Will the 21st century belong to Indian women?
Reply
Category Archives: Economics
Global economic growth
Evidence that the global economy may be unexpectedly stalling has jarred prominent economists and policy makers gathered in Washington for the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. At a conference on Thursday, Lawrence H. Summers, the former United States Treasury secretary who now teaches at Harvard, highlighted this concern.“The defining challenge of our time, economically, is secular stagnation,” he said. “It is the risk of inadequate growth, leading to inadequate potential, leading to inadequate growth.”
Oil is at a four year low in LA and the S & P barely up for the year with volatility rising.
Can India with its ‘Make in India’ slogan revive the hope for growth back into the global economy. Manufacturing is just starting to grow under Obama after the great recession and its multinationals have finally fixed their balance sheets, and are ready for investing billions. India will need Nuclear Plants, Modern Railroads, Ports, Airports, Cities, Technology and infrastructure improvements for well into the next century. There is enough growth potential with its young population; that needs housing, schools, universities, healthcare, factories, retailers and all kinds of services.
There is no better source for cheap American gas to flow to India and the energy be converted into making a modern society. 100 nuclear plants would need to be built, to supply the forecasted demand for India over the next century, along with other renewal energy like wind, solar, bio-gas, tidal, hydro etc. Massive investment into India will provide much needed growth and a lot of money lying on the side at zero interest, would come into this new opportunity.
The only thing holding back the inflow has been the injudicious Indian taxation system; combined with the punitive courts that enforce often confusing archaic laws; forgotten even in the countries, that introduced them. Nightmares due to some random litigation, that could last decades; is just one of the minor hurdles of folks jumping in; as even dipping a toe was just recently allowed, in the largely socialist economy. Massive disinvestment is needed to raise capital from State run enterprises, without allowing associated corruption and litigation, to finance the investments required to close the budgetary gap, and to pay for the future infrastructure, so desperately needed.
“The drop in energy prices acts as a tax cut for consumers, by giving a small bump to real disposable income.” India as an importer will benefit from this drop and lower prices will help close their GDP gap, and reduce outflows and allow more investment at home. This could lead to a rise in Industrial production so badly needed; to get the economy out of the current doldrums, and boost much needed growth, for the hard pressed Mr. Jaitely. Will the US, China, Japan help him put the Indian train back on its track; to become the second largest economy in Asia in this century. In the next century a modern India will eventually become the leader of the free world; in keeping with its history from 1 AD, till the reign of Aurangzeb in the 18th century.
Immigrants all
How many great scientists have we stopped from working in the US; because of the outdated views on immigration, by certain sections of our society, and inability of our legislatures, to come together to improve our system? We are allowing some of the brightest thought leaders of tomorow; to not join in our struggle to make the next century, an American century against the surging Asia.
Indian-born Stanford University professor Arogyaswami Joseph Paulraj and Indian techie Himanshu Asnani, pursuing research in mathematics at Stanford, will be honored in Washington DC Thursday by the US-based Marconi Society. Named after Nobel laureate Guglielmo Marconi (1874-1937), who invented radio, and this prize is to recognize individuals for “creativity in service to humanity”.
Paulraj, 69, is the winner of the Marconi Prize 2014 for his pioneering work on developing wireless technology to transmit and receive data at high speed.
Born in Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, about 360 km from Chennai, Paulraj was also honoured with the IEEE Alexander Graham Bell Medal in 2011, for his profound work on theoretical foundations of MIMO.
“Paulraj is the only India-born scientist to receive both the Marconi Prize and the Bell Medal — the two top global IT technology awards,” IndiaTechOnline.com editor Anand Parthasarathy told IANS in Chennai.
Asnani, 27, was chosen for the Society’s Paul Baran young scholar award for his outstanding work and contribution to point-to-point and multi-terminal channel coding and source coding problems.
“The prestigious awards will be presented to Paulraj and Asnani at our annual event Thursday at the National Academies of Sciences in Washington DC,” Marconi Society chairman David Payne told IANS from the US.
Tech pioneers who created Microsoft, Google, Facebook and so many other companies all acknowledge; that without these immigrants, the US cannot sustain, its eminent position in technology, where it is today. They complain that we have routinely turned away, potentially, thousands of such scientific brains; from our shores in the last decade, at a time we need them the most. They will just do their pioneering research elsewhere; leaving us so much poorer, than where we should have been. President Obama is correct; and I hope that Washington will gather its legaslative strength, to pass immigration reform now!
Lights – On sale now!
http://bookstore.abbottpress.com/Products/SKU-000726468/Lights.aspx
Finally the day has dawned and I can request all my fellow travelers on this journey; to sample a tale about Times Square, and a family’s despair, hope and faith on Broadway. Will you please help me to share its availability for sale at Abbott Press at the link attached?
Affordable care costs and benefits
The U S Chamber of Commerce and the Republicans continue their opposition to #Obamacare as an employment killer; fully knowing that the vast majority of the small businesses having less than 50 employees, do not come under the employer mandate of the Affordable Care Act. The Census bureau has identified over 26 million of these small businesses, who can become the engines of American job growth for the foreseeable future. In fact their employees will now be covered under the new act; and if they are below certain poverty thresholds, will get extra income to cover the gap, of getting health insurance from the government.
The health exchanges with their limited provider networks are here to stay. People who lived through the days of the HMOs, may support this new internet model, hoping to finally bring an end to runaway costs. Their main hope is to promote modernization through standardization, digitization of data, resulting in better analytics and health care and better outcomes and quality. Small businesses should thrive as the cost of health care will no longer be a factor, for reaping the rewards of their entrepreneurships and growth. The efforts should now focus on making more accountable and robust systems, as shown in the recent VA appointment delays shortcomings. The work is only starting but it is a good start and could lay a foundation; for how we take care of our people, in America’s next century. A number of technical factors like the roll out of Electronic Medical Records and the International Classifcation of Disease management standard codeset 10 will enable a far more accurate representation of medical encounters and case histories.
When hospitals, providers, pharmaceutical, device manufacturers, radiologists, payers and numerous other constituents; can come together in an open platform, it cuts down waste. By making the rates public and involving the individual to chose his\her health care, makes each one of us more accountable in reducing costs, and getting maximum benefitts. Finally the consumer of #healthcare has to be educated and must improve lifestyles, diet and involvement in preventive care; for the model to succeed even beyond what the administration has hoped for. Do I see a flattening of the curve already, or is it just my imagination?
Fifth of humanity
Arundhati Roy has correctly stated that the open sore that festers all the country’s political bodies in #South Asia based on the division on religious lines by the British, now lies exposed to all when she says specifically in this last Indian elections “The two main parties agreed on most policies, and each had the skeleton of a mass pogrom against a minority community in its cupboard. So now, it’s all out in the open. The system lies exposed.”
The attack on the Indian consulate in Afghanistan where luckily no official died is a symptom of this disease. The killing of 60 people in Northern Waziristan a strong hold of the Pakistan Taliban, the killings in eastern India all show countries, in a war with themselves. To the credit of the countries the security forces have behaved admirably and performed their tasks well keeping the separatists and terrorists at bay. The fear mongers and nay-sayers will predict the worst for the future atrocities that humans are prepared to undertake in the defense of their religion or their community. For tribal societies homogeneity is not a preferred lifestyle as life is lived within the remote forests and valleys in their own distinct flavor. With democratic governments all across the SARC region the imagination boggles at the possibilities of a progressive state.
Will the economic ties be strengthened and the rule of law enforced so that trade and commerce can happen in open borders with trust and conviction?
Will cultural exchanges be encouraged so that we can all understand, how much we have in common and to gain collectively, if we all pool our resources and develop together?
Will we open up seamless trade between our traditional Indian Ocean neighbors from South Asia to the far east and Africa in the greatest development of trade ever imagined?
Will pipelines of energy flow into the starved heartland from Iran and Central Asia; so great enterprises can flourish, and tech cities be built to house the next generation?
Will the harnessing of 80% of the region’s water that flows into the ocean today, be saved for prosperity, before the Himalayan snow caps melt into history?
Will healthcare, education, human development and equality be the new standard against which a nation is measured; rather than the old ones of hate, ignorance, bigotry, caste and creed?
Will the infrastructure finally be built to crisscross the land; in 12 lane highways, superfast trains and modern airports, with the bridges, tunnels, ports and warehouses that are required for a modern life?
Will we be able to leapfrog to the internet of things; as while it too a long time to collect 550 million votes, we could count them electronically in just one day. By modernizing electronic communications – imagine what we could do for agriculture, housing, transportation, crafts and local products with open markets?
Will we generate employment for the millions; that will only spur us into an upward spiral of development and prosperity at a scale, that the world has never known before?
Questions that only time and a steely resolve to improve a fifth of humanity’s condition can answer, we can all join in the effort with a single step forward.
Growing inequality
“This massive concentration of economic resources in the hands of fewer people presents a real threat to inclusive political and economic systems, and compounds other inequalities – such as those between women and men. Left unchecked, political institutions are undermined and governments overwhelmingly serve the interests of economic elites – to the detriment of ordinary people.” Oxfam reports that the 85 richest people own as much as the poorest half of humanity put together.
The growing #inequality between the haves and the have nots continues to grow despite all the trickle down economics that was supposed to help the poor. There is no rising tide in the forecast that will lift all the boats and reduce poverty and provide the education and skills required to improve productivity. Those who have control of the property and assets will continue to reap rewards and those without will continue to struggle to make ends meet. Nation states will continue to protect their wealthy citizens as they control the nation’s wealth. All others are second class citizens and can be controlled with the laws of the state, if they step out of line to grab a fair share of their existence. Who ever heard of laws to help the homeless, insane, destitute or of our own folks in deep despair? The laws are written to protect the precedence of established #wealth and hierarchy, by the paid servants whether by political or economic patronage. Suspect all not for profits and charitable institutions, until you can see them working with the disadvantaged and for them alone.
Modern states have all the tools at their disposal to build a more equitable economy through the use of taxation and the dreaded words to conservatives “income distribution”. A more equal world will open up opportunities for half of humanity living in dire states and allow them to achieve what the 85 can never do on their own. I am no Robin Hood who would rob from the rich to give to the poor. I would instead advocate a path of growth and development where the state provides justice and the rule of law and national security and leaves the rest to the people. The use of taxation is to take from those who have been blessed with too much and use it for education, health care, shelter of the masses by providing the infrastructure for the people to build their own lives. People are resourceful and can solve their own problems and to create what they need, to leads a happier life. We do not need the Rich or the State to provide handout but rather help the individual to develop into a productive member of society.
The state should ensure that the roadblocks from outdated laws and political patronage, should be overhauled to provide more inclusive growth. This overwhelming inequality is a moral insult to all people who value human dignity and respect human freedom. Why force people to live out a life of subsistence and depravation when we have the means to raise them out of poverty and destitution. The cost of raising their standards is insignificant in the larger political economy; as if we stop our wars for even a year, we will be able to pay for it many times over. It is the price we pay every day that is too much; to have this #inequality fester, all over the human body. Given the opportunity people will become productive and lift themselves out of poverty and ignorance. Even history guides us as Greek-Roman historian Plutarch: `An imbalance between rich and poor is the oldest and most fatal ailment of all republics.` . Is the empowerment of 85 more important than that of 3,500,000,000?
Coexist and prosper
The pursuit of happiness is an explicit goal laid out by the founding fathers of this nation; and the Homestead Act was the greatest law ever passed, as it allowed for the settlement of the wild lands of the west expanding the original colonies. The native Indian tribes were driven out and the European settlers brought with them personal property ownership, to what had been a largely communal land. This basic premise where ownership of land and all the resources below it belongs to a person; and not the state was the bedrock of American thinking, which lasts to this day. It laid the foundation for the greatest wealth creation that our times have seen, and changed the course of entrepreneurship and invention over the past few centuries.
Freed from the clutches of the state each individual was truly free to pursue his or her own development and lifestyle. All lands have their own resources but to explore and use those needs courage, determination, vision, steadfast determination and a risk taking ability. Majority of such endeavors may end in failures, but even if a miniscule portion of new projects are successful, they can change the course of our human condition for centuries to come. The latest example is the development of horizontal fracturing (fracking) of shale rock to release the natural gas and oil buried deep in our earth. As people own the land and its resources a new gold rush has started and an example is the remote state of North Dakota where unemployment is 2.6% and the economy is booming.
There is no other country which could have developed this, as it is a unique American characteristic that when faced with resource challenges, its innovators and tinkerers come up with ways to achieve new breakthroughs in how we think and do things. When the oil majors gave up on the US oil fields as too mature and moved their investments to offshore and to other countries; it was the wildcatters in Texas, who continued to pursue new ways to exploit existing resources. Last year alone 150,000 wells were dug to harness this technology in the US, dwarfing all other countries around the world. Majority of these were done by small unknown companies and individuals and have revolutionized American energy growth, while the rest of the world suffers shortages and high prices of gas. Even China which sits on one of the largest shale formations; with its huge state owned oil companies, is far behind and will take decades to catch up as it copies the technology.
The new industrialization of America based on cheap gas and oil will allow the country to continue to create #wealth and become energy independent and eventually the largest exporter of petro chemicals in the coming decades, while the rest of the world will continue to play catch up. It takes trillions of dollars to increase the GDP of America even marginally and thus innovation and continuous technological breakthroughs are required on a daily basis. The internet of things is coming and it will need more energy than ever before. The problem is that all these fossil fuels like coal, gas, oil are destroying our eco system and global warming is leading to an unsustainable planet, as we are destroying habitats and environments indiscriminately.
We are exterminating whole species and microorganisms on a scale similar to the extinction of the dinosaurs. The sad reality is that extinction of a species is final and billions of years of evolution die with it. We are destroying the oceans and the land and all living creatures are threatened by the indiscriminate growth of our species. We have no idea how nature works despite our huge scientific knowledge and research in various fields. The more we learn the more we understand that there is still much we do not understand, about the interdependence of life and creatures around us. The creationists would have us believe that we are created in God’s image; but do they even understand God’s compassion and his laws that are progressive, which allow the blossoming of nature in all its variety and complexity to develop. If we are created in his image then we should be better harbingers of our environment and must ensure that we become the custodians of His world, and everything that exists in it.
There are of course some scientists who have understood our interdependence on everything around us and are pushing for change. Renewal energy whether from solar, wind, biogas, tidal, fusion, fission, algae must be developed to wean us away from the carbon dependency of our addiction to cheap coal and oil. With seven billion humans and growing our energy and resource needs are assuming Malthusian proportions. Global warming has to be reversed or we will face mass extinction of more species of flora, fauna, microorganisms, animal and bird species with devastating effects on our own survival.
There is of course progress being made on renewal sources of energy across Europe, China and America and they are the main consumers of energy today. For example GE just confirmed orders for 3,900 MW for its wind turbines in the US alone, as they have become more efficient. Similarly the dormant nuclear energy industry is showing signs of renewal and new plants are being built again, though the problem of storing nuclear waste still remains. Solar is another area where giant strides can be made to harness the power of the sun to provide for our needs. More funding is required to make alternate energy sources available and also we need innovation to make existing transportation, habitats and lifestyles more energy efficient to reduce our carbon footprint.
My #hope is that instead of destroying each other, we need to find a way to coexist and prosper. The whole universe is available for us to grow, but if we kill our own blue planet then we will have nowhere left to call home. Human ingenuity and innovation knows no boundaries and we have a lot of work ahead of us still to do. In the pursuit of happiness we need to raise our compassion and love for all creatures, as that is the only sustainable path for our future and the generations to come.
Adoptive Optics
The man I would consider the father of lasers was explaining the other day the uses of his discoveries and inventions. The gentleman holds many of the key patents in the field and is world renown for his knowledge in the field of light and lasers. His explanation of adoptive optics was fascinating as without it we would not be able to explore into the deepest reaches of space using the largest telescope or at the smallest of particles using magnifying equipment.
Wikipedia says “When lasers were invented in 1960, they were called “a solution looking for a problem”.[32] Since then, they have become ubiquitous, finding utility in thousands of highly varied applications in every section of modern society, including consumer electronics, information technology, science, medicine, industry, law enforcement, entertainment, and the military.
The first use of lasers in the daily lives of the general population was the supermarket barcode scanner, introduced in 1974. The laserdisc player, introduced in 1978, was the first successful consumer product to include a laser but the compact disc player was the first laser-equipped device to become common, beginning in 1982 followed shortly by laser printers.
Some other uses are:
• Medicine: Bloodless surgery, laser healing, surgical treatment, kidney stone treatment, eye treatment, dentistry
• Industry: Cutting, welding, material heat treatment, marking parts, non-contact measurement of parts
• Military: Marking targets, guiding munitions, missile defence, electro-optical countermeasures (EOCM), alternative to radar, blinding troops.
• Law enforcement: used for latent fingerprint detection in the forensic identification field[33][34]
• Research: Spectroscopy, laser ablation, laser annealing, laser scattering, laser interferometry, LIDAR, laser capture microdissection, fluorescence microscopy
• Product development/commercial: laser printers, optical discs (e.g. CDs and the like), barcode scanners, thermometers, laser pointers, holograms, bubblegrams.
• Laser lighting displays: Laser light shows
• Cosmetic skin treatments: acne treatment, cellulite and striae reduction, and hair removal.
In 2004, excluding diode lasers, approximately 131,000 lasers were sold with a value of US$2.19 billion.[35] In the same year, approximately 733 million diode lasers, valued at $3.20 billion, were sold.[36]”
He went on to explain that at the birth of the twenty first century at the begining of its first new millinieum, the U S military funded a major project on lasers. In the year 2000 Sep, the US finally demonstrated the power of the new laser system that could destroy a newly fired rocket in a matter of seconds. If you are not traveling at Mack 3,000 or higher this death ray will catch you. To hear it being described we can now deliver death itself, at the speed of light, with unerring accuracy against a remote flying object.
So now with the one and a half billion dollar weapon under our belts; we can go into another arms race where the new USAFL 747 adaption will be the new ruler in the skies. It has been built with the latest technology and engineering, featuring a heavy duty titanium nose to house the laser generator. Ladies and gentlemen please do not hold your nreath as I make this statement that, we will be able to deliver death sixty miles away at the speed of light.
We can forget about the glorious dog fights of the spit fires against the Nazi jets or US squadrons against the Jap zeros. Now war is anonymous and long distant and instantaneously destructive and any romantic notions that we humans have about war; should be forthwith discarded. as outdated and even humorous.
Not to be left behind the navy will equip ships all across the world; with the technology and the army is not far behind, and tanks will roll out with the latest weapons. We are on a roll and nothing will stop us now; from keeping our position as the shining light on the hill. From the darkness we will deliver light, whether you want it or not.
May the rest of the millinieum allow saner heads to prevail; and we can start to use the power of these inventions, for the greater good of mankind. We should not despair; and have faith in our basic human spirit, which will always strive to rise to a higher level.The next one and a half billion should be spent, to make the world a healthier and safer place using lazers!
Selective righteousness is morally corrupt!
.JPG)
A recent report by the US Chamber of Commerce ranked India at the bottom of 25 countries in protection of IPR (Intellectual property rights). Senator Orrin Hatch a highly respected US senator has accused India of allowing “rampant piracy and counterfeiting” for the benefit of its own industries. The largest democracy is a bastion of free trade; where free literally means that one does not pay for something; till one can get away with it, until one is caught with the hands in the cookie jar. At that time one raises a hue and cry “I would very honestly describe it as scare-mongering tactics and, frankly, I don’t think it’s helpful,” Ambassador to the US S. Jaishankar said this week.
These short sighted policies are at sharp contrast with what have been the most successful companies; like the Indian IT and Telecom majors, who have made more billionaires in India and who live and die protecting the IPR of their vendors and customers. We have much to learn from the principle that we get what we pay for. The same drug or device or procedure for healthcare in India costs far less than the one in the US as the US consumers are paying heavily for the research and development of safe and proven efficacy of drugs for the world. To enjoy the benefits of the system one has to work with the system and not outside it. US consumers often pay over hundred dollars a dose in the US for what in India costs cents. That just makes the US consumer seem an idiot in the Indian’s eyes; and the larger ramifications of the systems remain tied down in a cultural divide, that will be impossible to bridge.
The problem is getting more acute for intellectual property like movies, music, books as rampant piracy over the internet are seriously eroding the rights of the owners of the copyrights and patents to protect themselves. I can easily buy the latest pirated movie, book or music at a fraction of the cost from any sidewalk in the big cities of India; often right around the corner, from the genuine business that is struggling to survive. If I were to file a case in India for protection of my intellectual property; maybe my grandchildren will be able to get to a final settlement, given the current court system case loads and arcane laws, which need to be enforced in the country. I do not mean to pick on India and use it only as an example, as the same violations are equally true for China and many other countries.
The response from policy makers should have been to enforce laws and speed up the reforms that are so severely needed in a modern and open world. If we do not respect the rights of others, then who will respect our own rights? If we do not pay for what we consume, then who will produce it? If we do not invest in enforcing the laws, then what is the point of having them on the books? If we cannot change our mindset, then why blame others for being rigid? If we want to leave more for our children, then do we have to steal from other’s children? If we cannot enforce our own quality, then why do we mock others shoddy products? The questions are endless and the answers are simple.
Do the right thing and enforce the systems that are needed; and get rid of the ones, that are slowing progress. Selective righteousness is morally corrupt. According to Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, “everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author”. We need to incentivize human endeavor for the progress of all mankind and international trade will flourish. It has been shown that countries that protect intellectual property have citizens and corporations who are more progressive and aid in the development of all the people, economically and socially. Innovation and intellectual development will flourish if the creator of a new invention can benefit from the protection of his\her rights. Human intellect is the highest achievement of our species and the more we can do to promote the fruits of such endeavors, the better we all will be.