You would have watched the fielding
Captain bending to pick up some soil and drop that to determine what extent
wind would assist the swing ! – you don’t need a specialized equipment to know
for obvious changes of the wind – a weather vane is an instrument showing the direction of the wind. Once they
were architectural ornament, not so any
longer as seemingly they are not in vogue any longer.
Is that any indication ? – the most talked
about Standard and Poor's downgrade warning to India has prompted the Opposition
to accuse the UPA government of policy paralysis, governance deficit and
disconnect. The probable Presidential
candidate from Congress [some sources continue to say] finance minister Pranab
Mukherjee is ranting and raving about the rating stating that this report was "not gospel truth or one that
is cast in stone". It is also a
fact that it cannot be brushed aside so simply and perhaps has been the result
of UPA's toxic combination of poor
economic decisions, lack of reforms and political roadblocks, pushing India to the
brink. India
is at risk of losing its investment grade rating, which would make it the first
BRIC (Brazil , Russia , India ,
China )
economy to have its rating reduced to junk status.
On 11 June, Standard and Poor’s (S&P)
released a report titled ‘Will India be the first BRIC fallen angel?’, warning
of the possibility. The outlook on India ’s rating had been reduced
from stable to negative in April this year. The positive-negative-stable
outlook that rating agencies use is like an early warning flag that tells the
market what could lie ahead. A stable outlook says that the current sovereign
rating of the country will not change in the next few months. A negative
outlook means that there is a danger of the rating getting downgraded; the
positive one is the reverse—the rating may get better. India moved to
the investment grade rating in 2007 and has been stable at an S&P BBB-, but
this changed in April with the stable outlook changing to negative. It usually
takes between six months and a full year before the outlook change translates
into a rating change. The S&P report, coming so soon after the change in
outlook, has taken the market by surprise.
In a country replete with intellectuals,
there are talks of trouble ahead while the FM Pranab still perennially speaks
of hope perhaps of miraculous fix. He rejected
the report and Congress questioned the Agency’s understanding of Indian
politics – ‘it is understanding of finance and economics and nothing of
politics – somebody else quipped !’ – those who can sense politics everywhere
spoke of the Analyst who authored the report being a relative of a BJP leader from Bengal and
portrayed the comments in the report
about the dysfunctional nature of the relationship between Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi as to the political nature of the report.
Rating agencies are not the messiahs but
is it not a fact that the government’s failure to address structural
deformities in the system for years together has played havoc with fiscal
numbers. FM points to RBI and certainly RBI may yet deliver a rate cut – under
political pressure – but will that steer the Nation off the trouble ? The S&P citing division of roles
between Sonia Gandhi and 'unelected' Manmohan Singh, has said that the crux of the current
political problem for economic liberalisation is the nature of leadership
within the central government and not 'the unruly’ allies or an 'unhelpful'
opposition. And this has played spoil sport to the market rally with Indian benchmarks taking a U-turn in market
trade, retracing all its gains. Sensex
tumbled and Nifty fell below ! Market
analysts say that investors shouldn’t be too nervous about S&P’s warning
even as the currency market too reacted negatively to S&P’s statement.
Standard & Poor's (S&P) is an
American financial services company. It is a division of The McGraw-Hill
Companies that publishes financial research and analysis on stocks and bonds.
It is well known for its stock market indices. Headquartered in Manhattan , NY ,
the Company is one of the big 3 credit-rating agencies.
Even during this economic tumble, in
another part of the World there was bigger buzz - around the return of Andimuthu
Raja, former Telecom minister and the main accused in the 2G scam, surprised none
in the State but only the few others who thought that the DMK would be in a fix
on how to handle him when he gets back. Touted
as the country’s biggest corruption case, which also lost the party an
election, common logic would have expected the DMK to be worried about the
consequences of an unrestrained association with a scam-tainted Raja and there
was talk of DMK dumping or putting him at the sacrificial altar. He remained nonchalant, not uttering many
words and when he finally returned - it looked as if there was no scam and that
he was a hero; he lands at the Chennai airport to a rousing reception; and
drives straight to Karunanidhi, who garlands him. The ease and the beaming smiles, supporters
calling braveheart who conquered Tihar……… Former Karnataka Lokayukta N Santosh
Hegde questioned the boisterous
reception accorded to tainted former minister and DMK leader A Raja in the
state. “It (the reception he
received) shows the denigration in societal thinking,” said Hegde. “Today
people are sent to jail in a procession as if they are going on a foreign trip.
And when they get bail and come out, we receive them in a way that shows the
downward trend in societal laws,” Hegde said, delivering the Seventh Rajaji
Memorial lecture in the city.
In this vast Nation, Raja is not alone –
only recently, YSR Congress party’s founder, Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, taken into
custody in a assets case, also got strong support from his cadres. Understanding
Economics, Socialism, Plurality, Politics – nothing appears easy as things,
perceptions and decisions continue to change everyday….
With regards – S.
Sampathkumar .
Oh God, such is to be the fate of India, a minister selected by a group of tainted and corrupted politicians, filthy of black money and defecated 2G, 3G scams, and he himself being in that post unable to resolve those issues !!! If that's it, them it's the doomsday in Indian history, a group of dictators are governing the largest democratic country in the globe.
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