

Why Green Revolution was needed? The world's one of the worst recorded food disasters happened in 1943 in British-ruled India, named as the Bengal Famine, where an estimated four million people died of hunger that year alone in eastern India (that included today's Bangladesh). The 'explanation' to that catastrophe was that there was an acute shortfall in food production in the area. However, Indian economist Amartya Sen, has related that though food shortage was a contributor to the problem, a more significant element was the result of delirium related to World War II which made food supplies a low priority for the British rulers. The situation was further exploited by Indian traders who

amassed food in order to sell at higher prices. India was still haunted by the adversaries of the Bengal Famine, even after the Independence. It was therefore natural that food security defined as availability of food and one's access to it was a paramount item on free India's agenda. This awareness led, on one hand, to the Green Revolution in India and, on the other, legislative measures to ensure that businessmen would never again be able to hoard food for reasons of profit. However, the term "Green Revolution" is applied to the period from 1967 to 1978. Between 1947 and 1967, efforts at achieving food selfsufficiency were not entirely successful. Efforts until 1967 largely concentrated on ex17

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The Revolutions that made a mark in India

expanding the farming areas. But starvation deaths were still being reported in the newspapers. In a perfect case of Malthusian economics, population was growing at a much faster rate than food production. This called for drastic action to increase yield. The action came in the form of the Green Revolution a general term that is applied to successful agricultural experiments in many countries and is not specific to India. However, it was most successful in India. What was the Green Revolution in India? With the initiative of M.S. Swaminathan the father of Green Revolution in India, and the scientific advancements of genetics propelled by the research of Norman Borlaug (Mexico), three basic elements in the method of the Green Revolution were implemented in our country:

Perspective Chlorophyll Qutopia DoMS-da-Evince Regardez I'economie

"monsoons" per year. One would be the natural monsoon and the other an artificial 'monsoon'. The artificial monsoon came in the form of huge irrigation facilities. Dams were built to arrest large volumes of natural monsoon water which were earlier being wasted. Simple irrigation techniques were also adopted.

Expand areas of farming: As noted already (above), the area of land under cultivation was being increased right from 1947. But this was not sufficient in meeting with the ever increasing demand which called for other methods. Yet, the expansion of cultivable land also had to continue. So, the Green Revolution continued with this quantitative expansion of farmlands. However, this is not the most striking feature of the Revolution. Cropping twice on the existing farmland: Double-cropping was a primary feature of the Green Revolution. Instead of one crop season per year, the decision was made to have two crop seasons per year. The one-season-per-year practice was based on the fact that there is only natural monsoon per year. This was correct. So, there had to be two

Usage of seeds with advanced genetics: This was the scientific aspect of the Green Revolution. The Indian Council for Agricultural Research (which was established by the British in 1929 but was not known to have done any significant research) was re-organized in 1965 and then again in 1973. It developed new strains of high yield value (HYV) seeds, mainly wheat and rice but also millet and corn. The most noteworthy HYV seed was the K68 variety for wheat. The credit for developing this strain goes to Dr. M.P. Singh who is also regarded as the hero of India's Green revolution.

Economic reaps of the Green Revolution

Crop areas under high-yield varieties needed more water, more fertilizer, more pesticides, fungicides and certain other chemicals. This spurred the growth of the local manufacturing sector. Such industrial growth created new jobs and contributed to the country's GDP. The increase in irrigation created need for new dams to harness monsoon water. The water stored was used to create hydro-electric power. This in turn boosted industrial growth, created jobs and improved the quality of life of the people in villages.
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The Revolutions that made a mark in India

India paid back all loans it had taken from the World Bank and its affiliates for the purpose of the Green Revolution. This improved India's creditworthiness in the eyes of the lending agencies. Some of the developed countries, especially Canada, which were facing a shortage in agricultural labor, were so impressed by the results of India's Green Revolution that they asked the Indian government to supply them with farmers experienced in the methods of the Green Revolution. Many farmers from Punjab and Haryana states were thus sent to Canada where they settled, who remitted part of their incomes to their relatives in India adding, albeit modestly, to India's foreign exchange earnings.

Perspective Chlorophyll Qutopia DoMS-da-Evince Regardez I'economie

White Revolution
In one generation not so long ago, there was an acute shortage of milk in our country and high rise of malnutrition cases. Today, we are the largest producer of milk in the world and fought the malnutrition almost completely with the abundance of milk thanks to the extraordinary vision of Dr. Verghese Kurien. Operation Flood was a rural development program started by India's National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) in 1970. The program objective was to create a nationwide milk grid links milk producers throughout India with consumers in over 700 towns and cities, reducing seasonal and regional price variations while ensuring that the producer gets a major share of the price consumers pay which enabled India to evolve into the largest producer of milk and milk products, and hence is called the White Revolution of India. It was also aimed at curbing malpractices by milk traders and merchants. This revolution followed the Indian Green Revolution complemented it in alleviating poverty and famine levels from their dangerous proportions in India during the hardships of food production. Operation Flood has helped dairy farmers, direct their own development, placing control of the resources they create in their own hands. The basis of Operation Flood has been village milk producers' cooperatives, which procure milk and provide inputs and services, making modern management and technology available to members. Operation Flood's objectives included:

Increase milk production Augment rural incomes Fair prices for consumers

"Anand Milk Union Limited" (Amul), a Gujarat-based co-operation, was the prime reason behind the success of the program, and in turn became a substantial company based on the cooperative approach. Tribhuvandas Patel was the founder Chairman of Amul, while Verghese Kurien was the chairman of
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The Revolutions that made a mark in India

NDDB at the time when the program was implemented. Verghese Kurien a Padma Bhushan, devoted professional management skills and necessary thrust to the cooperative, and is considered the architect of India's 'White Revolution'.

Perspective Chlorophyll Qutopia DoMS-da-Evince Regardez I'economie

Software Revolution

There was a time in history when Indians migrated to other countries; they were perceived no better than drivers or rickshaw pullers given the general standard of living in the country then, even if they were in highly paid jobs. It may not be an exaggeration to say people of other countries now believe that even the drivers and rickshaw pullers from India know how to write a software code. This paradigm shift on the Indians over the world is no joke and was possible only because of the Information Technology and Software Revolution that happened in the country. Production to China is what Software is to India and so can be seen as a branding mechanism for India among the top nations. The vision of Mr. N. Vittal propelled the Software Technology Program strongly, favored by the economic reforms of 1991, laid the strong cornerstone for the industrys remarkable progress over 30% annual growth has been registered in the last two decades. Indias Information Technology (IT) exports grew from $150 million in 1991-92 to approximately $60 billion in

2011, and are projected to reach $70 billion by 2012.The IT industry is unparalleled for several reasons - focused on exports, benchmarked with the best global companies, followed the finest principles of corporate governance and created the largest number of jobs in the organized sector; showcasing that Indians could succeed in the most competitive global markets. With more advancements in terms of technology and competition in other sectors and departments like telecommunications, financial services, manufacturing, automobile, hospitality, logistics, supply chain led to higher demand for more robust and sophisticated software development and the world is looking up to the IT industry. With more and more engineers getting absorbed into the IT industry, more and more IT multinational corporations opening their offices in the country, increased research and development in this field; I can only see India becoming the center for any software services and technological advancements in the near future.
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The Revolutions that made a mark in India

Perspective Chlorophyll Qutopia DoMS-da-Evince Regardez I'economie

Where can we improvise?

Despite the fact that the education in India is on the rise, it has to completely shift gears to keep itself on par with that of the world, for this sector is the single most important key to any kind of economic development in the country. The major shortcoming of this sector, according to me, has been the way the primary education is being delivered. Most of the children either just drop out of school or most of them remain with education below quality levels. The Indian government has been a big failure in conducting itself while trying to offer education to its people. Despite the number of schools in every nook and corner of the country, number of quality teachers, government acts (for e.g. RTE) and numerous school dropout prevention schemes, it is not able to educate as many children as it intended to, and probably would never be. The fact is that not many sensible people, let alone the politicians and government officials, are willing to join their kids in the government schools. The questions that arise in my mind would be: What is making the government to do all the tasks which it is not good at? Why doesnt the government allow the private sector in primary education and eliminate itself and act as a regulator? Why not facilitate things for private schools or private management in government schools to enable quality? Any given day, the private sector will bring in quality in any sector. One might object that not many in this country are rich enough to send their kids to private schools. I concur. This is the reason why I am looking forward to the process innovations in the existing system. For example, invite tenders from private education firms for managing the education on a region wide basis, with the same old government schemes holding good and with the already existing faculty? Because, according to me this is less an issue of infrastructure or lack of resources, and more of a management problem (as is the case with Air India). I say so because, there are many students who shine from government schools too and there are some exceptional teachers serving there. Im envisioning that this high quality had to be spanned for larger audience, by bringing in some quality processes and standardizations. The more interest that we take and faster we react in reviving the education sector superior will be the outcome of the human resource pool, better will be the

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The Revolutions that made a mark in India

Perspective Chlorophyll Qutopia DoMS-da-Evince Regardez I'economie

Where can we improvise?

skills and productivity, higher will be the number of labor force and faster will be the growth of industries and eventually results in steadier and steeper emergence of Indian economy. We are advancing at a faster pace, in software industry, but the infrastructure sector has not been doing very well. The explosive growth of population has been throwing extreme challenges for the smooth functioning of any system or organizations (for e.g. Road and Railway transport in the country has not been completely able to satisfy the increasing number of commuters, the testimony to which is the heavy traffic conditions everywhere). With only infrastructure development, will the businesses in the country bloom to the maximum extent possible. The government should take necessary measures to take the sector to the next level so as to ensure we dont fall out of place in the global competition. This should be one of the top priorities the government should have in its agenda, because any companys progress and thereby the nations progress depends on the availability and ease of access and usage of resources across geographies.

It was mentioned above in Green Revolution that we have been doing great in food production. Nevertheless, there are limitations.

Even today, India's agricultural output sometimes falls short of demand. And also as we depend on monsoons which at times are unpredictable. We have not succeeded in extending the concept of high-yield value seeds to all crops (largely confined to food grains only, which makes the more widely used varieties prone to pests and less immunity) or all regions (only Punjab and Haryana states showed the best results of the Green Revolution and the results were less impressive in other parts of India). This growth in irrigation has led to an alarming drop in the water table in a number of key agricultural Indian states, such as Punjab. It relies on extensive use of pesticides, which are necessary to limit the high levels of pest damage that inevitably occur in mono-cropping the practice of producing or growing one single crop over a wide area. This is leading to enormous

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The Revolutions that made a mark in India

Perspective Chlorophyll Qutopia DoMS-da-Evince Regardez I'economie

Where can we improvise?

levels of soil pollution.

This definitely requires us to re-look the existing practices and do our best possible to address the above problems in an eco friendly manner otherwise, the success of the Green Revolution will certainly be short lived. The next version of this Green Revolution 2.0, has to be implemented with advanced technological and management practices, and at the same time carrying it out with an ecological and environmental sense.

Though the Green Revolution prevented people being affected by hunger and die from starvation, it slipped out in the other aspect of malnutrition where many are affected by iron or vitamin-A deficiencies, because Green Revolution agriculture produces monocultures of cereal grains, while traditional agriculture usually incorporates poly-cultures.

- L.Nikhil Reddy DoMS, IIT Roorkee nikhil.lingala@gmail.com

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Khakhi Man of Mumbai

Recent Mumbai bomb blasts again brought that back the memories of previous blasts shook the entire country. Three near-simultaneous explosions the government time and again. Breadwinners are killed, women widowed and children orphaned. Our leaders talk of stringent punishment to the perpetrators. But our judicial process is too slow. Too long a rope is given to the Afzal Gurus and the Ajmal Kasabs wasting, in the process, tens of crores of taxpayers' money. It is clear that political leaders have no fear of terror strikes. It is the common man who has to fear for his life, as his safety is no longer guaranteed. Post 2008 Mumbai attacks, Indian officials say they have made extraordinary security reforms since 10 Pakistani terrorists rampaged across the city nearly three years ago, but following the latest attack they warned they may never be able to guarantee a terror-free nation in a region plagued by extremism. So, is it that our lives now rest in the hands of terrorist and waiting for the time till we are going to be one of the victims? Is there no one on whom we can rely to safeguard the city? A question keeps ringing- Is the police of our country so highly inefficient that it does nothing to safeguard us? Mumbai is the city that never sleeps because of work, travel and for security. In March 2009, a man was allegedly killed by five persons for Rs 9,500. Guarding such a city that never sleeps is not easy, thats why the role of Men in Khaki is neither easy nor defined. Also they are the first
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Perspective Chlorophyll Qutopia DoMS-da-Evince Regardez I'economie

petrified Mumbai at rush-hour on 13th July, 2011, killing at least 21 people and injuring 141. However, the blast didnt seem to be any aberration from what the financial capital of India had been going through over a decade. Invariably all the blasts have been religious in nature, targeted to create heightened communal tension in the region. And this time, it was no different. So, if communal violence has such a pattern of occurrence and regularity in frequency, how is it that the administration turns conveniently indifferent towards their recurrence, one of the few questions raised again and again with no definite answer. After every attack, we bolster the resilience attitude of Mumbaikars, citing examples of other countries not able to control similar situation. But, are we justified in giving such explanations to our inability to prevent such attacks. In a similar fashion, politicians are ready with their own expert comments as it seems they prepare it for the next blast as soon as the previous blast take place. What is shocking beyond words is the arrogance with which the terrorists challenge

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Khakhi Man of Mumbai

one to be blamed with in-efficiencies. They face wrath from political class and from the common public as if they are the real culprits. But people dont know the Khakimans position. An RTI has revealed that from 2006 to 2010, 292 Mumbai policemen died. Of these 163 policemen - more than half - died from cardiac arrests and heart-related complications. This is mainly because of fatigue, excessive stress and circumstances where communities are often hostile. To add to their apathy, shabby quarters, marand Rs58.45 crore on the police modernisation projects, for the year 2010-11. 20 amphibious vehicles of Mumbai were purchased but now are hibernating on Girgaum Chowpatty since November 26, 2009. Similar is the condition of the 20 sea legs because of mechanical problems and lack of trained manpower, claims Mumbai police sources. In December, last year, the central government sanctioned Rs1 crore for the purchase of 24 Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for the Mumbai police. But fearing, these will also meet the same fate as that of amphibian vehicles, Mumbai police has requested not to purchase them unless the bureaucratic hurdles and poor planning are taken care of. An example of bureaucratic hurdles free well equipped lice force is Delhi Police Force. Currently, we are living in a city that guarantees no full proof security to us. One cannot be sure while leaving for his work whether he will be able to enjoy his tea with his loved ones in the evening. In such a situation, public is disgusted with politicians who promise security, but do nothing after the media cameras are gone. After the 2008 attack and the bolstering done by the and relatively independent po-

Perspective Chlorophyll Qutopia DoMS-da-Evince Regardez I'economie

ginal salary, extremely long working hours stretching up to 14 to 16 hours a day, their work places are most unhygienic and even their arms & ammunitions are not in proper working condition. This must change before we can hold them completely responsible. Though lately, ZIPNET, Zonal Integrated Police Network, which is a very useful tool for sharing of information on real time basis has been functional but its real potential is yet to be utilised. Following the 26/11 terrorist attacks, the Mumbai police had gone on to purchase several hi-tech equipments. The central and state governments had sanctioned funds of Rs.106.17 crore

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Khakhi Man of Mumbai

Perspective Chlorophyll Qutopia DoMS-da-Evince Regardez I'economie

government regarding the expansion of police force, buying high-tech equipment and updating its ancient police arsenal, public thought that they are safe. But the recent attack has again startled them of their vulnerability. There is yet not enough equipment provided to police force to counter such catastrophe. Its really high time to look forward to countries like

U.S.A and learn how effectively they have been able to implement the security measures instead of giving hollow reasons every time. I end this note, hoping that the coming future of the Indians is going to be much secure and stringent measures are going to be taken by the Government of India.

- Anupam & Paresh DoMS, IIT Roorkee rai.anupam11@gmail.com pareshkulkarni1@gmail.com

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Independence Day: An earnest behest of an aspiring heart !

Perspective At 65, she is more stunning than her Youth, So majestic, who is very proud of her family's history, So elegant, for she has her own unique varied mix, So gorgeous now, that she never ceases to get attention. Her curious eyes voraciously pried like a dying fish to water, Is anyone listening she said before I said am all ears, Relief evident for she had found a soul (me) to chat with In the revelry crowd for it's festival time today in her home. Her grief laden heart begins to enunciate without auspicating, I love you all equally though I dont know who is more abominable, A few among you destroying yourselves for your own principles, Or the nature's other face (disaster) destroying all of you. Her eyes got damp now as grieves continue to rain on me, Seeing the War memorials (in my house) my conscience still torments me , I hope they all knew that I never wanted war but for my neighbors. My gratitude swells whenever precious ones make me feel proud! DoMS-da-Evince Regardez I'economie My heart is light now (after sharing) but I have more to convey, The traditional demure girl that I am, I abhor ignominy. It has been good and bad,the generations there has been, But I have an earnest behest for your generation. Help the poor! You may not but do not live on others' money, Please do not let your political & religious discords ruin my growth, For I aspire to sit someday with my head high in developed nations' company. It's your choice to play Hero but please dont play Villain in my growth Story!! Our growth Story. . ,The nation's growth story. . . "The rise of India" !!! Chlorophyll Qutopia - Alex DoMS, IIT Roorkee alex.genial@gmail.com
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Qutopia-19

Perspective Chlorophyll Qutopia DoMS-da-Evince Regardez I'economie

Its Exquizite, Kills your Quriosity and adds to your Quizdom. Need we say more? Qutopia A Utopia of the best Biz Quiz Tidbits to wreck your brains! Rush in your answers to domination.doms.iitr@gmail.com, rajneeshkumar3@yahoo.co.in before 31st August, 2011. The winner will have their names published in the next issue. Also, person getting the highest score in the current quarter (July-September 2011) will get a gift voucher. Answers in the next issue of DoMination.
Section A
(1 Point for each correct answer)

1. How is this postage stamp special?

2. What does a chicken market mean in relation to a Stock Market?

3. How is The Santa Clara county in California, USA famously known as?

4. This was the brand started by the Tata Group in 1952, later in 1996 it was sold to Hindustan Lever Limited (now HUL)?

5. The "News of the world", the tabloid Newspaper started in 1843 and closed publication on 10th July 2011. In which year did Robert Murdochs News Corporation acquire it?

6. McLaren Formula 1 cars have the engine of which car manufacturing company?

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Qutopia-19
Section B
(2 Points for each correct answer)

Perspective 1. Identify this logo? Chlorophyll Qutopia DoMS-da-Evince Regardez I'economie

2. What connects Wipro, Britannia, Marico, Lakme ? 3. Unit Trust of India (UTI) is the first mutual Fund in India launched in 1963 by the government. Which was the first private sector mutual fund? 4. This is the index published by The Economist for measuring the Purchasing Power parity (PPP) between two currencies. Name this Index in which Indian Rupee is making its debut in July 2011. Answers to Qutopia 17 Answer: Section A
1.The Silk Route or the Silk Road 2. Sub-Prime Borrowers 3. Red-herring prospectus 4. Coal India and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries 5. Amitabh Ghosh 6. Aditya Birla Group

Answer: Section B:
1. Dr. Yaga Venugopal Reddy 2. Mauritius does not charge Capital Gains Tax, allowing FIIs to escape tax altogether 3. These are last 3P's of the Extended Marketing Mix or Service Marketing Mix 4. Monopolistic competition

Winner:
Udit Gupta (Batch 2010-2012) G.Manoj (Batch 2010-2012)

- Rajneesh Kumar DoMS, IIT Roorkee rajneeshkumar3@yahoo.co.in

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DoMS-da-Evince

Perspective Chlorophyll gies Limited? Qutopia DoMS-da-Evince Regardez I'economie ber team. vices?

This time in DoMS da Vince, we bring excerpts from an interview with Mr. Mahesh Bansal who is a dynamic and vibrant professional with over 10 years of experience. He is a management graduate in the field of finance and systems from DoMS, IIT Roorkee ( Batch 2001). He has worked with Lehman Brothers and is presently associated with NIIT Technologies.

1.) What were the roles and responsibilities while working with NIIT Technolo-

to manage when we are chasing a moving target which has become a common thing in IT world! 3.) How difficult was switching across various firms? What were the changes in the roles and responsibility? It was difficult but worth it. Changes have its pros and cons. Besides professional, personal considerations need to be taken into account before you take a dive. Changes give you chance to start afresh. I also got senior roles as I switched couple of firms during my career spanning a decade. 4.) How was the experience working with

I am working as BA and QA lead ensuring quality systems and processes for on boarding new clients with the help of a six memMy responsibilities also include mentoring less experienced colleagues, conducting trainings for enhancing domain knowledge and supporting business development. 2.) How has been your experience as IT Consultant in Banking and Financial Ser-

It has been mixed in terms of challenges. It requires a good base in both Finance and IT. With experience I have came to know how

Lehman Brothers? Environment at Lehman Brothers was highly

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DoMS-da-Evince
charged with tight deadlines. I had worked for it during 2003-04 which was an excellent exposure early in my career. It was my first assignment in USA. boosted my confidence. My stint there honed my skills greatly and significantly 7.) How has DoMS, IIT Roorkee contributed in your success? 5.) What challenges did you face working as Business Analyst at SEI Investments? SEI has been building and enhancing a global wealth management product at a scale no-one has done earlier ever. Its product includes over ten third party systems which are best in their respective area. Offering such a system under one umbrella involves a lot of complexities. Main challenge in my role at SEI was integration between systems. With third party systems 8.) Any message for the readers, especially the current batches of DoMS? Try to stay out of your comfort zone and keep evolving! . Develop your soft skills (communication skills, dealing with people at all level etc.) 6.) What has been the most challenging as they are crucial for your sustainable growth. I know current batches would be anxious I think role at Lehman Brother where I was involved in integration of Neuberger systems with Lehmans system was the most challenging one. It gave me all sorts of experience, as a business analyst to a project about future. However, I have witnessed that sooner or later things work out for good. So dont let stress overwhelm you affecting your health and performance. All the luck!!
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Perspective Chlorophyll Qutopia DoMS-da-Evince Regardez I'economie

manager. It included working with people who were uncertain about there future after the acquisition. I had to deal with human aspect too besides the technical angle.

I had specialized in Finance and System while at DoMS and got the first break ( read placed) from there in the current field. So DoMS, IIT Roorkee gave me the necessary base where I stand today. I believe it continues to provide a good platform for building oneself. However it is more of a facilitator and it is up to us, what maximum we extract out of it !

built and enhanced independently, it was challenging to bring about integration in all aspects. Many a times we needed to settle with a compromise though acceptable to all stakeholders!

role in your career so far?

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Regardez I'economie

Perspective Chlorophyll Qutopia DoMS-da-Evince Regardez I'economie

In this edition, we delve into the major economic activities of July2011 that had an impact on Indian economy

Last month saw the announcements of the 1 st Quarterly results of India Inc. for the financial year 2011-12 and as always, investors waited in anticipation for the announcement of the results of most lovable stock on the Sensex which is none other than Infosys Technologies, also popularly called as the bellwether of Indian IT Industry despite being number two in terms of volume behind the largest software service provider, TCS and as usual, was the first to announce its quarterly results ahead of TCS and Wipro. Infosys plunged more than four per cent on bourses as the company's first quarter results for this quarter lagged market estimates and the future guidance by the company regarding its financial performance was also not very optimistic owing to concerns in the Euro zone. It also saw its first quarter profit fall

by 5.3% compared to the fourth quarter of last year whereas TCS posted a 28 per cent rise in quarterly net profit to Rs 23.8 billion ($535 million) and revenue rose 31 per cent to Rs 107.97 billion. While Infosys raised concerns on demand ahead for outsourcing because of economic uncertainties in the top markets of US and Europe, TCS denied any such trend. Analysts are of the view that TCS might well replace Infy as the countrys IT bellwether going by the performances of the two companies in the last few quarters. The RBI, in its monetary policy, once again hiked the key interest rates. This time by 50 basis points or by 0.5% (100 basis points = 1 percentage point) and this was the 11th time in the last one year or so that the rates have seen the upward spiral. RBI, it seems, is ready to compromise on the economic growth in order

to contain the head-line inflation, which this Government is just not being able to control. With this hike, the current repo rate (rate at which RBI lends to the banks) stands at 8% while the reverse repo rate was also hiked by the same amount and now stands at 7%. It seems that the rate hike is bearing some fruit, though minimal, as cheaper pulses pulled down food inflation to its lowest in 20 months at 7.33% for the week ended July 16 even as prices of potatoes, onions, fruits and milk hit household pockets. Inflation stood at 7.58% in the previous week. It seems that the Indian stock market is beginning to take the blasts in its stride as the BSE rose 0.1% to 18618.20, after falling early to 18449.23. Of the 30 Sensex constituents, 18 ended higher in the next trading session after the blasts. The Sensex is seeing serious
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Regardez I'economie
despite increasing inflation, tariffs have been falling unabated. Continuously declining margins, high 3G and BWA auction prices, constrained spectrum and rural roll-out aspirations left them with little choice but to make some price corrections. The tariff cuts dented the profitability of most mobile phone companies in the 14-player market, but also saw the sector add over 400 million new customers in the past 2-3 years. On the international front, a lot has taken place over the last 15 days or so. To an extent that it has left everybody thinking from leaders to economists to financial institutions to bankers to brokers to students and the best part is nobody is sure of what to expect in the near future and how the markets worldwide are going to behave after the Worlds leading Rating agency S&P downgraded the US rating by a notch from the coveted AAA to AA+, which is for the first time in the history of the United States that it has seen its rating downgraded which implies that even the US isnt a totally risk-free borrower anymore, thereby sending the stock market into a tailspin and causing a sharp rally in the Treasury market. Stocks were hit hard on Monday the 8th of August as the Dow and NASDAQ both fell by triple digits after the Standard & Poors downgrade of the U.S. credit rating Friday. The Dow slipped 634 points to 10.809, the S&P fell 80 points to 1,119 and the NAS DAQ co mp o s it e dropped 175 points to 2,358. Taking a look at how the Indian markets reacted to the downgrade, the investors in India were left poorer by over Rs 1.33 lakh crore after Friday's stock market crash, even as the market managed to recover nearly half of the losses suffered earlier during the day. The benchmark

Perspective Chlorophyll Qutopia DoMS-da-Evince Regardez I'economie

resistance at around 18800 level as it has mostly remained in the 18300 18800 range all throughout July, wherein bears are mostly holding the guard. It seems that the ever declining margins in the Indian telecom sector has comp e l l e d companies to hike the call tariffs after a long, long time as Bharti Airtel, the largest telecom operator by subscriber base, raised rates for pre-paid users by 20 per cent for certain packages across several circles and the move was quickly followed by its closest rivals Vodafone and Idea. India is the worlds secondlargest mobile market after China. In the past few years, it witnessed a cut-throat tariff war which led to the boom in the sector and one of the lowest call rates in the world. Telecom is probably the only industry where,

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Regardez I'economie

Perspective Chlorophyll Qutopia DoMS-da-Evince Regardez I'economie

Sensex had plunged over 700 points to below the 17,000-point level. However, the markets managed to recover nearly half of the losses and some buying at lower levels in afternoon trade helped the Sensex close 387.31 points down at 17,305.87. In Europe, on July 21, an emergency summit of European leaders of the 17nation euro-currency area agreed to a second Greek bailout (Mark II), comprising two key elements: (i) the debt exchange (holders of 135 billion euros in Greek debt maturing up to 2020 will voluntarily accept new bonds of up to 15 to 30 years); and (ii) new loans of 109 billion euros (through its bailout fund and the

IMF). Overall, Greek debt would fall by 26 billion euros from its total outstanding of 350 billion euros. By mid-July, the Greek debt drama had become a full-blown euro-zone crisis. Policy makers' efforts to insulate other countries from a Greek default, notably Italy and Spain, have failed. another. The crisis it has was lurched from one scare to First, Greece, then Ireland, then Portugal; and then back to Greece. Financial markets in desperation turned to Italy, the euro-zone's third largest economy, with the biggest sovereign debt market in Europe. It has 1.9 trillion euros of sovereign debt outstanding (120% of its GDP), three times as

much as Greece, Ireland and Portugal combined. Well, since the global economy is entirely intertwined, so the news from the US and the Euro-zone is definitely a cause of concern for the Indian economy, even though India has least representation in their debt markets but the situation could have a slowing effect on the economy, which is why the Government of India should keep an open eye on these fronts and should act in a proactive manner instead of waiting till the last resort.

- Mukesh Rathi DoMS, IIT Roorkee Mukesh_rathi_18@yahoo.co.in

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The Team
Shruti Goel Anuj Mody Chetna Yadav Anirudh De Deep Pathak Harsh Singh Mukesh Rathi Pallavi Rajneesh Kumar Rohini Sharma Rishi Arora Udit Gupta Sudeep Dakua

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