India

A Look at India’s Boarders And Their Relationships With the Countries

India is bounded by many countries on its northern borders while all its southern borders are sea-bound. India’s neighbors from its most northwestern border to its northeastern border are Pakistan, Afghanistan, China, Nepal, Bhutan, Burma and Banglasdesh in that order. Except for China and Burma, all the other nations are considered to be a part of the Indian Subcontinent. They even have formed a group called SAARC which stands for “South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation”. There are a couple other members to this group as well but these border sharing nations are its core.

India as a whole shares a turbulent history with Pakistan and Bangladesh as these two nations were carved out from India. Pakistan in particular has already had 3 major wars with India in the past 60 odd years. These conflicts occurred in 1965, 1971 and 1999. Of these three the 1971 also lead to the creation of Bangladesh which was originally called East Pakistan, but besides sharing a common religious background had totally different customs and hence wanted to be their own nation.

Besides having many skirmishes with Pakistan, India also has a frosty relationship with China. They have fought a war in 1962 which showed India’s friability in their defenses and since then both countries have remained wary of each other.

With Nepal, Bhutan and Burma, India has friendly relations. India has mostly civil relations with many nations all over the world, however the Indian subcontinent remains a hotbed area for conflicts and it remains to be seen how all of it will pan out.

Filed Under: Imports & Exports Tagged With: India, Pakistan

India’s Economics: The Development of Highways

India got its independence from the British in 1947, however the British left one good thing for the Indians, they established a nice railways system for travel purposes. This railway system helped a lot of Indians in their travels as the roadways were not developed and at that time cars were not the primary means of transportation in India.

It’s only since the 1950s that the number of vehicles in India slowly started increasing. Many of the roadways connecting cities were mostly single lane roads and if you were really lucky two lane highways. Often you would find roadways full of potholes, dirt and partially constructed. This slowly started changing since the late 1970s and in the early 1980s. They were now being made of concrete and the number of lanes is also being increased to accommodate the growing number of cars in India.

It was during the late nineties that a thoroughly courageous plan was thought of, the plan was called “The Golden Quadrilateral Project”. It was supposed to be a massive undertaking connecting the four major cities of New Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Mumbai. It will be a four/six highway totaling a massive distance of 5,846 km (3,633 mi). This project is currently underway and there are hopes to be completed in the next six to seven years. These highways will be a massive advantage for people who love to travel by car and will of course do a lot for the interior areas whose population will find their commutes to the larger urban areas a bit easier as well. Once completed this highway will make travelling amongst all parts of India that much easier to a populace who love travelling and would now have excellent options to choose from.

Filed Under: Economic Growth Tagged With: India, New Delhi

Foreign Relations: Understanding India’s Field Hockey Obsession

Despite the fact that someone traveling to India might assume that Cricket was the national sport, it really is another form of activity. Field Hockey or just Hockey as it is referred to in India, is known across the world as the national game of India. Although this is the case many Indians themselves are confused over whether or not field hockey is the national sport as Cricket seems to be played everywhere. Hockey was one of the sports which India was said to have excelled at. There’s also that small thing that the world’s greatest hockey player Dhyan Chand was also an Indian player.

The Indian hockey team was such a belligerent Juggernaut that it has won a total of eight Gold Medals, one silver and two bronze medals. They have created a world record to win the most number of gold medals in consecutive tournaments [Six] as well as the most number of gold medals to be won in a team Olympic sport [eight].

Hockey was first played in the summer Olympics of 1908 and then skipped the next event to be featured again in 1920 and again was skipped in 1924, it became a regular event since 1928 and that is when the Indian ascendance began. India won the gold from 1928 to the 1956 Olympics, their streak was beaten by Pakistan in the 1960 Olympics who beat them to win the Gold. However, India won the 1964 Olympics Gold beating their Arch rivals by the same score line by which their streak had been stopped. India won Bronze medals in the next two tournaments and the last gold medal was won in the 1980 Rome Olympics.

Since then it has been a long slide downwards for the once renowned Indian team as the Indian populace has shifted their view to cricket and nowadays with the general apathy of the administrative side towards hockey, it will be a long time before Indian hockey reaches the zenith it once veritably occupied.

Filed Under: Imports & Exports Tagged With: Field hockey, India

India’s Popular Trade Industry: The Bollywood Film Industry

Surprisingly, the Indian film industry is one of the biggest film industries in the world. The biggest part of the Indian film industry is that of a genre called Bollywood, although in India the film industry does not call it Bollywood.

Bollywood films are often characterized by music in them. It contains songs that are often filmed over the character’s voices. Bollywood films also contain a dance sequence which depicts the hero and heroine dancing in picturesque locales with a huge background cast dancing around them. Many Bollywood films are melodramatic, however, there are also other genres of films ranging from thrillers, comedies and dramas.

A popular type of Bollywood film is called a “Masala Movie” or a “Masala entertainer”. Masala means spice in the Hindi language and this specific description basically translates to a spice laden movie which will make people, laugh, cry and leave the audiences with a happy state of mind. These films are done to cheer them up for the two or three hours while they are watching the film in cinema theatres. Such films rarely make any actual sense but are often huge hits and have created a niche of their own. Most famous examples of these type of movies are Dilwale Dulhaniya le jayenge, Hum appke hain kaun & Kabhi Khushi Kanbhi Gham.

Bollywood is often referred to the entire film industry that makes up Indian films. However, it is basically only a small sub-genre as it really only cover the Hindi film industry. Even though it is a small portion of the Indian film industry, Bollywood covers a large part of the Indian film industry as the Hindi films are watched and released all across the Indian subcontinent as well as all over the world.

While Bollywood is the major film industry there are also other types of India film movies. There are other film industries that cover other languages such as Marathi, Punjabi and Tamil. When all of these films are combined it really does make up one of the world’s largest film industries.

Filed Under: Industries Tagged With: Bollywood, India

Foreign Relations: Understanding the Partition of India

India began its journey on August 15 1947. There was a great amount of tragedy associated with this date and the time leading up to it. The true journey of India begins much earlier. You can trace India’s history as a colonial nation to when the British began conquering parts of India back in the 17^th and 18^th century. The British often say that they planted the notion of a nation amongst the different kingdoms in various parts of India. However this theory doesn’t hold up if you study the history. There have various empires going across to the time of Alexander wherein the entire Indian sub continent was under one empire. Beginning from the Mauryan empire to the Mughal empire and in ancient historical/mythological legends even then the land which was known as BharatVarsha was ruled as one empire.

When the partition of India occurred it was a huge shock to many people as they were displaced and amidst the rioting which took place, thousands of lives were lost. This partition affected the lives of all the citizens and was in part facilitated by the British who until then had a very famous policy called “Divide and rule” which they used brilliantly to conquer many parts of the world. They even utilized it to carve the British India Dominion into two separate nations. These two nations would have 3 majors wars with each other and many other skirmishes which would only lead to more heightened enmity between the two nations.

Pakistan, which is often considered a section of India, further disintegrated into 2 nations when its eastern half separated to form Bangladesh in 1971. Now the entire Indian subcontinent is beset with small nations who view each other with suspicion. These nations often forget their joint history and cannot seem to overlook their communal hatred. A tragedy by some experts, the partition of 1947 has given rise to a deep schism which will one day give rise to a greater catastrophe it seems.

Filed Under: Imports & Exports Tagged With: India, Pakistan, Partition of India

Want to Ride your Bicycle?

In a country with one of the largest populaces in the world, getting around in a tight budget can be tough. Fortunately, through recent economic growth, transportation systems are improving and consumers now have a wide range of economical transportation from which to choose.

Bicycles and Two-Wheelers. For those who do not have the means to ride in a palanquin and do not fancy a long walk, bicycles are the way to go. They are one of the most common methods of transportation in the nation as an affordable and healthy way to get around. Bicycle lanes are also being constructed in many large cities as well to help ease traffic congestion and battle pollution. In addition to that, the popularity of scooters, motorcycles and mopeds is climbing the charts as a fuel-efficient way to travel.

Buses and Trams. Buses are currently the most popular means of travel all over India, carrying 90% of public transportation. They are an inexpensive mode of transport and the government is continually attempting to improve these services, taking congestion off the roads, by providing disabled services and air-conditioned atmospheres. Trams are an emission-free means of transportation if you are feeling bus-shy, and the government is continually providing funding to upgrade the tram system.

Compact Cars. These small, fuel-efficient cars are beginning to predominate in the industry. Small and convenient, these cars provide an affordable means to travel in your own private environment. Due to their compact size, maneuvering through congested traffic has been simplified.

Though these are by no means the only methods of travel throughout the country, their affordability, convenience and accessibility have made them some of the most popular modes of transportation in rural or urban areas. However, if lack of funds is your largest foe, you can always choose the healthy alternative to walk. After all, what are feet for?

Filed Under: Workforce Tagged With: Bicycle, Cycling, India, Mode of transport, Traffic congestion

Using a Prepaid Card to Build Credit

: Image by larry&flo via Flickr

How do you go about building credit? There are a number of ways, any of which will help you achieve this goal.

One way you can start building your credit history is by taking out a very small cash loan. It doesn’t have to be much, maybe $300 to $500. The goal here is to establish credit, and taking out the loan will do that.

There are financial institutions that will work with first-time borrowers. These include credit unions, private loan companies (but NOT title loan ones), and even some banks.

Once you have been approved for the loan and have received the money, the best thing you can do is put that exact amount on a prepaid card. Put the card in a safe place while you decide how you are going to invest the amount that is on the card.

One place you might want to consider is foreign investments. These can be very good, as countries such as India are starting to see a surge in their economy and are beginning to welcome foreign investors. They are as eager for your business as you may be to get started in the investing world, so right there you each have a common goal.

Once you’ve decided where how to invest the money, go get the prepaid card from its hiding place and use it get the cash amount that is on it. You may not even have to get actual cash; you may be able to use the card to make the investment payment. You’ll just have to ask your investment advisor.

As you watch your returns come in on your India investment come in while paying off your very first loan, you will eventually realize that you have reached two goals—that of building a credit history and branching out in your financial affairs.

Filed Under: Economic Growth Tagged With: Financial institution, India, Stored-value card

Mother Teresa of Economics

: Image via Wikipedia

He is the Mother Teresa of Economics, a renowned Indian Economist, a deserving Nobel Laureate, and philosopher by nature, these are the different faces of Amartya Sen. Born in 1933, Sen was born into a family of scholars and in a scholarly environment set up by another Indian Nobel Laureate, Rabindranath Tagore. His grandfather was Ksitimohan Sen, the famous scholar on medieval Indian literature, and his father Ashutosh Sen taught at the Dhaka University. Having been brought up in such an academic setting, it was only natural that Amartya Sen showed scholastic inclinations.

His achievements:

Amartya Sen career is dotted with achievements and accolades. The greatest recognition of his work is, of course, receiving the noble prize for his work in welfare economics. He has also received the highest civilian award of India, Bharat Ratna, the Companion of Honour from UK, International Humanist Award, and Lifetime Achievement Award by the Indian Chamber of Commerce among many others.

His work:

Sen work on welfare economics earned him the Nobel Prize for Economics in 1998. Kenneth Arrow, an American economist first shared to the world his thoughts on the theory of social choice. Sen made known how Arrow Impossibility Theorem can be applied and thus augment the theory of social choice through his interest in the history of economic thought and philosophy. His book Poverty and Famines: An essay on Entitlement and Deprivation published in 1981 talks about how various factors lead to famine. He proved that contrary to popular belief it is not just lack of food but the gross inequalities built in the system of food distribution, which is the main reason for famines.

His welfare economics addresses the economic policies on the basis of the well being of a community, criticizing self-interested economic policies. He has discovered methods of assessing famines in order to improve the economic conditions of the poor. He is a vociferous defender of political freedom and is rightly called as the conscience of his profession.

Filed Under: Economic Growth Tagged With: Amartya Sen, Bharat Ratna, Economics, India, Kenneth Arrow, Mother Teresa, Nobel Peace Prize, Rabindranath Tagore

Indian economy: a peek into its economic liberalization

July 1991 was a turning point in the history of India, when economic liberalization was introduced, thanks to Dr. Manmohan Singh, the then Finance Minister in the Narasimha Rao government. Since then, the growth of the Indian economy has been steady, albeit at a very slow pace.

During the years between the independence and the late 80s, India economic growth relied heavily on the government policies. It was a centrally governed market. There were neither enough foreign investment, nor was the Indian market a consumer-based market, which resulted in a stagnated economy. The slight economic growth during Rajiv Gandhi tenure seemed promising, but it did not really take off. The unprecedented balance payment problem, the fall of the Soviet, which was one of India principal foreign market, and the IMF demand of the bailout loan, did not help India economic cause.

When the country entered the last decade of the previous century, however, things started to improve. The 1990s economic reformation saw many restrictions lifted off from private companies. Telecom, service, industrial, and agricultural sector have seen tremendous economic growth since then. Statistics place the service industry contribution to the Indian economy to almost 55%, and the agricultural and industrial sector has seen 17% growth. The IT boom in the 90s too helped to stabilize the growth of the economy. The introduction of many new sectors solved the unemployment problem considerably.

Since the introduction of the economic liberalization, India has seen an average growth of 6-7%. The main contribution for the economic liberalization is the globalization of India. Today India is the third largest foreign investor in the US. Foreign investors are fighting to get a piece of Indian market, as the returns are greater here. PricewaterhouseCoopers have stated in its report that India could soon become the world third largest economy in purchasing power parity (PPP) by 2010, displacing Japan. And by 2020, India is expected to become the third largest economy after the US and China.

Filed Under: Economic Growth Tagged With: Economic growth, Economy of India, Foreign direct investment, India

Challenges of the current Indian economy

: Image via Wikipedia

The year 2010 showed an optimistic beginning for the Indian economy. 2009 ended with 18.5% growth rate in the manufacturing sector, which was the highest in the last twenty years. The anti-crisis measures that India took as a counter step for the financial downturn proved her resilience. The economic forecast for the current year and future is promising. But this optimism is halted by the challenges that are imposing on the Indian economy.

In the budget of 2010-11, the financial minister has outlined three main challenges that the present Indian economy faces. The first challenge is to get India back on the right track of growing GDP. The target is to reach at least the 9% growth rate, so that achieving double-digit number GDP will seem real and feasible. The second concern that India has to tackle is to bring about a more inclusive government wherein no individual or community is denied an opportunity for growth, and where everyone gets the growth benefits. The third challenge, and the most difficult one perhaps is to address government loopholes at different strata, to improve public services, and to perk up delivery mechanisms.

Other than these challenges, of course there is inflation always threatening to bring the Indian economy down. Food price rise due to failed monsoon, gas, petrol and diesel price hike result in an economic spiraling effect.

All these challenges call for a change in the reform policies. The immediate step that India has to take in order to fight these challenges is to consolidate its growth. There is an urgent need for appraisal of public spending, and to mobilize resources so that it can bring about economic productivity. The stable government and its continued steady performance, and the high domestic savings and investments in the recent years are indications of the growing Indian economy.

Filed Under: Economic Growth Tagged With: Asia, Business and Economy, Economy, Economy of India, Government, Gross domestic product, India, Inflation