China on the Run-History in the making China unveils boldest reforms in 3 decades

China on the Run-History in the  making    China unveils boldest reforms in 3 decades

China unwrapped its boldest set of economic and social reforms in nearly three decades on Friday, relaxing its one-child policy and further freeing up markets in order to put the world’s second-largest economy on a more stable footing.

The sweeping changes helped dispel doubts about the leadership’s zest for the reforms needed to give the economy fresh momentum as three decades of breakneck expansion shows signs of faltering. Pricing of fuels, electricity and other key resources now a source of major distortions-would be mainly decided by markets, while Beijing also pledged to speed up the opening up of its capital account and further financial liberalization.

“The reforms are unprecedented.” Said Xu Hongcai, senior economist at the China Centre for International Economic Exchanges, a well-connected Beijing think tank. “Reforms in 1990s were limited to some areas, now reforms are all-round.” President Xijinping and Premier Li Kequang, appointed in March, announced breakthroughs in social policy, pledging to unify rural and urban social security systems and to abolish controversial labour camps, the official Xinhua news agency reported, citing the document. The plans, more comprehensive and specific than initially thought, also dispelled concerns that Xi would need more time to take full charge of China’s vast party and government bureaucracy.

If Mr. Xi is able to manoeuvre his country on a new growth trajectory, even a sustained 8-9% growth rate, he would ensure China would become the world’s wealthiest “NATION” into decades. This would be both a challenge and an opportunity for India. China’s economy is now a major pillar of the world economy. If Beijing stumbles, New Delhi will suffer as well. Yet there is also no reason to believe a powerful China will be hostile to India. The worst case scenario is most likely if India remains in its present economic doldrums.

China is on a path of progress. Economic performance or activity is a dynamic process. This requires a change every 20-30 years, looking for more aggressive & progressive policies. China is a unitary functioning of the Govt, though a collective leadership guides the desting of the Nation (China). We have world class economist (Manmohan/Chidambram/Montek Ahluwalia (Dy Chairman of Planning Commission) Raghuraj Raman (Gov RBI). But our polity has nosedived to a new low. Politics has become disruptive, destructive and divisive day by day. The objective is just to garner votes and seek power. Nobody talks about changing India for better. Only slogan mongering.

Wake up India

Fact File-Point to Ponder -The fact’s in the fire

                                                                                                                                02 November 2013

Our netas seem to display a lack of knowledge of our own history. It is time they did their homework diligently

If some of our political leaders were to be contestants on a history segment of a Kaun Banega Crorepati-type quiz, chances are they would go home empty-handed. Politicians are known to subtely twist historical facts to suit themselves. But, in today’s world, with its easy access to information, such sins of omission or commission are all too easily caught out. And with 24 hour television, the common refrain of being misquoted is also one of diminishing returns. While some of these gaffes are controversial and insensitive, like Congress leader Beni Prasad Verma saying that “I am happy with this inflation’, many are comical and some are just plain fudget facts. Comments that twist historical facts expose the poor grasp our leaders have over our own past.

On Tuesday, at the inauguration of the renovated Sardar Vallabhbhai patel memorial Museum in Ahmedabad, Gujarat chief minister and prime ministerial aspirant narendra Modi reportedly said that Jawaharlal Nehru did not attend Patel’s funeral. Which is not the case. Other instances where Modi has got his facts wrong are in saying that Chandragupta Maurya belonged to the Gupta dynasty, that Chine spends 20% of its GDP on education (Beijing devotes hardly 4%) and that Gujarat empowered women (the sex ratio has fallen in the past decade). Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi also seemingly got it wrong when he referred to the ‘large 70-foot ashes with dead bodies’ in Uttar Pradesh in the heat of the state election campaign earlier. It is not just our netas who are prone to gaffes.   Topping the global list would be former Alaska governor Sarah Palin’s remark that ‘You can see Russia from land here in Alaska’. Former US president George W Bush’s ‘Bushisms’ like “I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully” have found a lasting place in public memory.

It is an affront to the intelligence of our people that leaders don’t bother to do their homework. They need to be careful about their words, and most certainly about their facts. Those who don’t know our history, can hardly be trusted to chart out our future. Perhaps, all parties need to conduct crash courses in historical information so that when our worthies get up and speak in public, they are on firm ground.