Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Thursday, December 25, 2008
AN YEAR OF ECONOMIC WORRIES ENDS: WHAT'S NEXT?
An year ends. But now we cannot say it as simple as we had said earlier. For the year was an year of economic worries all over the world. People have been talking about recession and even depression for months and the talking is still on. Global economic slowdown is the term which everybody is talking about. In Indian point of view the year passes is an year of ups and downs. Indian markets peaked and recorded new heights in the same year and when the financial tsunami started to hit Indian bourses we just watched fingers crossed how Indian indices go down and down which was a cause of worry for almost every sector.
In January this year Bombay stock exchange index sensex touched an all time high of 21,207 and the National stock exchange index nifty touched it’s peak of 6357. Which are now hovering around 9000+ and 2900+ respectively.Once the indices were above 60 percent down. The Indian industry was in a good mood and people started spending money like anything. This was a period of economic boom. People all over the country thought that India is going to become a major economic power. Tata started it’s Nano car project in singur, West Bengal which the company claimed that would benefit the millions in the country especially the middle class society. As Rathan Tata said their dream of owing a car will be a reality. (But Mamtha Banerjee stood between Tata and West Bengal government and as a result Tata’a were forced to close the plant in singur and they had moved to Gujarath). This particular incident throws light to the fact that political parties in this country are using anything and everything for cheap political gains.
After the January peak Indian stock market indices started to fall continuously. Many traders who had invested in stocks during the peak time suffered a lot. At first everybody in the financial sector of the company thought that the falling was due to the increase in Inflation figures. As a result of more and more money came in to the market the prices of commodities, including agriculture and other necessary items skyrocketed. Whole sale price Index based inflation increased rapidly and it crossed double digit finally it touched the recent record level of 12.91. At these juncture the then Finance minister P.Chidambaram took curative measures against it. And then RBI governor Y.V Reddy helped him a lot to achieve the target of bringing down inflation figures.
The Government first said huge inflation numbers were the effect of hike in crude oil prices. This was true to some extent. But it was not the lone cause. Agriculture activities around the world in general and in India in particular are not doing well. We had shut our eyes for the news related to farmer suicide. Along with the slow down in agriculture sector the hike in fuel price was the major villain for the increase in inflation figures. Crude oil prices touched an all time high of $147 per barrel in July this year. Before that Govt increased domestic fuel prices. This also resulted in an increase of inflation numbers.
The indices fell down and down in all these months. Analysts believed that this was the result of high oil price and inflation figures. But this was only partially true. The actual culprit behind the curtain was sub prime crisis. This was a necessary evil of mad liberalization. The prophets of liberalization had never foreseen the evil. The devil started it’s journey from US and is still traveling aroung the world. The country called Iceland lost it’s all valuables including faith due to this devil. A country almost vanished from the economic map of the world. This was the immediate effect of the crisis.
More than a century old Bank in US Lehman brothers collapsed and many other prestigious institutes faced bankruptancy and some are about to face the same. Famous indices around the world including Dow jones melted to more than half from it’s peak. World is heading towards a recession that was the moral extracted from all these incidents.
So many millions around the world lost their jobs. Many companies closed their shutters on jobseekers and down sizing happened on a large scale. The most visible incident in India was the mass termination by Jet airways but after hours of high drama they all were absorbed again. Indian BPO companies are in huge trouble. Professional degree holders are looking at a bleak future. In general this is the situation around the world.
What’s Next?
Now the most important question is what’s next?. Is the crisis over or is it here to stay. No body can give a clear cut answer in this regard. Some are saying that the worst is over. But some are of the opinion that it has not started affecting India. One more different opinion is there which says we are in recession and it will take 2-3 years to overcome the crisis.
When Barack Obama will take the rein of US in January some are of the view that some good will happen in US and in the world. ( His campaign word was ‘Change’ which is needed at this point of time). In Indian situation the end days of UPA government is near. It will complete it’s term in May. India is also going to elect a new team to govern them. Whoever comes the great challenge before them would be to tackle the crisis and to bring back confidence to investors. India is a country with mixed economy. We have our own regulating bodies. Our companies are well regulated ones so far. But when the whole world is suffering from fever we will definitely shiver but to what extent that we can decide at least.
Thanks to our national builders. This shows that we can survive at this situation too. Only thing is that our leadership should work accordingly. So that we can survive in a better way and can become a major economy after the days of recession.
In January this year Bombay stock exchange index sensex touched an all time high of 21,207 and the National stock exchange index nifty touched it’s peak of 6357. Which are now hovering around 9000+ and 2900+ respectively.Once the indices were above 60 percent down. The Indian industry was in a good mood and people started spending money like anything. This was a period of economic boom. People all over the country thought that India is going to become a major economic power. Tata started it’s Nano car project in singur, West Bengal which the company claimed that would benefit the millions in the country especially the middle class society. As Rathan Tata said their dream of owing a car will be a reality. (But Mamtha Banerjee stood between Tata and West Bengal government and as a result Tata’a were forced to close the plant in singur and they had moved to Gujarath). This particular incident throws light to the fact that political parties in this country are using anything and everything for cheap political gains.
After the January peak Indian stock market indices started to fall continuously. Many traders who had invested in stocks during the peak time suffered a lot. At first everybody in the financial sector of the company thought that the falling was due to the increase in Inflation figures. As a result of more and more money came in to the market the prices of commodities, including agriculture and other necessary items skyrocketed. Whole sale price Index based inflation increased rapidly and it crossed double digit finally it touched the recent record level of 12.91. At these juncture the then Finance minister P.Chidambaram took curative measures against it. And then RBI governor Y.V Reddy helped him a lot to achieve the target of bringing down inflation figures.
The Government first said huge inflation numbers were the effect of hike in crude oil prices. This was true to some extent. But it was not the lone cause. Agriculture activities around the world in general and in India in particular are not doing well. We had shut our eyes for the news related to farmer suicide. Along with the slow down in agriculture sector the hike in fuel price was the major villain for the increase in inflation figures. Crude oil prices touched an all time high of $147 per barrel in July this year. Before that Govt increased domestic fuel prices. This also resulted in an increase of inflation numbers.
The indices fell down and down in all these months. Analysts believed that this was the result of high oil price and inflation figures. But this was only partially true. The actual culprit behind the curtain was sub prime crisis. This was a necessary evil of mad liberalization. The prophets of liberalization had never foreseen the evil. The devil started it’s journey from US and is still traveling aroung the world. The country called Iceland lost it’s all valuables including faith due to this devil. A country almost vanished from the economic map of the world. This was the immediate effect of the crisis.
More than a century old Bank in US Lehman brothers collapsed and many other prestigious institutes faced bankruptancy and some are about to face the same. Famous indices around the world including Dow jones melted to more than half from it’s peak. World is heading towards a recession that was the moral extracted from all these incidents.
So many millions around the world lost their jobs. Many companies closed their shutters on jobseekers and down sizing happened on a large scale. The most visible incident in India was the mass termination by Jet airways but after hours of high drama they all were absorbed again. Indian BPO companies are in huge trouble. Professional degree holders are looking at a bleak future. In general this is the situation around the world.
What’s Next?
Now the most important question is what’s next?. Is the crisis over or is it here to stay. No body can give a clear cut answer in this regard. Some are saying that the worst is over. But some are of the opinion that it has not started affecting India. One more different opinion is there which says we are in recession and it will take 2-3 years to overcome the crisis.
When Barack Obama will take the rein of US in January some are of the view that some good will happen in US and in the world. ( His campaign word was ‘Change’ which is needed at this point of time). In Indian situation the end days of UPA government is near. It will complete it’s term in May. India is also going to elect a new team to govern them. Whoever comes the great challenge before them would be to tackle the crisis and to bring back confidence to investors. India is a country with mixed economy. We have our own regulating bodies. Our companies are well regulated ones so far. But when the whole world is suffering from fever we will definitely shiver but to what extent that we can decide at least.
Thanks to our national builders. This shows that we can survive at this situation too. Only thing is that our leadership should work accordingly. So that we can survive in a better way and can become a major economy after the days of recession.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
MUMBAI BLAST:A DOUBLE TRAUMA
As our prime minister Dr.Manmohan sigh said earlier terrorism is a crime against humanity. It is a disease wich affect the growth of human race. From a contry’s perspective it is of double effect. First upon it arises insecure feeling among people secondlyI will affect badly on the country’s economy. Days before home minister of India Mr.Shivraj Patil said that each state should set up anti terrorist groups to tackle terrorist activities in the country. The time has come to think seriously about the menace. The prevailing situation now in India is that whenever a Blast happens all political parties will line up to blame the government in the centre. This is not to be done. Of course there may be faults from their side but blaming each other would not give any solution to a problem. Now the BJP leadership wants to reimpliment POTTA the congress government in the state is against it. The are saying that the laws are sufficient to tackle terrorism. But nowadays no baody can agree with it. The serial blasts occurred in many parts of the country recently had proved that some strict laws should be needed.
After all political dramas the truth is crystal clear. India is definitely a target of terrorists. The same situation will continue as it is.
Thank God Exchanges are closed
After the serial blasts in Mumbai (Blasts are continuing at the time of writing this article also) both the stock exchanges NSE (National stock exchange) and BSE (Bombay stock exchange) closed for Thursday. Exchanges are the very sensitive institutions in the country where even a small news is affected. If it were open definitely there will be a downward trend in the market which is already down due to global financial crisis. Yesterday (26th Nov )sensex closed 331 points up which was a great relief for the investors. Sensex also crossed the important level 9000. But due to the panic situation arised because of the blasts the indices will go down further and would wipe out all the gains residued yesterday.
There were reports that the Great Indian bull Mr.Rakesh Jhunjhunwala said that markets should have been opened today I disagree with him.
Double trauma for the country
Mumbai serial blast is a double trauma for the country as a whole which is already facing difficult financial condition. Due to the global melt down Indian stocks are badly hit. After all assurances from the ministers the situation is still bleak. Aviation industry is in big trouble. People had lost their jobs or are going to loose their jobs. Salary cut and retrenchment happens on a day today baisis. Job aspirants are sitting fingers crossed with their appointment letter with out being informed when to join.
Markets are down from it’s January peak. Investors had lost huge money due to global financial turmoil. The world is in recession and no exit signal for India from the situation. People of India, as a part of an emerging economy, are suffering from the illness of financial crisis. News about serial blasts are coming at the same time. This a double trauma for the people and for the market as well.
When we heard about Sep-11 we thought that it will only happen in US. Then it was in UK and other developed countries. Then we thought that terrorists will target only developed countries. But we faced the same situation we realized that it is a global disease. But we were unfortunate that now it is happening in India in a large scale.
Some immediate steps should be taken to tackle the situation. It is the duty of political leadership to inject confidence and a sense of security among people and it is not easy. The topics which need attention are terrorism and financial crisis. Financial meltdown is a global situation and a little can be done in this regard. But as far as terrorism is concerned it is a domestic menace to a large extent.
Political machinery should work properly and effectively to control the situation. Parties should unite to manage the crisis. It is not the duty of a single party it is the duty of the country as a whole.
After all political dramas the truth is crystal clear. India is definitely a target of terrorists. The same situation will continue as it is.
Thank God Exchanges are closed
After the serial blasts in Mumbai (Blasts are continuing at the time of writing this article also) both the stock exchanges NSE (National stock exchange) and BSE (Bombay stock exchange) closed for Thursday. Exchanges are the very sensitive institutions in the country where even a small news is affected. If it were open definitely there will be a downward trend in the market which is already down due to global financial crisis. Yesterday (26th Nov )sensex closed 331 points up which was a great relief for the investors. Sensex also crossed the important level 9000. But due to the panic situation arised because of the blasts the indices will go down further and would wipe out all the gains residued yesterday.
There were reports that the Great Indian bull Mr.Rakesh Jhunjhunwala said that markets should have been opened today I disagree with him.
Double trauma for the country
Mumbai serial blast is a double trauma for the country as a whole which is already facing difficult financial condition. Due to the global melt down Indian stocks are badly hit. After all assurances from the ministers the situation is still bleak. Aviation industry is in big trouble. People had lost their jobs or are going to loose their jobs. Salary cut and retrenchment happens on a day today baisis. Job aspirants are sitting fingers crossed with their appointment letter with out being informed when to join.
Markets are down from it’s January peak. Investors had lost huge money due to global financial turmoil. The world is in recession and no exit signal for India from the situation. People of India, as a part of an emerging economy, are suffering from the illness of financial crisis. News about serial blasts are coming at the same time. This a double trauma for the people and for the market as well.
When we heard about Sep-11 we thought that it will only happen in US. Then it was in UK and other developed countries. Then we thought that terrorists will target only developed countries. But we faced the same situation we realized that it is a global disease. But we were unfortunate that now it is happening in India in a large scale.
Some immediate steps should be taken to tackle the situation. It is the duty of political leadership to inject confidence and a sense of security among people and it is not easy. The topics which need attention are terrorism and financial crisis. Financial meltdown is a global situation and a little can be done in this regard. But as far as terrorism is concerned it is a domestic menace to a large extent.
Political machinery should work properly and effectively to control the situation. Parties should unite to manage the crisis. It is not the duty of a single party it is the duty of the country as a whole.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Monday, November 17, 2008
FINANCIAL CRISIS AND THE ROLE OF MEDIA
Sensationalism is the key word of Indian media now days. Whether it is of celebrities or of aam admi media will treat the news in a festival mood. The victims of these sensationalism will be sometimes innocent people when they found themselves as criminals (so is the influence of media in India) they can’t bear the pain. Only the fittest will survive. Role of media is very important in a democratic system. It’s considered as the fourth pillar of the democratic system. When the media frequency is high the sensibility of people to smell a crime will increase.
But what is news after that. Today news is something which provokes readership or viewer ship. In another word we can say that in India news is like a bollywood masala. When you add more and more recepies to it the visibility becomes higher. In my opinion these types of news only generate panic among people. Panic people take decisions out of their heart not out of their mind. The rational thinking will be lost.
Recent financial crisis and role of media
Presently the world is on recession. Stock markets across the world plunged. Investors and traders are selling their stocks on a loss. To a large extent I believe the situation has created by the media. When we take the case of newspapers they need huge headlines on a daily basis. Be it a brutal murder or be it an explosion or a stock market crash. They treat the story with the same mind set. In this process of sensationalism a large amount of truth will be lost.
When the media gives more space to stock market crash and less place to curative measures they give wrong message to the readers. Readers are investors and as a result of this news they will sell their stocks on a loss and will cancel their trading account. Finally the stock markets will go down further. A balanced approach is needed when media deals with such highly sensitive news. Panic creation is not the duty of the media. All News papers are now views papers. But the view they project is related with their editorial policies so they can determine their stand much before the collection of news. It is their discretion that should they stand with the negative side or the positive side of an event. Market sentiment is highly sensitive and it will react to every fraction of news events. As markets are the mirrors of the financial situation of a country when deals with financial news the media should be more and more careful. (There is a direct relation between the markets and the media, when the market is up media will get more ad revenue when the market is down their ad revenue will be less, so be careful).
Regional Media
Role of regional media’s role in the current situation is crucial. As we seen in the recent past when anything related to market happens they will give huge bold headlines saying that it is over and they will write baseless editorials about the situation. Actually they are not trying to understand the situation. They may have only superficial knowledge about the financial situation in the country so they will write out of rumors. Actually investors with experience in the stock market will not give face to these types of gas but those who are in their early stage of investment will be influenced badly by such news. The lack of subject experts is the main problem to be addressed by the regional news papers. They should also give a balanced approach to the news also.
But what is news after that. Today news is something which provokes readership or viewer ship. In another word we can say that in India news is like a bollywood masala. When you add more and more recepies to it the visibility becomes higher. In my opinion these types of news only generate panic among people. Panic people take decisions out of their heart not out of their mind. The rational thinking will be lost.
Recent financial crisis and role of media
Presently the world is on recession. Stock markets across the world plunged. Investors and traders are selling their stocks on a loss. To a large extent I believe the situation has created by the media. When we take the case of newspapers they need huge headlines on a daily basis. Be it a brutal murder or be it an explosion or a stock market crash. They treat the story with the same mind set. In this process of sensationalism a large amount of truth will be lost.
When the media gives more space to stock market crash and less place to curative measures they give wrong message to the readers. Readers are investors and as a result of this news they will sell their stocks on a loss and will cancel their trading account. Finally the stock markets will go down further. A balanced approach is needed when media deals with such highly sensitive news. Panic creation is not the duty of the media. All News papers are now views papers. But the view they project is related with their editorial policies so they can determine their stand much before the collection of news. It is their discretion that should they stand with the negative side or the positive side of an event. Market sentiment is highly sensitive and it will react to every fraction of news events. As markets are the mirrors of the financial situation of a country when deals with financial news the media should be more and more careful. (There is a direct relation between the markets and the media, when the market is up media will get more ad revenue when the market is down their ad revenue will be less, so be careful).
Regional Media
Role of regional media’s role in the current situation is crucial. As we seen in the recent past when anything related to market happens they will give huge bold headlines saying that it is over and they will write baseless editorials about the situation. Actually they are not trying to understand the situation. They may have only superficial knowledge about the financial situation in the country so they will write out of rumors. Actually investors with experience in the stock market will not give face to these types of gas but those who are in their early stage of investment will be influenced badly by such news. The lack of subject experts is the main problem to be addressed by the regional news papers. They should also give a balanced approach to the news also.
A NEW WORLD ORDER SHOULD EMERGE
After all what is recession? It is a mix of all the worse ones we can expect or we had experienced in the past. It’s the shortage of money, food and increase in unemployment rate. When we look around we can see such types of news here and there. A large number of such news are coming from the west. But we Indians as a part of open economy are also facing similar problems. Our IT and real estate sector are the ones which are worstly hit by the recent financial crisis. Our equity market also plunged FIIs are taking back their money on a daily basis from Indian share market as a result the crisis hits our economy harder.
Recently our Finance minister Mr. P Chidambaram said that the crisis will be over with in 9 months. But recent reports say that 15 European countries are hit by the crisis. Germany , a giant announced that they are in recession. Reports say that tourism, real-estate and IT will be the major ones which may face huge trouble. Financial services sector will also be affected by the crisis. As a curative measure govt had taken so many steps including bank rate cuts. But the effect of which only lasted for few days. These measures helped the market to cross the 10,000 mark but soon it went down and now it’s at 9000.
G20 Summit and Aftermath
The G20 summit took place in Washington was a big step forward to ease the current financial crisis. Leaders of developed countries as well as developing countries participated in the summit. They discussed the present situation and said that they will take necessary steps to eliminate the crisis. There were reports that there was a difference of opinion between the US and the European union. Actually the world order now is headed by the US and European union. We can say Japan as an Asian representative. The decisions are taken by the US and EU. Like any other decisions they have to support their people. Their people means the people already living richness. Their life style is high and they have never experienced starvation as third world countries do.
As a result of the open up of the economy India is also suffering the pains of the east. But our mixed economy helped us a lot to minimize the effects of Global financial plunge. As our ministers saying, we have a well regulated system working in India. Our fundamentals are strong. To a large extent it is true. Our regulators helped us a lot to overcome the situation ( of course it is not over). We are protected, our investments are safe. (The drawback of it is when the crisis is over there will be no room for aggressive privatization in India. All the parties will object it. As a result the fund flow from abroad will decrease and it will affect the growth aspects of the country)
Our PM recently said that India will grow at a rate of 7.5% during the year. It’s a good sign compared to the current market situation. Also it reminds us about the measures should be taken to protect Indian investors. What America and other countries experienced is a lesson for us.
Emergence of a new world order
The present world order is in the favour of rich (arguably). After the second world war America became super power and the rich European nations came down to the second number. They made policies in order to increase wealth for Americans. As a result they started to explore the possibilities of Emerging economies. At the same time they as a team (consist of US and EU) eyed the oil and natural resources on Earth and through diplomatic ties and sometimes through wars they became authority of the places where there is natural wealth. When we analyze the situation we can understand that the trade agreements so far were in favour of rich people.
Emerging economies got a pie of the new order but the major portion went to the west. Globalization was a angel with bad qualities. Now the time has come. There are times when the lease will become most important. India’s domestic regulators are such kinds. The farmers the only people who can support human beings should be treated properly. A world which give China and India more powers and roles to perform. Remember one third of the world’s population is residing in this region of Earth. A Global financial regulator will not be helpful for all as the past says it will be in favour of the rich. Instead national regulators should be implemented. No country should impose their interests on other countries.
Every individual’s investments should be protected. Every country should be able to assure their people that their investments are same. Cultivation should be promoted across the globe. Thorough review of the situation is needed on a regular basis to avoid one more recession. After all world is for everyone. We all have the right to live.
Recently our Finance minister Mr. P Chidambaram said that the crisis will be over with in 9 months. But recent reports say that 15 European countries are hit by the crisis. Germany , a giant announced that they are in recession. Reports say that tourism, real-estate and IT will be the major ones which may face huge trouble. Financial services sector will also be affected by the crisis. As a curative measure govt had taken so many steps including bank rate cuts. But the effect of which only lasted for few days. These measures helped the market to cross the 10,000 mark but soon it went down and now it’s at 9000.
G20 Summit and Aftermath
The G20 summit took place in Washington was a big step forward to ease the current financial crisis. Leaders of developed countries as well as developing countries participated in the summit. They discussed the present situation and said that they will take necessary steps to eliminate the crisis. There were reports that there was a difference of opinion between the US and the European union. Actually the world order now is headed by the US and European union. We can say Japan as an Asian representative. The decisions are taken by the US and EU. Like any other decisions they have to support their people. Their people means the people already living richness. Their life style is high and they have never experienced starvation as third world countries do.
As a result of the open up of the economy India is also suffering the pains of the east. But our mixed economy helped us a lot to minimize the effects of Global financial plunge. As our ministers saying, we have a well regulated system working in India. Our fundamentals are strong. To a large extent it is true. Our regulators helped us a lot to overcome the situation ( of course it is not over). We are protected, our investments are safe. (The drawback of it is when the crisis is over there will be no room for aggressive privatization in India. All the parties will object it. As a result the fund flow from abroad will decrease and it will affect the growth aspects of the country)
Our PM recently said that India will grow at a rate of 7.5% during the year. It’s a good sign compared to the current market situation. Also it reminds us about the measures should be taken to protect Indian investors. What America and other countries experienced is a lesson for us.
Emergence of a new world order
The present world order is in the favour of rich (arguably). After the second world war America became super power and the rich European nations came down to the second number. They made policies in order to increase wealth for Americans. As a result they started to explore the possibilities of Emerging economies. At the same time they as a team (consist of US and EU) eyed the oil and natural resources on Earth and through diplomatic ties and sometimes through wars they became authority of the places where there is natural wealth. When we analyze the situation we can understand that the trade agreements so far were in favour of rich people.
Emerging economies got a pie of the new order but the major portion went to the west. Globalization was a angel with bad qualities. Now the time has come. There are times when the lease will become most important. India’s domestic regulators are such kinds. The farmers the only people who can support human beings should be treated properly. A world which give China and India more powers and roles to perform. Remember one third of the world’s population is residing in this region of Earth. A Global financial regulator will not be helpful for all as the past says it will be in favour of the rich. Instead national regulators should be implemented. No country should impose their interests on other countries.
Every individual’s investments should be protected. Every country should be able to assure their people that their investments are same. Cultivation should be promoted across the globe. Thorough review of the situation is needed on a regular basis to avoid one more recession. After all world is for everyone. We all have the right to live.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Monday, November 10, 2008
PASSION FOR FASHION: AN UNTOLD STORY
Madhur Bhandarkar’s latest film Fashion tells the story of an ambition. Like his earlier movies this movie also deals with an untold story. Fashion tells the deglamorised world behind the dazzing fashion world . We can easily findout the plot from the sad story of Geetanjali Nagal. Once Geetanjali was a queen on the ramp. But finally she ends up in street. This is the story behind the characterization of Shonali, the super model played by Kangana Ranault. Priyanka Chopra, the heroiene in the movie is an ambitious lady from Chandigarh who wants to become Shonali. The film tells about the sacrifies of Meghna Mathur, character played by Priyanka Chopra, to fulfill her ambitions.
Though the film ends positively by showing Priyanka on the ramps of paris it arises some serious questions about Fashion world. Some where in the movie one of the models says that they are like slaves. In the fashion world designer assumes the power of king. He orders and the models should obey it. Once Meghna (Priyanka) questions the superiority of the designer as a result she is expelled from the show.
In a way the the film gives a negative impact that one has to sacrifice much for to be there in the ramp. And there is politics also. It can be termed as ‘flesh politics’. When the story of the movie progresses Meghna Mathur becomes a super model and she is falling in an extramarital relationship with her boss. When she become pregnant he reminds her about the contract she had signed earlier. Which didn’t allow her to become a mother. She underwent abortion. When she reveals about this to the wife of her boss her contract is terminated and she is replaced by someone else. Meghna becomes drug addict. But when she realizes the hard facts she leaves Mumbai and returns home.
The second question is that should the conditions in the contract become so brute?( It is shown that Meghna cannot read the contract details fully which is bundle in size.But it is not an excuse. The contract should be simple). Airhostess of earlier days had faced the same problems. They fought against it and finally got justice. But in this picture it has not taken seriously. It is mentioned along with the flow of the movie. In this movie models are pictured as chain smokers and drug addicts. It is like their routine. If this is the present situation it should be taken seriously. It throws light to the dark side of the character of models.
Why they all are characterless? One of the reason for it is their life style or the wars they fought to become there made them so. It is a more serious problem and gives wrong message to aspiring models.
Some Disagreements
Through the movie fashion Madhur Bhandarkar tells the story of a girl who wants to become a super model. After struggles and sacrifices she fulfills her ambition. The movie also tells the story of Shonali, who is a supermodel. But at last Shonali ends up in death by consuming overdose of drugs. Actually Fashion tells struggling story in the fashion world. But what happens to models when they are old? Modeling is a profession in which charm of your body is the only investment. When the glow dims you have to walk away from ramp. What will happen to these retired models? I think some research is needed in this regard. Bhandarker should have told about this situation also.
Another drawback is that editing is not well. Through the length of the movie could be reduced. Some scenes are boring. Some are struck with over expressions. Except all these odds Fashion is a realistic movie. Kankana is superb, Priyanka is only above average.
Though the film ends positively by showing Priyanka on the ramps of paris it arises some serious questions about Fashion world. Some where in the movie one of the models says that they are like slaves. In the fashion world designer assumes the power of king. He orders and the models should obey it. Once Meghna (Priyanka) questions the superiority of the designer as a result she is expelled from the show.
In a way the the film gives a negative impact that one has to sacrifice much for to be there in the ramp. And there is politics also. It can be termed as ‘flesh politics’. When the story of the movie progresses Meghna Mathur becomes a super model and she is falling in an extramarital relationship with her boss. When she become pregnant he reminds her about the contract she had signed earlier. Which didn’t allow her to become a mother. She underwent abortion. When she reveals about this to the wife of her boss her contract is terminated and she is replaced by someone else. Meghna becomes drug addict. But when she realizes the hard facts she leaves Mumbai and returns home.
The second question is that should the conditions in the contract become so brute?( It is shown that Meghna cannot read the contract details fully which is bundle in size.But it is not an excuse. The contract should be simple). Airhostess of earlier days had faced the same problems. They fought against it and finally got justice. But in this picture it has not taken seriously. It is mentioned along with the flow of the movie. In this movie models are pictured as chain smokers and drug addicts. It is like their routine. If this is the present situation it should be taken seriously. It throws light to the dark side of the character of models.
Why they all are characterless? One of the reason for it is their life style or the wars they fought to become there made them so. It is a more serious problem and gives wrong message to aspiring models.
Some Disagreements
Through the movie fashion Madhur Bhandarkar tells the story of a girl who wants to become a super model. After struggles and sacrifices she fulfills her ambition. The movie also tells the story of Shonali, who is a supermodel. But at last Shonali ends up in death by consuming overdose of drugs. Actually Fashion tells struggling story in the fashion world. But what happens to models when they are old? Modeling is a profession in which charm of your body is the only investment. When the glow dims you have to walk away from ramp. What will happen to these retired models? I think some research is needed in this regard. Bhandarker should have told about this situation also.
Another drawback is that editing is not well. Through the length of the movie could be reduced. Some scenes are boring. Some are struck with over expressions. Except all these odds Fashion is a realistic movie. Kankana is superb, Priyanka is only above average.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
DEPRECIATING RUPEE AND INDIAN ECONOMY
Depreciating rupee and Indian Economy
It’s a recession when your neighbor loses his job,
It’s a depression when you lose yours
Harry S Truman
Now a days everybody is talking about recession. Economic headlines has become routine item in newspapers. All are discussing about global financial meltdown. Before the fall of October the topic for discussion was skyrocketing crude oil price, which had touched an all time high of $147 per barrel in July this year. Inflation was also a yesteryear topic of discussion.
When the sub prime mortgage crisis started to show it’s symptoms last year nobody would have imagined that it will cause this much panic. Now the financial system of whole world has been changed. World leaders are trying to alleviate the effects of financial turmoil. Investors across the globe are selling their stocks on loss. A major portion of investors have incurred marginal loss.( They will not come back in resent future).But in addition to all these one more problem has been arised, it is the depreciation of Indian rupee.
Some facts and figures:
Indian currency, the rupee, is not a prominent one in the world. But it is a currency used by the people of a dynamic economy not only that it is the currency used by the people of the second most growing economy in the world. By and large equity market meltdown is the villain of the story of rupee depreciation. On January 2008 Indian equity market touched an all time peak of 21,000+. FIIs (Foreign Institutional Investors) played a key role in shaping the Indian equity market to that gigantic level.
But from the next month onwards the Indian equity market had started it’s downturn and when months passed it registered new lows in terms of indices. The market value of some major scrips have almost halved. In this calendar year, so far, FIIs have withdrawn $1200 crore from Indian share market. Despite all confidence building measures regulators can not stop the outflow of money from Indian equities. This was a major reason for the depreciation of Indian rupee. Major currencies are losing their strength when you take the world as a whole. For eg Great Britain’s Pound recorded a five year low recently. Euro and Japan’s Yen are struggling to feel their presence.
If we take the case of Indian rupee in particular it had depreciated to a record intra day low level of 50.50 against dollar on 24 Oct 08 and closed at a rate of 49.95 which is also an all time high. This depreciation streak continued for 8 days. Government as always assured that it is reviewing the situation closely. Despite all assurances the situation is still bleak.
At the beginning of 21st century rupee was at a level of 43.48 against dollar. It depreciated to a low level of 46.75 at the end of 2000. During 2001 the rate of Indian rupee against dollar was in the range of 46.66-48.18. The same situation continued in 2002 also. Rupee was at the rate of 47.99 against dollar in the beginning of 2003 against dollar and started depreciating. During 2004,05,06 rupee didn’t show much depreciation. It was in the range of 45-44.
On second January 07 we had to give 44.20 Rs to fetch one dollar. Fortunately 2007 was also a good year for equities. FIIs started pumping huge money into Indian share market. Actually they realized the untapped potential of Indian equity market. As a result of this the dollar had lost it’s demand and the golden period of Indian rupee arised. On 20th September 07 rupee touched an all time great level against dollar ie, 39.87. After 3 months it has recorded another appreciated level of 39.41. At the beginning of 2008 we had to give 39.42 Rs to get one dollar. But soon after one month rupee crossed 40 level and started depreciating further. After 8 months it had touched an all time low rate of 50.50 against the US currency.
Asian Scenario:
In the year 2007, as mentioned earlier it was a golden time for Asia, particularly for India and China. But as a result of sub prime crisis in United States and in some European countries the situation worsened. FIIs started pulling out money from Indian shares. Indian share market plunged and share prices returned to the prices five years before. When FIIs pulled out money from Indian Equities they immediately converted Indian ruppe to dollar. As a result of this the demand for dollar increased and rupee depreciated. Although the domestic conditions in US is not very good, European countries and Japan also witnessing the same problem. Apparently the strength of US dollar increased.
In Asian situation only Japanese Yen is fighting well against dollar and it had recorded 16% increase in valuation against dollar in recent past. (The valuation is from Jan 08 to Oct 08). During this period the worst hit currency in the Asian region is South Korea’s Won which depreciated 47.24% so far. The second worst hit currency is Pakistan’s rupee which had recorded 33.70 percentage degradation. Indian rupee is the third worstly hit currency in the region, the percentage is 11.44. Unlike China and GCC countries India is a major importer in the Asian region, particularly oil. Almost 75 percentage of our oil needs are satisfied through import.
In this regard rupee depreciation is a major problem and should be tackled properly. When rupee depreciated importers have to give more money to get enough dollar to pay the bill. There should be some standard in the exchange rate. On October 10 the forex reserve of India have fallen from $316 billion dollar to $274 billion dollar. RBI has sold about $42 billion to give strength to Indian rupee. Some more measures should be needed to tackle the situation.
If the confidence in the stock market is back rupee will bounce back. FIIs will park their money in Indian bourses. We can hope that this will happen in the recent future. After all currency is the back bone of every economy. Some sustainable measures is the need of present.
It’s a recession when your neighbor loses his job,
It’s a depression when you lose yours
Harry S Truman
Now a days everybody is talking about recession. Economic headlines has become routine item in newspapers. All are discussing about global financial meltdown. Before the fall of October the topic for discussion was skyrocketing crude oil price, which had touched an all time high of $147 per barrel in July this year. Inflation was also a yesteryear topic of discussion.
When the sub prime mortgage crisis started to show it’s symptoms last year nobody would have imagined that it will cause this much panic. Now the financial system of whole world has been changed. World leaders are trying to alleviate the effects of financial turmoil. Investors across the globe are selling their stocks on loss. A major portion of investors have incurred marginal loss.( They will not come back in resent future).But in addition to all these one more problem has been arised, it is the depreciation of Indian rupee.
Some facts and figures:
Indian currency, the rupee, is not a prominent one in the world. But it is a currency used by the people of a dynamic economy not only that it is the currency used by the people of the second most growing economy in the world. By and large equity market meltdown is the villain of the story of rupee depreciation. On January 2008 Indian equity market touched an all time peak of 21,000+. FIIs (Foreign Institutional Investors) played a key role in shaping the Indian equity market to that gigantic level.
But from the next month onwards the Indian equity market had started it’s downturn and when months passed it registered new lows in terms of indices. The market value of some major scrips have almost halved. In this calendar year, so far, FIIs have withdrawn $1200 crore from Indian share market. Despite all confidence building measures regulators can not stop the outflow of money from Indian equities. This was a major reason for the depreciation of Indian rupee. Major currencies are losing their strength when you take the world as a whole. For eg Great Britain’s Pound recorded a five year low recently. Euro and Japan’s Yen are struggling to feel their presence.
If we take the case of Indian rupee in particular it had depreciated to a record intra day low level of 50.50 against dollar on 24 Oct 08 and closed at a rate of 49.95 which is also an all time high. This depreciation streak continued for 8 days. Government as always assured that it is reviewing the situation closely. Despite all assurances the situation is still bleak.
At the beginning of 21st century rupee was at a level of 43.48 against dollar. It depreciated to a low level of 46.75 at the end of 2000. During 2001 the rate of Indian rupee against dollar was in the range of 46.66-48.18. The same situation continued in 2002 also. Rupee was at the rate of 47.99 against dollar in the beginning of 2003 against dollar and started depreciating. During 2004,05,06 rupee didn’t show much depreciation. It was in the range of 45-44.
On second January 07 we had to give 44.20 Rs to fetch one dollar. Fortunately 2007 was also a good year for equities. FIIs started pumping huge money into Indian share market. Actually they realized the untapped potential of Indian equity market. As a result of this the dollar had lost it’s demand and the golden period of Indian rupee arised. On 20th September 07 rupee touched an all time great level against dollar ie, 39.87. After 3 months it has recorded another appreciated level of 39.41. At the beginning of 2008 we had to give 39.42 Rs to get one dollar. But soon after one month rupee crossed 40 level and started depreciating further. After 8 months it had touched an all time low rate of 50.50 against the US currency.
Asian Scenario:
In the year 2007, as mentioned earlier it was a golden time for Asia, particularly for India and China. But as a result of sub prime crisis in United States and in some European countries the situation worsened. FIIs started pulling out money from Indian shares. Indian share market plunged and share prices returned to the prices five years before. When FIIs pulled out money from Indian Equities they immediately converted Indian ruppe to dollar. As a result of this the demand for dollar increased and rupee depreciated. Although the domestic conditions in US is not very good, European countries and Japan also witnessing the same problem. Apparently the strength of US dollar increased.
In Asian situation only Japanese Yen is fighting well against dollar and it had recorded 16% increase in valuation against dollar in recent past. (The valuation is from Jan 08 to Oct 08). During this period the worst hit currency in the Asian region is South Korea’s Won which depreciated 47.24% so far. The second worst hit currency is Pakistan’s rupee which had recorded 33.70 percentage degradation. Indian rupee is the third worstly hit currency in the region, the percentage is 11.44. Unlike China and GCC countries India is a major importer in the Asian region, particularly oil. Almost 75 percentage of our oil needs are satisfied through import.
In this regard rupee depreciation is a major problem and should be tackled properly. When rupee depreciated importers have to give more money to get enough dollar to pay the bill. There should be some standard in the exchange rate. On October 10 the forex reserve of India have fallen from $316 billion dollar to $274 billion dollar. RBI has sold about $42 billion to give strength to Indian rupee. Some more measures should be needed to tackle the situation.
If the confidence in the stock market is back rupee will bounce back. FIIs will park their money in Indian bourses. We can hope that this will happen in the recent future. After all currency is the back bone of every economy. Some sustainable measures is the need of present.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Friday, October 3, 2008
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Monday, September 1, 2008
Harthal’s own country
Kerala is well wellknown for it’s biased stand towards politics. It is also known as a world famous tourist spot. Now the state has got one more feather, It ‘s full support to Harthals, strikes etc. Unfortunately when we take the alchohol consumption details, kerala will be there in the top spot.The state’s open-mindedness towards all political organizations adds shine to it’s glory.
Due to the media density in the state everyone is aware of everything.(It’s a common situation in the state that everyone can speak about everything either politics or science everybody acts as subject experts and has atleast two comments to say). When any of the parties or organizations call for a strike the strike sick people will give full support to it. They do take the advantage of celebrating an unexpected holiday.
Party supporters will be charged (physically) and take full control of the law and order. Actually a parallel law and order situation will arise in the state with full blessings from the respective party leadership.
Harthal’s are now a part of day today life of common man in Kerala. Harthal supporters do whatever they want to make the strike a huge success. But except these blind supporters there is a huge number of people who give mental support to all strikes, these group extends from students to public wokers who take full joy out of it. Nowadays the formula of harthal in Kerala is:Harthal=Liquor+Chicken+CD and it’s Harthal festival.
Kerala is famous for the number of public interest litigation cases. The situation is everyboby would like to oppose everything. But when it comes in the case of Harthal nobody is moving a finger.
Now a days Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has come againt Harthals.I think he has learned from the past mistakes of his party. If we take the case of singur agitation the ruling party is losing it’s face.Once they were prophets of strikes but when it comes to singur they burned it’s finger.Tata is now threatening the state of closing the Nano plany.But the other side of the story has a lesson to learn.A number of states called tata to open the Nano plant in their states.If they comes out from Singur definitely it sends wrong message to the world. Left parties now opposing the SEZ projects.They are saying that it’s like a state within a state.In a way it is true.But when we look through the eyes of a promoter it is safe.If you are struck with a strike outside they can resume their work and can make profit.
In my view every party should seek some alternate ways to protest. World has become global village and more investment is coming to developing countries.Harthals and strikes can only block the inflow, that is not in the interest of common man living in this country.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
LET THE BULL RUN CONTINUE
As our finance minister said recently US recession fears definitely affect Indian market.But he didnnot mention what steps he has taken to decrease the effect of US recession on Indian market. I think he definitely knows some of his proposals in the budget has got some bad effects on the market and so he doesnot want to mention that part.
Analysts say Indian market is no longer a bull market and they predict that the downrun will continue in recent months as well.
The proposals I mentioned earlier are the additional 5% tax on short term capital gain and the proposed implimentation of commodities transaction tax(CTT).I think these are the two proposals affected the Indian market badly.These proposals should be eliminated soon.And let the bull run continue in the Indian market
Analysts say Indian market is no longer a bull market and they predict that the downrun will continue in recent months as well.
The proposals I mentioned earlier are the additional 5% tax on short term capital gain and the proposed implimentation of commodities transaction tax(CTT).I think these are the two proposals affected the Indian market badly.These proposals should be eliminated soon.And let the bull run continue in the Indian market
Friday, January 25, 2008
another farmer strike
Erayamkudy;Name of another strike for land
kochi: The second land reforms act of the state of kerala is in a budding stage. Although hte protest against he exploitation of paddy fiels started much earlier. Like other states real estate boom is already in kerala. When smart city project became a reality land is more and more precious in this southenmost state. like other states in india farmers are a weak group in kerala also. In kerala fields have started to produce multy storey building and land mining has become a tough hurdle for the farmers.
Land mining especially for brick factories is concentrated in the middle of the state.ie, in Ernakulam and thrissur districts.Two struggles by the farmers came in to lime light last year. Those were muriyyad and erayamkudy strikes. Muriyyad strike was for proper irrigation facilities to the field. The neglegence of authorities ruined the fields in muriyyad. These fields were highly fertile two decades before.
unavailablity of workers catalysed the decay of land. To protect the fields farmers under the leadership of varghese toduparambil formed muriyyad karshaka samiti and started hunger strike. Social activists expressed solidarity to the strike. It has become a success and even medha padhkar visited muriyyad.
The success of muriyyad strike encouraged the farmers and natives of erayamkudy and they started protesting against sand mining. Like muriyyad erayamkudy fields were also fertile. Now red brick factories captured the land and a little land left for farming. Farmers became workers in brick factories. Most of the factories donot have proper licence. Farmers allege that factory owners use muscle power to silent them. Some of the panchayath members joined hands with land mafia and started discouraging the farmers struggle. Samarasamiti has staged several marches to nearby local self governing offices and they proved futile.
When erayamkudy became a burning topic district officials visited the place. Stop memo has been issued for the second time! But with these normal procedures nothing occured. Aggressiveness should be shown by the authorities to make this land available for farming. Government should give essential support. The land reforms act is a ray of hope for the farmers and they are eagerly waiting for it.
kochi: The second land reforms act of the state of kerala is in a budding stage. Although hte protest against he exploitation of paddy fiels started much earlier. Like other states real estate boom is already in kerala. When smart city project became a reality land is more and more precious in this southenmost state. like other states in india farmers are a weak group in kerala also. In kerala fields have started to produce multy storey building and land mining has become a tough hurdle for the farmers.
Land mining especially for brick factories is concentrated in the middle of the state.ie, in Ernakulam and thrissur districts.Two struggles by the farmers came in to lime light last year. Those were muriyyad and erayamkudy strikes. Muriyyad strike was for proper irrigation facilities to the field. The neglegence of authorities ruined the fields in muriyyad. These fields were highly fertile two decades before.
unavailablity of workers catalysed the decay of land. To protect the fields farmers under the leadership of varghese toduparambil formed muriyyad karshaka samiti and started hunger strike. Social activists expressed solidarity to the strike. It has become a success and even medha padhkar visited muriyyad.
The success of muriyyad strike encouraged the farmers and natives of erayamkudy and they started protesting against sand mining. Like muriyyad erayamkudy fields were also fertile. Now red brick factories captured the land and a little land left for farming. Farmers became workers in brick factories. Most of the factories donot have proper licence. Farmers allege that factory owners use muscle power to silent them. Some of the panchayath members joined hands with land mafia and started discouraging the farmers struggle. Samarasamiti has staged several marches to nearby local self governing offices and they proved futile.
When erayamkudy became a burning topic district officials visited the place. Stop memo has been issued for the second time! But with these normal procedures nothing occured. Aggressiveness should be shown by the authorities to make this land available for farming. Government should give essential support. The land reforms act is a ray of hope for the farmers and they are eagerly waiting for it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
