Nobel Prize Economist comparing Togo to India on mobile payments and saying Togo is better.
People in Sathankulam getting their subsidies directly credited to their account and then paying thru UPI in the nearest T shop still using GLS bulbs, saying
UPI has ensured India leapfrogged many western Countries in terms of digital payment infrastructure.
If Indian smartphone users were a country, they would be the third most populated country in the planet.
Our direct account transfer value is more than the GDP of Pakistan
But for western educated brown sahibs and their dependents in India, India will forever remain a poor, backward, technologically obsolete, useless hell hole upon which, they have a God given right to Pontificate.
Their relevance depends on projecting India as a poor country..
Today I can travel the entire length of Tamil Nadu, and 75% of India in a car, without cash, wallet and only a mobile phone with me.
Could you have done this 5 years ago? No.
But what example will the Economist uncle give? Togo.
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Today is Budget day. Naturally, everyone in your office, including your boss, will be discussing the Budget. So how do you sound intellectual in those discussions?
Don't worry. Here's a primer on how to sound amazing on Budget Day, without even watching the budget.
First, start off with a sentence containing phrases like, proactive tax Rationalization, infrastructure financing, economic intervention.
Say stuff like, "This budget should focus on proactive economic intervention with infrastructure rationalization"
Also given that middle class is the new flavour of the season, say things like, "This govt should focus on widening the tax base to reduce the burden on the middle class and stimulate the economy by prudent tax stratification in order to boost consumption"
Unpopular opinion : All our aspirations of replacing China as an advanced electronics manufacturing hub, Building 3 nm chips, becoming the biggest ship builders on the planet can wait
We first need to lay roads that don't resemble the lunar surface at the slightest hint of rain
Case in point are the entry roads to Mumbai.
Imqgine the worst criminal you can think of, then visualize the worst form of hell to send him to, then visualize the road that will get him there.
They will still be better and smoother than the entry roads to Mumbai.
BMC has converted entering Mumbai into a Crystal maze type game, filled with booby traps and insurmountable obstacles, laying a Challenge to all those who dream of entering Mumbai
It's like BMC is telling them "Life will be tough in Mumbai & this entry road is the trailer"
I was watching a video by @deepakshenoy where he spoke nicely about how, contrary to perceptions, Tata were generally unfriendly to shareholders when compared to Reliance.
He gave a wonderful example of ACC to highlight that.
Which led me digging thru the history of ACC
Because ACC has a close connect to a quote that I had read sometime back.
"If you want to study the cartels of a country, study its cement companies"
And the origin story of ACC reflects that quote perfectly
The story of Cement started in India in the year 1904 in Madras
Given that we were a poor country fighting for food, the use of cement was pretty low in our priority list. Hence the first plant shut down pretty quickly.
Then in 1914 a Serbian Dude shot an Austrian prince leading to England & Germany started fighting with each other in WW1.
Only an Indian govt body, like the BMC, can wash their hands off of a tragedy that tragically killed several people by saying they didn't approve what was supposedly India's largest hoarding and they didn't know it was there.
So they aren't responsible.
The funny part is the hoarding guy advertised as India's largest hoarding. But the BMC guys didn't realize it was there.
I mean what level of obliviousness are BMC guys operating on, that they miss India's largest hoarding, which was also apparently illegal.
Preventing illegal stuff is probably the ONE Job any govt body. Their main job
How incompetent you should be that someone built illegally, India's largest something
If there is a game where the objective is to reach the highest level of incompetency, BMC will be the final boss
Rounding up my Australia & Sport series, here's the most Australian sporting success story, in the history of sport
That too from sport hardly any of us know
Short track Speed Skating
Here's the stunning story of Australia's first winter Olympic Gold Medalist, Steven Bradbury
This is not a Disney movie story, or like that of Shashank Singh, where a guy gets picked randomly out of nowhere and then achieves Success.
This is a story of persistence, bloody mindedness and some luck, which all came together in one magical moment to create magic.
Steven Bradbury was a career speed skater and a successful one at that. He was a part of the Australian Speed Skating relay team in the 1994 Winter Olympics
Realizing the other teams were much faster, they decided on a strategy to not fall, finish the race & hope for the best.
Indian elections are uncertain, but I think the results for the 2024 polls are more or less done
I think, we will witness a govt with the highest majority since 1984
And this means an amazing opportunity
I know this post means nothing, but here's my Wishlist for the next govt
This govt should focus on the boring things. Because boring things, build civilizations
We need to start by streamlining babudom. And a timebound approval system.
In this digital age, taking two weeks for a GST certificate or 67 permissions to build a hotel is ridiculous.
Second standardize the investment experience. From Ladakh to Lepakshi, there should be absolutely no difference in the process of setting up a factory or opening a shop.
You can't have a country where local politics can derail international projects.