India's Business set-up Bottlenecks

Building a factory in India is not for the faint hearted. 

Even if a company is fortunate and manages to buy land - which, by the way, is becoming more and more difficult, expensive and time-consuming due to complex laws, people's rising expectations and local politics - that is just a start. 

A manufacturing company in India, on average, has to comply with nearly 70 laws and regulations. Apart from the multiple inspections, it has to file around 100 returns in a year, according to a 2013 report by consultancy firm Deloitte. 

Then there is the double maze of tax and labour laws that can be a big pain even in the best of times. Poor infrastructure does not help either. 

Will the NDA government, whose economic programme hinges on boosting the manufacturing sector, be able to bring about the required change? 

Will it be able to debottleneck the process of setting up and running a factory in the country so that its plan to create millions of new jobs in manufacturing sees the light of day? 

Problems in acquisition of land, delays in environmental and other clearances and infrastructure bottlenecks have taken a toll. 

In the past five years (2011 to 2015), new projects have seen a marked reduction of 44 per cent from the period between 2006 and 2010. The value of stalled projects more than tripled during the period. 

Worse, straddled with huge distressed assets, core sector companies are more concerned about avoiding default rather than making fresh investments. 

As a result, India's investment-to-gross domestic product ratio has fallen for five straight financial years now. 

The NDA government has tried to correct this through a massive increase in investments to build infrastructure. It is likely to follow this policy in the coming Budget, too.

Source -http://www.businesstoday.in/magazine/features/indias-manufacturing-hub-plan-is-in-a-host-of-problems/story/229415.html 

Monsanto and DuPont - Public Perception

Public perception is a curious thing. 

Two companies can do many of the same things, and yet one will take a much larger amount of flack and criticism for it. Or, as the Seattle Organic Restaurants website says, “the difference between a rainforest and a jungle is that a rainforest has a PR agent”. 

To that end, I find it very interesting that Monsanto is one of the most-hated companies on the planet, with the internet and social media full of stories and passed-around memes that declare it to be one of the worst companies in the world. And yet, DuPont is just as big in genetically-modified seeds and agricultural chemicals, and pursues largely the same policies as Monsanto with respect to pricing, IP enforcement, and so on.


So it merits the question – Why is Monsanto evil, but DuPont isn't?



Similar Unpleasant Histories

One of the most commonly-circulated bits on Monsanto in the social media space appears to be a piece that takes Monsanto to task for a long corporate history of developing dangerous products. In prior corporate incarnations, Monsanto did indeed produce Agent Orange, polychlorinated biphenyl (PCBs), DDT, and artificial sweeteners like saccharin and aspartame. While there is still vigorous debate about the safety of artificial sweeteners, nobody disputes that Agent Orange, PCBs, and DDT are bad news.


But let us have a look at DuPont's history.


DuPont started as a virtual monopoly manufacturer of gunpowder, making money hand over fist during the U.S. Civil War and then expanding into various other military explosives. Unlike Alfred Nobel, who felt so guilt-ridden about his invention of dynamite and its subsequent use in warfare that he established the Nobel Prizes, the DuPont family was apparently more interested in arranging marriages between cousins to maintain the family fortune. 


DuPont was also involved in the development of nuclear weapons. Later, DuPont developed synthetic materials like nylon and polyester that will, in many cases, still be on this earth for a long, long time. Likewise, DuPont has had its share of dangerous pesticides, herbicides, and other chemicals include coatings like C8. By the way, DuPont also manufactured Agent Orange, DDT, and PCBs … just like Monsanto did.

The point is, it's difficult to be a large player in the chemicals industry and not eventually produce a dangerous product and/or experience a significant industrial accident. Many of the chemical companies large enough and old enough to be around at the time (including Monsanto, DuPont, and Dow made products like Agent Orange, DDT, PCBs. Likewise, investors and those worried about the environment ought to be at least as worried about the neonicotinoid insecticides made by the likes of crop science companies Bayer and Syngenta  that have been implicated in colony collapse disorder affecting honeybees.

Source- Investopedia.com

Tough Competition in the Karwar LS Constituency

Excerpt from the news report from Deccan Herald:
Pluses and minuses

The “Modi wave” seems to be working in this constituency to some extent as NaMo brigades were formed in villages much before the elections were announced. Though Hegde faces anti-incumbency at most places, he may still get many votes as workers of the BJP and the Sangh Parivar have been seeking votes in Modi’s name. The BJP had won four Assembly seats in 2008, but just one in 2013.

For Prashant, his father’s sway over the region may come in handy, and he has tried to engage with people in the last five years through social service. He is also known to be polite and highly educated. The Congress workers are also highlighting the State government’s schemes. But there are many sections which do not like the elder Deshpande, saying he did not do much for the constituency despite being a minister for several years. “The Hindutva Hegde is talking about will not bring development. Voters know that it was R V Deshpande who brought investments worth Rs 1,200 crore to the district,” claimed MLC, Shrikanth L Ghotnekar of the Congress. But BJP leader Raju Dhooli from Haliyal has asserted that Deshpande “failed” to develop the district. For Deshpande, his son’s victory appears to be a “prestige issue”. He also roped in Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi to address a rally at Sirsi. Besides, the Congress has four MLAs and the support of independent MLAs. Both the parties face factionalism, a fact they deny. Margaret Alva’s son Nivedith aspired for the Congress ticket. Though Nivedith and his supporters have been canvassing for Prashant, their efforts are being seen as “half-hearted”. In the BJP, politicians are canvassing for Modi and not the candidate.

The issues being discussed are rehabilitation of the displaced, CRZ, filling tanks with Kali water, widening of national highway, the rumoured ban on areca nut, environmental concerns, protection of forest dwellers’ interests and railway line projects. At present, the Congress and the BJP seem to be ahead in only one or two Assembly segments, and equally placed in the rest.

Daijiworld has this to say:

A survey conducted by a prominent Kannada daily in association with C fore has predicted that the voters of Karnataka will not be totally swept off their feet by Modi wave, unlike some other states. As per the calculations made based on opinions  put together under this survey, the 28 Lok Sabha seats in the state are expected be shared by the three major political parties, Congress (14), BJP (12), and JD(S) (2).


If the prediction made by this survey comes true, Congress will gain seven seats as compared to the previous Lok Sabha election, at the cost of BJP. It is being analyzed that the voters, in spite of having been frustrated at the lackadaisical performance of the union government, have continued to favour Congress because of the internal bickering within the BJP. Congress will possibly wrest back its prominence in Old Mysore and Hyderabad Karnataka regions of the state as per the survey, which says that the Congress is likely to win 11 out of the 14 seats. The fact that Siddaramaiah is the chief minister, and Hyderabad Karnataka has been covered under section 371J, are likely to score major points for the Congress. JD(S) will have to be content with only a token presence, as the survey has given it an edge only in Hassan and Tumkur constituencies.

The BJP, which suffered an ignominious defeat in the assembly election because of parting of ways with Yeddyurappa last time, is expected to perform well in Bangalore, Mumbai-Karnataka, and central Karnataka regions. Out of the three seats it won from the state capital last time, BJP is predicted to retain two. BJP is set to lose Bangalore (central), Bellary, Udupi-Chikmagalur, Bidar, Raichur, Dakshina Kannada, Chitradurga and Tumkur constituencies, as the voters are unhappy with the functioning of current incumbents, the survey analyses. On religion and caste-based calculations, minorities, backward classes, and dalits are likely to support the Congress, as Siddaramaiah is projected as their hope. Vokkaliga votes will go to BJP wherever JD(S) does not have strong footing. A large number of voters surveyed felt that Congress can improve its chances in the election by giving the post of deputy chief minister to Dr Parameshwar. However, more people have preferred Narendra Modi to become the prime minister, as compared to Rahul Gandhi, with only a miniscule percentage choosing Arvind Kejriwal.

All said, now  we can only wait and watch. Amongst everyone, we Hope and Pray this time our Nation Wins!!