Now, this – how 2009 will pan out – is a question that's been 'analysed' in many fora already. So, yours truly would desist from doing it. In fact, my mind wanders and seeks answers to a number of questions... Again, that is something my mind always does. For a change, I'll jot down a few here...
Governance
When will we, Indians, have a well-functioning government in India? We have an elected government, yes; we have a functioning government, yes; but, we lack a well-functioning one – an accountable one. Agreed, there cannot be any govt which satisfies all people's aspirations; however, every party in India always utters food, clothing and shelter for all. It's indeed a matter of shame that even after sixty years of getting independence, we're nowhere near the goal of a minimum standard of living for our billion-plus population! Moreover, where was our government when a handful of terrorists, like rabid dogs, audaciously kept on planting bombs and attacking innocent civilians in different parts of the country? While not a day goes without blaming the rabid terrorists and the nation which harbours them, what firm action has been taken to rout them? Again, where was the govt when hundreds of farmers committed suicide due to mounting debt? Apart from destroying the 'debt-repayment culture', what did the much-publicised farm debt waiver scheme achieve? Given that 2009 is an election year, will we finally elect a government that performs well? Or, are we destined to get one more lame-duck ministry?
Economy
Everything was honky-dory till the US economy sneezed and ours caught pneumonia! Pray, how long can we keep blaming the global economy for our woes? When the fruits of globalization took time to reach the masses due to inefficiencies in our system, globalization was blamed; it is being blamed again when the economy is facing a downturn. In 2008, the RBI tightened the strings too much and too early, thus jacking up interest rates; it's doing the same thing in reverse now – too much and too fast. By releasing an estimated Rs.300000 Crores within a short span, ignoring the money multiplier effect, and relaxing many rules together – e.g., special finance facilities for NBFCs etc – is the stage being set for the enactment of a desi version of the sub-prime drama? How much of the currently perceived slowdown in our economy is due to our own creation? And, any news about investments for improving our infrastructure?
Corporate Governance, Financial Markets
No, it's not about the Satyam imbroglio; it's about credit rating agencies [CRAs] and mutual funds [MFs]. It's time a new system is put in place to ensure independence of CRAs' job – rating the public issue of debt / equity capital. From the 'issuer-pays' model, we should move to 'regulator-pays' model, ensuring at the same time that there is no patronising of any particular CRA. As for MFs, one cannot fathom why listed companies [are allowed to] invest in them. Two reasons why they should be kept out: one, the companies, especially the listed ones, [can afford to] have professionals to manage their fund flows and to optimise cash flows and two, MFs were conceived as a mechanism to allow retail investors who aren't finance-savvy to reap the benefits of participating in equity markets. One feels that the kind of redemption pressures Indian MFs faced in Oct 2008 could have been avoided, to a great extent, had companies been kept out.
The bottomline is that, instead of being garrulous, our so-called leaders should now take firm action to help India emerge stronger from crises; and the people, too, should take an active and renewed interest in nation-building. Jaago re!!
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