Posts Tagged ‘India’

Putting Energy (and Investment) to Good Use

Friday, April 1st, 2011


(photo credit: Evan Prodromou)

We all know that carbo-loading is essential for running a marathon (or staying up all night writing papers/ playing video games). So why expect lasting social change to run on a cookie here, a handful of peanuts there?

“45% of the population of rural India live in villages with no electricity.” So it was only a matter of time before capitalist do-gooders found an opportunity to profit from lighting up the countryside. Providing affordable clean energy solutions is potentially a $2 billion industry in India alone. And it’s not just the entrepreneurs who profit: locals suddenly have light to study and work by, cleaner air and water, and a new job market for selling and repairing solar lanterns and other green gadgets.

Sounds like a pretty neat social venture to us. What do you think?

When it comes to supporting causes you care about, are you more likely to fund emergency projects, like disease and hunger relief, or longer-term strategies for change, like electricity?

The New Philanthropy: Google Goes After Education In India

Thursday, February 10th, 2011

“NEW DELHI – Internet giant Google Inc. said Monday it will give $5 million to upgrade and support 50 elementary schools run by India’s Bharti Foundation, the philanthropic unit of Bharti Enterprises Ltd.”

What do you think?

Can an enormous business-based philanthropic venture like Google fulfill its mission to save the world?

India May Eliminate Tax Returns For Salaried Citizens

Thursday, January 27th, 2011


credit: vlima.com

Someone must have heard about the 6.1 billion hours Americans are spending slaving over their tax returns every year, because India is considering whether or not to simplify its tax system and allow roughly 17.5 million taxpayers to skip the tax return filing from now on.

Of course, this break wouldn’t apply to everyone. To qualify, taxpayers would have to be salaried (which means you are paid annually, not hourly, so that your employer and bank can accurately report your earnings to the government), and you must have no additional source of income.

In the U.S., people spend a lot of time trying to reduce their taxes by claiming deductions for things like charitable donations and education expenses. If India eliminates this process for half of its taxpayers, does that mean they don’t offer the same kind of tax breaks?

Microfinance Hits A Wall In India

Wednesday, November 24th, 2010

The great microcredit experiment in India was a wild success… but now it’s on the verge of collapsing entirely.

  • Politicians in India are accusing microfinance institutions of taking advantage of poor borrowers, and encouraging borrowers not to pay back their loans.
  • Microcredit is one of the only ways that poor people around the world can get loans to start small businesses. And in India, microfinance has become a booming industry in recent years.
  • Unfortunately, many people who receive microloans won’t be able to pay them back. So the loans tend to be really small, and their interest rates are really high. That means that entrepreneurs who do pay back their loans cover the cost of those who don’t pay.

Facts & Figures

  • Indian banks have about $4 billion tied up in the microfinance industry
  • In the past few weeks, less than 10% of borrowers made loan payments
  • SKS Microfinance charges a 24% interest rate on its microloans

Best Quote

“The money lender lives in the community. At least you can burn down his house. With these companies, it is loot and scoot.” – Reddy Subrahmanyam, Senior Official of the Indian Government

Indian Billionaires Reluctant To Give

Wednesday, August 18th, 2010

In a country wrought with poverty, giving to the poor becomes a challenge in its own right.

  • Bill Gates and Warren buffet, two of the wealthiest individuals in the world, recently pledged to give half of their net worth to charity.
  • The pledge has been replicated by 38 other American billionaires, but in India – home to two of the richest people in the world – wealthy individuals have not made the same commitment.
  • Those billionaires contacted regarding the challenge evaded commenting on the subject.
  • Experts say that Indian billionaires donate less because the opportunities for giving are fewer and often tainted by corruption.

Facts & Figures

  • Indians collectively donate 0.6% of their country’s GDP to charity. While Canada donates 1.3% and the U.S. 2.2%.
  • Just 10% of charitable giving in India comes from individuals or companies, compared to 75% in the United States.

Best Quote

“Indians just don’t trust the organizations that want money or that they could give to. Often they find themselves in the position that even if they want to give, there is no mechanism available to them by which they could give.” – Emily Harrison, Founder, Innovaid

India Battles Poverty With New Food Distribution System

Tuesday, August 10th, 2010

India, a country pulsing with the potential for economic power, wavers under the weight of poverty.

  • India debates whether or not to implement a new food distribution system that will give out food coupons and cash to citizens.
  • The plan is part of a movement that aims to gives every citizen a constitutional right to food.
  • The new food distribution system will allow every Indian family a monthly 77-pound bag of grain, sugar and kerosene.
  • Though it is possible that issuing food coupons will greatly improve poverty in India, many are concerned that the new freedom of choice it allows recipients will encourage corruption.

Facts & Figures

  • 42% of all Indian children under the age of 5 are underweight.
  • 70% of the $12 billion food budget is wasted, stolen or absorbed by bureaucratic and transportation costs.

Best Quote

“The question is whether there is a role for the market in the delivery of social programs. This is a big issue: Can you harness the market?” – Bharat Ramaswami, Rural Economist, Indian Statistical Institute.

With India and Britain, The Empire Doesn’t Strike Back

Friday, August 6th, 2010

India experiences colonialism role reversal as Britain scrambles to hook into their budding economy.

  • The British Prime Minister, David Cameron, plans a visit to India that will focus on increasing trade between the two countries.
  • Mr. Cameron’s trip indicates the global economy’s shift towards developing nations and his commitment to latch onto India’s booming business world.
  • During Cameron’s trip he will ring the opening bell on the Bombay Stock Exchange, introduce a solar-powered mobile handset and deliver a speech entitled “U.K. and India: A New Economic Partnership” to bankers and businessmen.

Facts & Figures

  • British companies Marks & Spencer and Bentley Motors have started investing in India in recent years to tap into new wealth.

Best Quote:

“India is an incredibly dynamic market that will grow substantially in the next five to 10 years.” - Stephen Phipson, President, Smiths Detection.

The Bumpy Roads Of India’s Growing Economy

Monday, July 19th, 2010

Public projects in India are unpredictable and foreign investors are watching.

  • India’s rapidly growing economy could be hindered by the sorry state of their public roads.
  • India’s roads are narrow and often unnavigable. Their condition often stalls industrial activity and sometimes causes perishable goods to spoil before reaching their destination.
  • India is looking towards foreign investors to fund a massive reparation of India’s roads. However, because of India’s reputation for poorly completed infrastructure projects, few outsiders are game to invest.

Facts & Figures

  • National highways account for only 2% of India’s total road network
  • New Delhi plans to build 7,000 km of new road every year

Best Quote

“Delays are a fact of life in India, and investors know it.” – J.N. Singh, member of finance, National Highways Authority of India.

Does The Financial Crisis Mean The End Of Bollywood?!

Friday, June 12th, 2009

The financial crisis is reaching into industries across the globe – even ones which have experienced recent surges in popularity.

  • In recent years, studios, media companies, and financial institutions began to invest heavily in Bollywood films, as India’s growing middle class could more easily afford such leisurely activities.
  • Now, this $2 billion a year industry must adjust to the global financial downturn by curbing production and budget costs, and ultimately the amount of films that will be made.
  • Producers are negotiating for lower rates from actors, choreographers, and the film crew in an effort to keep costs down.

Facts & Figures

  • Bollywood received $140 million in 2007 and $700 million in 2008 but so far only $25 million in 2009 from foreign aid through mergers and acquisitions.
  • In 2008, Bollywood produced 1,000 films but in 2009, only 700 films are projected to be completed.
  • The average budget for a Bollywood film is $2 million and only 14 films Bollywood films have ever made more than $20 million at the box office.

Best Quote

“Everybody is going to bleed a little bit. Anything with a big star associated with it will find a way but a lot of smaller films are going to have trouble.” – Siddharth Roy Kapur, CEO of UTV Motion Pictures (one of India’s biggest film production companies)

First New York, Now New Delhi…

Friday, May 29th, 2009

The economic recession’s reach is apparently universal – it seems nowhere will escape the clutches of the economic downturn.

  • It seemed that India’s booming economy would be one of the few lucky survivors of the global economic meltdown. But now it looks as though what happened to the rest of the world is beginning to happen in India.
  • Most of the boom of the last 5 years was a result of investment – and since foreign investment has declined with the global economy, so has a good chunk of India’s growth. A report from the IMF says this reliance on foreign investment has made India’s economy particularly vulnerable.
  • Since cheap foreign loans are harder to come by, Indians are now forced to borrow from Indian banks. Unfortunately, the same tightening of credit that happened in America is happening among India’s domestic lenders.

Facts & Figures

  • At the end of 2008, the Indian economy’s rate of growth was at its lowest in 5 years: 5.3%.
  • In 2008, 38% of the Indian GDP was accounted for by investment. At one time, more than a third of these investors were foreign, but last year foreign investment fell to its lowest level in two years.
  • The Indian stock market dropped by 58% last year, though much of that loss has been recovered in the early part of 2009.

Best Quote

“If India wants to go back to the 8 to 9 percent growth rate, private investment and low cost of capital is essential.” – Jahangir Aziz, Chief Economist for India at JPMorgan Chase

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