Economic Times Editorial

[betanumber1_2000]

Reviving this thread...i'm sure a lot of puys here read eco times...every prospective mba's best friend... lets post and analyse articles from ET, esp editorials

[betanumber1_2000]

Here's today's editorial from ET:

Food versus fuel
16 Apr, 2008, 0316 hrs IST, TNN

Finance ministers from around the world, gathered in Washington for the IMF-World Bank meeting, have warned that surging food prices could reverse progress on poverty reduction in the developing world. Many have called for a common effort to deal with the immediate problem of food prices which have surged 57%, according to the UN, in the past one year.

The World Bank has said there could be civil disturbances in at least 33 countries inhabited by the largest number of the poor. Inflationary expectations on food is such that people are reportedly hoarding foodgrains in relatively rich countries like Singapore, Malaysia and so on. This is bound to fuel further inflation, which in turn could cause havoc with other macroeconomic variables.

The first thing world leaders must do is to arrive at an agreement that they will pursue a policy which prevents national hoarding of food items. Some rational thinking is called for in this regard. Food surplus countries particularly have a responsibility not to get paranoid and impose a ban on grain exports.

Developed nations like the US must review their current policy of diverting over 20% of their maize crop for making biofuels. The volume of grains used for biofuel equivalent to a full tank of a SUV could easily be the food supply for a person for a whole year! Some optimal balance must be struck between food and biofuels. Otherwise the world just might witness an epic battle between 800 million automobile users in the developed world and the 1.5 billion plus poor in the developing world living on less than $2 a day.

A global consensus must be evolved to deal with the food supply situation in the medium as well as long term. The medium-term solution could comprise easing trade and distribution problems. Fortunately, most food importing nations have reduced agriculture tariffs to near 0%, something the WTO could not achieve all these years! True, this is a short-term response but there must be a long-term strategy to globally enhance food production through improved technologies so that supply catches up with the fast growing demand in the populous developing world.

[Say2sayeed]

I think the time has come when the whole world should come together, analyse the food grain scenario and formulate a long term policy. With the rapid rate of population growth and sluggish agricultral growth a dire food crisis is inevitable. India in particular should see this as a wake up call. Agriculture should move up on the goverment priority list. What we need is some solid policies and concrete steps. Its high time for another green revolution.

[betanumber1_2000]

Howdy puys!!

The Olympic Torch has finally landed in India amid much fanfare and protests in new Delhi. The Olympics this time has seen its fair share of controversies, and it's not yet begun! Here are a few comments made by eminent personalities over the past weeks over carrying the Olympic Torch in India:

Aamir Khan:I request those of you who have asked me to stay away from the Olympic Torch Relay to understand that when I do run with the torch on the 17th of April it is not in support of China. In fact it will be with a prayer in my heart for the people of Tibet, and indeed for all people across the world who are victims of human rights violations.

Saif Ali Khan: I will definitely be taking part in the relay. Why shouldn’t I? My government has not made any adverse statement against China and my stance is that of my government.

Kiran Bedi:I respect the Government's decision to organise security, but I love freedom and I cannot run in a cage

Also, here's the link to today's ET editorial on the Olympic Flame in India:
Gill carries torch for athletes- Editorials-Opinion-The Economic Times

The central argument in today's Editorial revolves around whether filmstars, politicians, bureaucrats, etc. should be allowed to carry the torch, or whether it is the preroragative of eminents sportpersons only.

[souvick]

Originally Posted by betanumber1_2000

Howdy puys!!

Also, here's the link to today's ET editorial on the Olympic Flame in India:

Gill carries torch for athletes- Editorials-Opinion-The Economic Times

The central argument in today's Editorial revolves around whether filmstars, politicians, bureaucrats, etc. should be allowed to carry the torch, or whether it is the preroragative of eminents sportpersons only.

Olympic torch is symbol of sporting competition where importance is given on participation rather than winning. It is symbol of unity and peace among all the nations of the world.
Though ancient Olympics was solely a sporting event, when it was revived though it was ensured that this event would allow all the countries of the world coming together and unite for a gala event.
The meaning of the symbol has always been modified since ages. Even the revival of torch in 1936 Berlin was to gather support of Nazi Germany. But now,it stands for unity and peacemaking.Similarly Olympics which was once a sporting event only hasn ow transformed into a spectacle where not only sport in promoted but also a pedestal whereby all the countries of the world unite for a single cause.
Keeping this in mind, I feel the honour to carry the torch can be given to any person who believes in cmpetition to be the best be it from any walks of life.
This whole controversy has arisen because of one statement given by Gill who insists that this is a honour for sportsperson only. Agreed Sir, so please ensure that prime focus is on sports celebrities and also the first and last torch bearers are eminent sports personality.

But just one suggestion to you. Rather that giving statements at this crucial time and gathering limelight and trying to garner respect from sports fraternity why don't you devote that time in uplift of Indian sports? Isn't it a shame that being a country of more than 100crore people we don't win a single medal? And yes the problem is at the root level, at the basic minimum infrastructure..

So my humble request is please refrain from making media savvy and controversial statements and devote the time for sports revival in India. It really doesn't matter whether Amir Khan carries the torch or Milkha Singh unless we produce more Paes and Rathore. Don't emphasise on preface of a book more than the chapters inside.

[betanumber1_2000]

Financial whizzes the world over have come up with all kinds of funds to satisfy organizational needs, be it for Employees(Provident Funds), HNIs(Hedge Funds), Retail Investors(Mutual Funds), etc. Add one more to that list: Sovereign Wealth Funds(SWF) sponsored by governments the world over. Today's Editorial discusses about the need for and the risks of allocating India's bulging forex reserves to equity-based instruments.

An Indian sovereign fund- Editorials-Opinion-The Economic Times

One important point to note is that India has a current account deficit and not a surplus like China or Abu Dhabi. This is basically means that, unlike China, India is a net importer of goods and services. Hence, playing around with forex reserves could prove to be dangerous, especially with the global forecast looking rather gloomy.

[ronildutta]

this thread is quite inspiring. I am sincerely quite grateful to the initiator for being proactive.Neway, many of us should now contribute and help him build up a healthy discussion.

on 1st may 2008(apologies for posting late), the article "change at the top" illustrates that reshuffling in the top management of various software companies does not affect their long term growth.Owing to their process driven nature, they were able to prevent any further exodus. Hence they can only be affected by external factors like slowdown. So does this suggest that even top level employees are not secured if they do not perform????


Change at the top- Editorials-Opinion-The Economic Times

[betanumber1_2000]

Originally Posted by ronildutta

on 1st may 2008(apologies for posting late), the article "change at the top" illustrates that reshuffling in the top management of various software companies does not affect their long term growth.Owing to their process driven nature, they were able to prevent any further exodus. Hence they can only be affected by external factors like slowdown. So does this suggest that even top level employees are not secured if they do not perform????

Thanks for chipping in ronil... i'd missed this editorial myself...good find...

one exit not mentioned in the editorial is that of phanish murthy quitting infy after the sex scandal... that was high-profile but it's all in the past... hasn't really affected infy's growth prospects...
being an employee of infy, i can say one thing abt process-orientation... it sucks!! Ideally, a process-driven model is one where EVERY single thing you do is documented and "aligned" to some business model. At a personal level, this can be extremely demanding and kills creativity... but from a long-term perspective, it helps the company. This is because, since you have documented everything at work and aligned it to a "process", anyone can replace you...hence u r dispensable(read trash)...

anyway, to answer ur question... even if an exodus had happened, cos like wipro, infy etc are better prepared to handle change becoz of their process-driven approach... and performance def matters at work... digress and u r kicked out...

[betanumber1_2000]

NR Narayana Murthy once famously remarked that we need to accept we have problems if we have find solutions to those problems. Adding to that statement, I feel that once we have identified what the problems are, the next important step is to collectively work towards finding solutions. Else we risk getting stuck.

Probably the most important such "problem" staring India in the face today is Education, or the lack of it. A couple of articles in today's edition od ET highlight the stark reality.

CK Prahlad, one of the world's best management thinkers, and Mohandas Pai, HR head, Infosys, in two separate articles, highlight the fact that India's education system needs a major overhaul, at all levels, be it primary or secondary.

One of the solutions to this problem is to implement Public Private Partnerships(PPPs) as rapidly as possible. Industry today requires skilled workers at all levels, and the lack of employability of graduates only adds to their woes.

ET article 1
ET article 2