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Subject: Economics

  • Tourism Sector

    It’s no secret that our Tourism Industry remains heavily underemployed, highly unregulated and its true potential to both Economy and workforce is still unharnessed. 

    With 32 UNESCO recognized natural and cultural heritage sites, India ranks second in Asia and fifth in the world. Still, India’s share in ITAs (International tourist arrivals) is a paltry 0.6%. 

    source

    Why are International / Foreign Tourists important?

    • For one, they bring in much valued Foreign Currency which contributes to our Foreign Exchange Reserves and keeps our Balance of Payment robust. <Note that Tourist expenditure in India counts as “Exports” under BoP accounting>
    • India’s receipts from tourism during 2012 ranked 16th in the world, and 7th among Asian and Pacific countries (World Tourism Organization Report)
    • It helps stabilize our currency in International Market
    • Builds Brand India (Incredible !ndia campaign has proven to boost foreign tourism more than domestic tourism)
    • Although it is notable that domestic tourists contribute to more than 75% of the revenue from Tourism Sector, but its denominated in INR
      • Note:  Under 7th Schedule division of Powers, Pilgrimages outside India comes under Union’s List while those Inside India is covered by State List.

    India’s Comparative performance in International tourist arrivals (ITAs)

    • ITA simply means the percentage of outbound tourists travelling to another country in proportion to all outbound tourists of the world combined.
    • France has the highest share of ITAs, despite being much smaller than a continent size country like India. (India’s share in ITA is 0.6% compared to 7.8 per cent in France)
      • Foreign tourist arrivals by source country: Largest foreign tourists are from USA, 2nd largest from Bangladesh and third largest from UK.
      • Tamil Nadu witnesses most foreign tourist visits.
    •  Although ITAs in India registered a growth of 10.6%, countries like Vietnam and Indonesia continue to have higher shares of FTAs than India
      • Internationally ranking pitiably 41st in terms of Foreign Footfalls- India gets only 77 lakh foreign tourists every year.
      • Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2015 (World Economic Forum) ranks India 52nd out of 141 countries overall in areas other than Foreign Footfall.
        • India has quite good air transport (ranked 35th)
        • Reasonable ground transport infrastructure (ranked 50th).
    • Target: In next 3-5 years, we want to receive >1 crore tourists (and 1% of the ITAs should be in India)

    Who qualifies as a foreign tourist?

    • Staying at least twenty four hours in the country
    • Purpose of whose journey can be classified as either
      • Leisure (recreation, holiday, health, study, religion and sport)
      • Business, family, mission, meeting
    • Following are excluded from category of Foreign Tourists:
      • Persons arriving to take up an occupation or engage in activities remunerated from within the country are not treated as foreign tourists
      • Nationals of Nepal and Bhutan entering India through land routes, are also not included in the data series on foreign tourism

    Burning issue of Foreign Tourists and Sexual Assaults

    • Its noteworthy that 40% of the foreign tourists who came to India in 2013 were women
    • Delhi has repeatedly topped the survey for being the most unsafe and hostile city for Foreign Tourists.
    • How can this be prevented?
      • Foreign tourists in India are advised to take the same precautions like domestic tourists take
      • Code of conduct for tourist destinations and the stake holders there has also been fixed.
      • Accused should be apprehended by the police authorities within a few days and action be initiated to bring the culprits to justice
      • E.g. In the Madhya Pradesh incident in March, 2013, the accused were tried in a Fast Track Court and sentenced to life imprisonment within four months.

    What are other benefits of Tourism Sector to India?

    Economy: 

    • Contributes to 9% of global GDP, In India’s case it contributed 6.8% of the GDP

    Employment and demographics:

    • It is a labour intensive industry (Employs 8.7% of India’s workforce) and provides livelihood to non-farm sector
    • Although Tourism in India being largely an unorganized sector activity, potential for employment is still untapped
    • Women comprise 70% of the workforce and 50% of the workforce is below 25 years

    Other benefits apart from Employment:

    • Helps preserve heritage and culture (Fundamental Duty and DPSP)
    • Niches such as Rural tourism, and Ecotourism can help reverse migration to urban areas
    • Tourism sector can be a powerful antidote to poverty, it eliminates the disadvantage of market inacessibility suffered by poor in respect of their goods and services by bringing consumers to their doorstep

    Tourism reforms by integration with ongoing schemes

    It is said that Tourism as a sector doesn’t need huge budgetary expenditure for its rise as a “sunrise industry”. Here, we look at some of the ways we can make it so by integrating with ongoing schemes of Government of India.

    1. Infrastructure Reforms and Tourism

    • Sagarmala project beginning with Char Dham Yatra linking Puri Jagannatha Temple to Dwaraka by sea via various places off religious interest enroute
    • MNREGA labour for creating permanent assets like tourism infrastructure and facilities

     

    2. Taxation Reforms, Startup India and Tourism

    • Solve the Multiple Taxation Issues (give tax concessions to Tourism Sector)
    • Tour Operators don’t need to pay service tax, if serving foreign tourist for foreign trips. (e.g. Yatra.com etc)
    • Special Tourism Zones shall be notified and developed to encourage investment in identified areas along with PPP
    • Incentivize Startups which promote Tourism in Niche areas such as Adventure Tourism, Ecotourism, Rural Tourism
    • Devise a National Tourist Maps promoting Unique / Mystery Spots, and Less Known Destinations

     

    3. Tourist Training Schools, Skill India and Tourism

    • Skill and Etiquettes training to tour operators
    • Certification programmes like Hunar se Rozgar tak (HSRT) and earn while you learn programs
      • Vocational training for tourist guides hospitality business
      • Aims to train 8th class passouts (upto age of 28 years) in Food Production and Beverages services
      • Conducted through Institute of Hotel Management and Food Craft Institutes
      • Diploma in Tourism Management through ITIs

     

    4. Swachh Bharat and Tourism:

    • Litter/Recycling Bins at accessible places
    • Special focus on cleanliness and women safety of tourist sites
    • Partnering with Shulabh International (NGO) for scaling up pay-and-use toilets rather than depending on free public utilities (as it has been observed that former type remain more user friendly due to regular maintenance than government ones)

     

    5. Green Urban Policies and Tourism

    • Attempts should be made to design climatically responsive and location sensitive tourism architecture
    • Use energy efficient materials for pavements leading to a tourist landmark (minimal use of hardscape materials)
    • Solar lighting and use of renewable energy must be encouraged

     

    6. Conservation and Tourism

    • Adopt the principle of “First Conservation Later Tourism” for Cultural Heritage
    • Discourage fountains and water based elements in areas facing water paucity
    • Discourage large scale illumination in areas with electricity shortage (Without compromising on security, of course)

     

    7. Sugamya Bharat (Accessible India) and Tourism

    • Promote Universally accessible infrastructure for ease of access by differently abled and elderly
    • Use signages that conform to World Tourism Organization, and UNESCO charters for World Heritage Sites

    Annex: Eased norms for Tourit Visa

    • E-visa
      • Will increase foreign tourists by 25%.
      • Foreigner applies online (as opposed to Consulate/Embassy) he’ll get Visa in five days
    • Visa on arrival
      • Foreigner applies online three days before his arrival in India
      • Gets visa on airport, 30 days validity
      • As of 2015, this facility has been enlarged to cover 180 countries

  • e-Commerce: The New Boom

    The recent changes in e-commerce sector

     

    DIPP recently notified a new FDI policy for e-commerce and certain other rules <What exactly e-commerce is? Answer in comments>

    What are the rules?

    1. 100% foreign direct investment is permitted in the marketplace model of e-commerce
    2. FDI is not permitted in inventory based model of e-commerce

    Additional to these rules for FDI, the other rules are:

    1. An e-commerce entity may provide logistic, warehousing , order fulfilment, call centre, payment collection and other services
    2. An e-commerce entity will not permit more than 25% of the total sales should not be done by one vendor or its group companies
    3. The seller shall be responsible for post sales, warranty and guarantee of goods sold by it
    4. The e-commerce entity will not directly or indirectly affect the sale price of goods or services while maintaining a level playing field

    What does it mean?

    Now let’s analyse its impacts on various stakeholders, one-by-one

    #1. E-Commerce Players

     

    • Price determination- This is a grey area with unclear rules. One interpretation could be that Govt will determine the price and not the market. This could upset the markets
    • Clearly defining the models- This is a positive development. The marketplace and inventory based models are now concretely and clearly defined by law
    • Group companies- Group companies (Flipkart- WS Retail, Amazon- Cloudtail) are created to work around the e-retail rule which doesn’t allow FDI in B2C multi-brand retail

    The companies will now have to figure out a new way to scale down sales through their group companies

    • Discounts- The rule in itself is notvery clear as it doesn’t explictly spell out the terms ‘deep discounting’ or ‘discount’

    Example- Amazon uses the term ‘promotional funding’ to describe its discounting model, and as is clear, technically doesn’t affect the actual price of the product

    Even though the note says the rules are effective immediately, discounting has continued as is. It shows that that this is still a grey area

    • Inventory based models- This model, which is effectively under multi brand retail, remains out of the FDI route

    #2. The Consumer

    • E-commerce companies have brought in deep competition in the retail sector by way of offering discounts
    • How are the discounts funded? Part of this is funded through a cash burn, and part through operating efficiencies over the brick and mortar setup <What is cash burn? Answer in comments>
    • Restraints on discounts, if workout in real, consumers will lose a lot of power in terms of price and choice

    #3. Brick and Mortar Players

     

    • Effects on brick and mortar retailers will depend on how the restraints on discount work out
    • Footfalls in Brick & Mortar retail had dropped dramatically, and the pricing change may now draw consumers back
    • However, e-commerce companies and strong retailer lobbies will obviously work to keep their dominance

     

    Conclusion:

    • Overall, the move is in the right direction, but it lacks strength and complete clarity on various issues (such as pricing, discounting)
    • The grey area in pricing is very open to interpretation, especially on the point of determining the right price, and could be an anti-market move
    • Retail sectr still remains affected by a lot of interest groups and a solid policy change to actually reform retail remains

    After this, you can read this story for more insights- Disrupting the disruptors (The Hindu)

  • Corporate Social Responsibility: Issues & Development

  • Coal and Mining Sector

  • Government Budgets

  • Econ Mom as the Finance Commission, Hubby as the Planning Commission

    The topic of pocket money has suddenly become fairly hot in the Phadke household. I am frankly, not too sold out about it. Whenever Lil One needs funds (normally Rs. 10 to buy Lays), I give it to him and that pretty much is that. Since I am the single window for fund disbursal, I have an automatic tab on the frequency with which he eats Lays/ chocolates/ ice-creams. And hold on. I am NOT a control freak. I am just
mom.

    However, some parent in Lil One’s classroom has started giving pocket money and the trend has caught on. And (and this is REALLY important), Greg, the wimpy kid (groan!), apparently gets “mom bucks” too. Sigh! Don’t know why I am so proud of being mom to a reading kid. I sometimes pine for those non-reading, non-argumentative types.

    So, apparently, all kids in the class are currently divided into those with the funds and those without. Lil One has been increasingly vocal about “always” being part of the have-nots and the deep image beating he’s taking at school.

    “But you always get the money when you want it!” I tried to reason.

    “Yes, but since my friends get pocket money, they don’t have to ask their mom every time they buy wafers. I have to. Also, many of them save their money and then they are going to put those savings into a bank account.”

    Hmm. I raised my eyebrows at Hubby, who gave a tiny thumbs up from the other end of the room. “Ok, but it’s only Rs.10 a week. And it’ll be given weekly. No advance (Lil One didn’t really understand this bit but it sounded superbly official and he nodded, impressed with my financial intuition). And you have to do a small chore for me every week to earn your money.” Lil One was digesting this new information as well as the new official avatar of mommy, when Hubby piped in with a wink, “And if she is really being stingy, I’ll try to chip in. Ok? Umm
additional Rs.10 from my end occasionally if you are good! Of course, with mommy’s permission.”

    “Yaay!”yelled Lil One and rushed downstairs to inform all about finally having joined the elite “haves” club.

    Though I really smiled at that typical last sweet offer by Hubby, Econ Mom was uncomfortable. “Occasionally, if you are good” is BAD news. Period.

    Being fond of economics as well as politics, Econ Mom is kind of passionate about the fiscal federalism structure in India as governed by officially the Finance Commission, and over a period of time, also by the Planning Commission.

    The Finance Commission was set up by an act of the Constitution; the makers of our Constitution were acutely aware that States would need more funds for their development whereas their control over revenue sources, such as taxes, was typically restricted. Hence, the Finance Commission was to be set up by the President, every 5 years, to decide how much of the pool of the Central taxes could be shared with the states. The Finance Commissions have always worked out a formula based devolution of taxes; this year the Fourteenth Finance Commission (FFC) increased the States’ share in the Central tax pool from 32% to 42%. (You can read more about this in an earlier blog of mine dedicated to the FFC.)

    However, the (erstwhile) Planning Commission was just an arm of the Government and not really a constitutional authority. It was set up as an independent think tank to drive planning goals for the development of the country. Nowhere do its guidelines mention disbursal of funds to drive the plans as a part of its objectives.

    However, as the history of our Center-State relations goes, the Planning Commission also became an authority to sanction “Plan Support” to State Governments in accordance with the Plan objectives or schemes mentioned in their Economic Surveys. Now, the disbursals by the Planning Commission are not really in accordance with any formula; rather, they were need-based and hence, often found to be driven politically rather than economically.

    If one examines the trends in the disbursals of the Finance Commissions, one finds that they are often progressive in nature; poorer states get a bigger share of the Central pool of taxes. However, the same cannot be said of the disbursals by the Planning Commission; in fact casual observation of the data suggests to me that more funds are normally given in Plan Support to those State Governments which are aligned to the National Government.

    Dissolving the Planning Commission and setting up of the NITI took the country by political storm with plenty of observers interpreting the event to be a mistrust of Nehruvian institutions by the NDA. And whilst that may be true (I don’t really have a comment on that), the fact is that unless the Commission stood completely dissolved, it would have been very difficult to get it back to the format it was originally designed for. A think tank. Not an additional fund-tank.

    It was a good move and frankly, the only move to solve the issue. Fund disbursal has to be rule-driven. Only then is it possible to drive sound economic outcomes in a transparent manner.

    Lil One came rushing home. “Mom, I’m so, so, so thrilled about you giving me pocket money. Thank you!”

    “You’re welcome, honey. But..”

    “Don’t tell me you are cancelling it. You said yes! And you were convinced!”

    “Of course I am going to give you your pocket money. It’s just that I’m not okay with Dad giving you that additional bit.”

    “Oh! That’s fine with me, Mom. I don’t really need that additional bit.”

    And so that’s that. Hubby is now NITI, whereas I continue with being the Finance Commission.

  • Pharma Sector – Drug Pricing, NPPA, FDC, Generics, etc.

  • Sagarmala Project: Smart ports for Blue Revolution in India

    The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Modi, on March,2015 gave its ‘in-principle’ approval for the concept and institutional framework of Sagarmala Project. Let’s take a glance on it.

     

    What’s the prime objective of Sagarmala?

    The prime objective of the Sagarmala project is to promote port-led direct and indirect development and to provide infrastructure to transport goods to and from ports quickly, efficiently and cost-effectively.

    What’s the current issue and background of ports in India?

    • At present there are around 200 ports (small and big) in the country, of these, only 12 are major ports which are government owned ports, which handle about 58% of sea-borne traffic.
    • These major ports operate as Trusts under the Major Ports Trust Act, 1963, except for the Port of Ennore, which is a company under the Companies Act.
    • There are legacy issues with these govt owned major ports, they do not keep pace with emerging technology, requirements of international trade, emerging trends in containerisation, flexible rules, size of ships etc.

    Which are the 12 Major Ports ?

    These are Kolkata (including Dock Complex at Haldia), Visakhapatnam, Chennai, V.O. Chidambaranar (Tuticorin), Cochin, New Mangalore, Mormugao, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), Mumbai, Kandla and Ennore.

     

    Just, Look back into the history?

    In 2003, then PM Vajpayee proposed Project Sagarmala with following features:

    • Setup Sagarmala Development Authority (Similar to National highway authority of India).
    • It will get money via Maritime development cess. (5 paise per kg on cargo).
    • It will improve ports, shipping industry, inland water transport, coastal shipping.
    • PPP and FDI to gather more investment.

    Then, which are the Key pillars to achieve Smart-development ?

    • Supporting and enabling Port-led Development through appropriate policy and institutional interventions.
    • Providing for an institutional framework for ensuring inter-agency and states’ collaboration for integrated development.
    • Port Infrastructure Enhancement, including modernization and setting up of new ports.
    • Efficient Evacuation to and from hinterland.

    What are some of the measures to make Smart Ports?

    • Ports should be registered as Companies under Companies Act.
    • The port administration should only look after the provisions of infrastructure and safety and not day-to-day running of the port
    • There is still no regulation to control the trade practices.
    • Hence, there is a dire need to introduce a regulatory architecture that takes care of ex-ante declaration of rates of services.

    Then, what’s the plan to implement such a vast initiative?

    • For a comprehensive and integrated planning for “Sagarmala”, a National Perspective Plan (NPP) for the entire coastline shall be prepared within six months.
    • It will identify potential geographical regions to be called Coastal Economic Zones (CEZ).
    • While preparing the NPP, synergy and integration with planned Industrial Corridors, Dedicated Freight Corridors, National Highway Development Programme, Industrial Clusters and SEZs would be ensured.

    What are the suggestions for effective mechanism at state level?

    • Set up State Sagarmala Committee to be headed by CM / Minister in Charge of Ports.
    • Sagarmala Coordination and Steering Committee (SCSC) shall be constituted under the chairmanship of the Cabinet Secretary and others.
    • This Committee will provide coordination between ministries, state governments and agencies connected with implementation and review the progress of implementation of the National Perspective Plan.

    How does it ensure the sustainable development in CEZ?

    • This would be done by synergising and coordinating with State Governments and line Ministries of Central Government through their existing programmes.
    • Such as those related to community and rural development, tribal development and employment generation, fisheries, skill development, tourism promotion etc.
    • In order to provide funding for such projects and activities that may be covered by departmental schemes a separate fund by the name ‘Community Development Fund’ would be created.

    What’s the role of Institutional Framework ?

    • It has to provide for a coordinating role for the Central Government.
    • It should provide a platform for central, state governments and local authorities to work in tandem and coordination under the established principles of cooperative federalism.

    What’s the role of NSAC?

    A National Sagarmala Apex Committee (NSAC) is envisaged for overall policy guidance and high level coordination, and to review various aspects of planning and implementation of the plan and projects.

    So, Is it Good to have smart ports on the line of Smart Cities?

    Can you answer some questions?

    #1. Can you examine the bottlenecks in Indian port infrastructure and list the initiative taken in recent times to address this issue?

    #Q.2 Indian port infrastructure can be revamped by Sagarmala project by effective management? critically comment.

     

    Published with inputs from Arun

  • Labour, Jobs and Employment – Harmonization of labour laws, gender gap, unemployment, etc.

    The lagging manufacturing sector

    • Despite low wages, India is not a global manufacturing hub, even while being one of the fastest growing service sectors in the world
    • India’s service sector has grown at an annual rate of 9% since 2001, and contributed 57% of the GDP in 2012-13
    • The industrial sector, meanwhile, only recorded a negligible increase and contributes nearly half at 26% of GDP
    • Despite the availability of human resources, India has not been able to leverage its demographics for industrial development

    This disparity is considered to be an outcome of:

    1. High rates of corruption
    2. Excessively complex worker-centric labour regulations
    3. Low labour productivity

    Issues in Indian labour laws:

    #1. Archaic laws

    • In the pre-independence period, British colonialists in India suppressed labour rights, trade unions and the freedom of association among workers. As a result, labour activism became a part of the Indian freedom struggle
    • In 1950, the newly framed Constitution of India looked to undo these wrongs by including fundamental labour rights, along with complex labour laws. These laws made hiring additional workers increasingly difficult
    • Despite several decades of economic progress, these laws have not been amended or reformed in order to foster a friendlier climate for business

    #2. Labour productivity

    • India has low labour productivity in comparison with other developing nations
    • As a result, in the early days of offshoring, Western firms showed greater interest in setting up manufacturing facilities in Thailand, Mexico, China, Vietnam and Philippines rather than in India
    • All of these countries had as bad a record of bureaucratic corruption as India did at the time, but labour productivity was found to be higher

    #3. Politics

    • In Kerala alone, for example, there were nearly 363 hartals between 2005 and 2012, causing loss of working days
    • In addition, in the 1970s and 1980s, Indian politics was dominated by socialists who created the impression that profit making by private enterprises is undesirable
    • Policymakers also further strengthened India’s complicated labour laws

    #4. Complexity

    • Labour is a subject in concurrent list of the Constitution of India. Thus both centre and states can enact laws on labour matters
    • There are about 45 central government laws and more than 100 state statutes, sometimes overlapping or contradicting

    #5. Rigidity

    • India has one of the most rigid labour regulatory frameworks in the world
    • Example- Industrial Disputes Act of 1947 stipulates that a firm with 100 employees or more cannot close down without government permission
    • Such laws curtail the growth of a firm by forcing it to hire fewer workers and remain small

    #6. Cost of compliance

    • There are also high costs involved in complying with several labour laws
    • Example- under the Factories Act, firms with 10 or more workers and firms which use electric power are required to keep records and file regular reports on matters such as overtime work, wages, attendance, sick leave and worker fines

    Need for reforms:

    • As early as in 2002, the Second National Commission on Labour suggested the formulation of labour codes similar to those in Russia, Germany, Poland, Hungary and Canada
    • The commission recommended that labour legislation be divided into five broad areas: industrial relations, wages, social security, safety and welfare, and working conditions
    • It is predicted that the size of India’s workforce will swell to 249 million by 2050, while China’s is set to decline to 166 million during the same period

    So how should the Indian government and Indian industry build India’s human resources for the cause of future growth?

    Way ahead:

    • Legislative reforms such as those taken up recently by central government and states such as Rajasthan, Gujarat, MP are very much needed
    • Empowering women to enter the workplace and providing them additional support
    • Physically challenged- Increasing current 3% reservation in governmental and government-funded jobs. Also ensuring that workplaces are disabled-friendly
    • Example- Karnataka granted exemptions to IT industries from the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act of 1946. It undermines the employer’s autonomy in determining the terms of employment, working hours, leave grant and similar matters
    • Providing social security to workers in the informal sector would also pave the way for a more satisfied and productive workforce
    • Training and skilling- India has a demographic advantage but in order to utilize this dividend, India needs to invest heavily in training its talent
    • India’s supply of labour presently outnumbers industry’s demand for them. As a result, the government and manufacturing firms need to invest in training and skilling

    Conclusion:

    The guiding principle for India’s labour policy reformers should not merely be ring fencing jobs but safeguarding workers through social assistance, re-employment support (such as that which is provided in several Western nations) and skill building, and supporting employers in employee training and development.

     

    • From our collection on Govt schemes:
    1. Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Shramev Jayate Karyakram
    2. From Jan Dhan to Jan Suraksha
    Published with inputs from Swapnil

  • Cop out at COP 21!

    Scene again opens in the Opposition Neta’s office, where Netaji is reading the newspaper and is confused with all the reports on Paris.

    Netaji: Tell me Guptaji, what is this COP 21? Even in the High Command office, they were all discussing this cop. What is the COP 21? It sounds like a new movie with Salman Khan in a cop avatar strong enough to beat 21 gundas.

    Clever Guptaji (startled): Sir! COP 21 is not a movie, Sir! It is an acronym for the 21st Conference of Parties. It is an annual forum where countries come together to debate and discuss climate change issues. It was held at Paris, Sir. Developed countries were worried as to how India would play her climate change card, especially with our PM keen on attending. But our team has made quite an impact and held their own in discussion with bureaucrats and technocrats and ministers from 193 countries.

    Netaji (disapproving): What! I am not impressed. I don’t like all these new-fangled approaches to politics, Guptaji. Discussing such deep, internal problems with Obama and hobnobbing with that Putin. Now tell me, why should we discuss our climate with other countries? No, no. We should have never attended this event.

    Clever Guptaji (startled): But Sir, this is an issue that we cannot resolve single-handedly. All countries will have to come together to take a position on climate change. We really have damaged the atmosphere badly.

    Netaji (chewing nonchalantly on his paan): I think everyone is now over-doing it, Guptaji. It is not the first time we are facing such a climate of mistrust and suspicion in India. Why, when we were in power, there was not a single day anyone trusted us on anything. This AAP created such trouble for us, I tell you. But did we tell the globe to assemble in Paris? Never. And just look at this Government. And the newspapers are saying we also made some commitment on power?

    Clever Guptaji (stuttering): Oh Sir, you are totally misunderstanding the issue.

    Netaji (loudly): QUIET! Just tell me what this power commitment is all about.

    Clever Guptaji: Well Sir, our stance is that India will change the way power is used, but developed countries have to lead the way in this commitment.

    Netaji (irritated): Hmph! Quite in the ivory tower we are, aren’t we, Guptaji? Change the way India uses power indeed! What a joke! Nothing can move in this country if we change the way power is used. We politicians have ensured that completely! If the Government wants more growth and development, they will need more and more power. Just to Make in India, they will need more power. Do you think any investment can be driven without power? And if they want to pass the GST, they’ll definitely need more power. Hee hee hee. Especially post-Bihar. And in the Rajya Sabha.

    Clever Guptaji (now completely horrified): We are talking about power, as in coal, Sir. Coal is bad for the atmosphere.

    Netaji (indignantly): First they said coalition was bad, now they are saying coal is bad. First they wanted power, now they don’t want to use power. In India they want more action on GST. And outside, they want more action on GHG. What a misleading Government, Guptaji!

    Clever Guptaji (exasperated): They should have sent you to Paris, Sir. Then, India could have really displayed a real COP out on commitments!