SunCorp

 The US economy is expected to slow down in 2008, sending markets the world over, including India’s, into a flutter. Oil is close to $100 a barrel and the subprime crisis cloud has not blown over. What are the possible consequences for India? Rupee appreciation is set to increase, as a weak US economy and easy interest rates spur capital flows into India. A stronger rupee will continue to neutralise some of the increase in oil prices. However, exports are likely to be hit by a strong currency and weak demand. Should India be worried?
    India’s current account deficit, now about 2.1 per cent of gross domestic product, is unlikely to worsen, as remittances, now about $27 billion, have never been affected by slowdowns in the world economy. Merchandise exports are expected to come to terms with a rising rupee and grow at 12-15 per cent in the medium term, even as services exports no longer rise at 30 per cent per annum. However, India’s best bet against the inevitable ebbs and flows in the world economy is to generate internal demand.
    India is better placed to do so than China. Its foreign trade accounts for about 35 per cent of its gross domestic product, against 80 per cent in China’s case. India’s growth took off in the Tenth Plan period (2002-07) when savings and investment picked up dramatically to cross 30 per cent of gross domestic product. The private sector accounts for about 75 per cent of capital formation, a trend that can be sustained if the government continues to create the right conditions.
    Investment in education is necessary to sustain growth, in view of the skills shortage in industry and services. The Eleventh Plan proposes to increase spending on education from 7.7 per cent of the central plan outlay to 19 per cent or Rs 275,289 crore. Skill creation would transfer about 50 million surplus people out of agriculture to industry and services and enhance farm productivity. A $500 billion investment in infrastructure through public-private partnerships would address supply bottlenecks and generate a stream of incomes. Apart from capital infusion, higher output per unit of labour and capital used can alone sustain long-term growth. This, rather than short-term market and currency movements, should concern our policymakers and entrepreneurs.

Water Transport Plan Looks Like Taking Off A Decade After Invitation Of Global Tender

After a decade’s delay, the Rs-1300-crore water transport project on the west coast — which will connect Nariman Point and Borivli — is all set to take off following chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh’s intervention. “There has been an inordinate delay in implementing the project but, after Deshmukh’s recent review meeting, we expect it to go ahead in a timebound manner. The chief minister himself will monitor its progress on a regular basis,’’ a senior official told TOI on Thursday.
    Way back in 1998, when BJP leader Nitin Gadkari was the state public works department minister, a global tender for the water transport project was floated. But the actual tender was allotted only in 2003. It then took more than two years to obtain an environmental clearance for the project as the project involved major constructions on the shore and in the sea; all this added to the delay.

    The Satyagiri Shipping Corporation-led consortium, headed by Nitin Joshi, too, is now hopeful of obtaining an early clearance from the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation, headed by senior NCP leader Anil Deshmukh. “We submitted a fresh proposal to MSRDC as one of the consortium members moved out and three new ones were added. We are sure the new proposal will be cleared soon,’’ Joshi told TOI on Thursday. The dream plan includes, besides more than a dozen hovercraft with a sitting capacity of 100 each, a special marine ambulance on the Nariman Point-Borivli route. “It’s a new concept. It will help a patient reach any hospital in the suburbs from Nariman Point in 20 to 50 minutes,’’ Joshi said. There were initially five members, including Joshi’s own company, in the consortium. But one of the members dropped out and three new members joined it later. “We want complete transparency in our transactions. We, therefore, immediately informed the MSRDC on the new composition of the consortium,’’ he added.
    Joshi said Nariman Point would be connected to Borivli via Bandra, Juhu, Versova and Malad. “The total distance will be covered in 50 minutes and it will take less than 20 minutes to reach Bandra from Nariman Point. So far as fares are concerned, though we are undecided, we expect that it will be nearly Rs 50 for the distance between Nariman Point and Bandra,’’ he said.
    Joshi was hopeful that completion of the project would take less than two years after the receipt of the letter from the government and the allotment of land for the stations. “The land will be utilised for providing basic infrastructure and amenities for the passengers,’’ Joshi said.
    PWD minister and MSRDC chairman Anil Deshmukh confirmed that his government received a revised proposal from Satyagiri. “The consortium has apparently been recomposed and we are examining the financial status of the new members. Credit-rating agency Crisis has been appointed for studying the proposal,’’ Deshmukh said. 

The Gangotri glacier is receding 23 metres each year. This is not the only Himalayan glacier vanishing, all of them are
    The sea level is set to rise by 20 feet. As much as 20% of India’s coastal areas are threatened by the rising sea. The recent floods in Mumbai are a grim reminder of what might be in store
    More than a million species are today threatened and could be extinct by 2050. Within 25 years, 3 lakh people will die every year worldwide because of the devastation resulting from global warming
    Global warming—two words that today spell the most urgent issue facing humanity. We no longer have the luxury of time to debate the issue. As top Indian environmentalist R K Pachauri, who currently heads the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, says: “If there’s no action before 2012, it’s too late. What we do in the next two-three years will determine our future. This is the defining moment.’’
    The time is over for arguing that the developed western countries are responsible for the current mess and should, therefore, clear it. It’s too late to determine who ignited the fire. It’s raging and before it mars the future of our children, we need to act.
    Each one of us has a role to play. The Times of India has been highlighting several simple measures in our day-to-day lives that can slow down global warming. But action has to go beyond individuals.
Corporate houses and communities must realize the immediacy of the issue. Scientists have recommended that the international community should
    commit itself to meaningful
    emission cuts. Enlightened individuals realize that we cannot have a better tomorrow if there is no tomorrow for the Earth itself. The Times of India applauds their vision. To hold them up as role models, and encourage others to follow suit, we announce the JSW-Times of India Earth Care Awards for excellence in climate change mitigation and adaptation, with technical assistance being provided by the Centre For Environment Education and The Energy Research Institute.
    It’s the only world we have. Let’s heal it.