India may surpass China’s growth rate in 3-4 yrs: Basu

Buoyed by country’s robust growth prospects, Chief Economic Advisor Kaushik Basu today exuded confidence that India could clock a higher growth rate than China in the next three to four years.

“I think we (India and China) are very close in terms of growth rate now. Within the next 3—4 years, for us to overtake the growth rate of China is possible,” Mr. Basu said at a CII post—Budget conference here.

India economy is estimated to grow 8.6 per cent in the current fiscal and up to 9.25 per cent in 2011—12.

In the last three months of 2010, the domestic economy expanded 8.2 per cent while China grew 9.8 per cent during the same period.

Earlier this year, the World Bank projected that Indian economy would overtake that of China - on purchasing power parity (PPP) basis - by 2012.

According to Mr. Basu, it might take time before India could overtake China in terms of per capita income, especially since the neighbouring nation’s per capita income is three times more than India.

In 1978, the per capita income of both countries were the same, he added.

World Bank in its report had projected Indian economy to grow by 8.7 per cent in 2012, faster than 8.4 per cent expected for China.

However, these projections were based on PPP basis, which means that purchasing power of currencies are taken into account for measuring economic growth.

Currently, the size of Indian economy is USD 1.3 trillion while that of China is worth USD 5.5 trillion. Few weeks back, China also emerged as the world’s second largest economy, toppling Japan.

Apple unveils iPad 2

The biggest surprise at Apple iPad 2 launch event was the fact that Steve Jobs was there to present it. Jobs walked out to a thunderous standing ovation and stated, “We’ve been working on this product for awhile, and I didn’t want to miss it.”

The $499 device is thinner than the iPhone 4, twice as fast as the last tablet, camera-equipped, and ships March 11 in the United States and March 25 in 26 more countries. The surprisingly fast roll-out highlights the fierce competition in the tablet market.

The iPad 2 is very much a video device. The resolution is the same, the price is the same and the battery life is the same. The new feature is a front and back facing camera which was not available on the original iPad.The biggest surprise at Apple iPad 2 launch event was the fact that Steve Jobs was there to present it. Jobs walked out to a thunderous standing ovation and stated, “We’ve been working on this product for awhile, and I didn’t want to miss it.”

The $499 device is thinner than the iPhone 4, twice as fast as the last tablet, camera-equipped, and ships March 11 in the United States and March 25 in 26 more countries. The surprisingly fast roll-out highlights the fierce competition in the tablet market.

The iPad 2 is very much a video device. The resolution is the same, the price is the same and the battery life is the same. The new feature is a front and back facing camera which was not available on the original iPad.Apple has used in-house designed dual-core 1GHz A5 System-on-Chip processor inside the second generation tablet. It's capable enough for multi-tasking, video recording, FaceTime video calls and loads Apps faster. The Graphics core boosts nine times better visual performance compared to the first generation iPad, TechTree reports.

The second generation iPad 2 will have 3G network support along with Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g/n) and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR. Apple has shelled out a new HDMI cable connector that promises 1080p HD video output when connected to the proprietary 30-pin dock connector port on the iPad 2.Additionally, iMovie is now available on the iPad 2, and is specially designed to make it easy to edit videos on a tablet format. Facetime, which has been available since the launch of the iPhone 4, is now available on the iPad 2, too, and can perform videoconferencing between both iPhone and iPad 4 devices. Garageband for the new iPad will allow you to plug in instruments, add effects and record up to 8 tracks.

Apple also unveiled a new cover that snaps onto the device using built-in magnets on the iPad2. The cover rolls back and acts as a stand for watching video and to allow for easier tapping. The cover also has a microfiber surface on the inside that helps keep the iPad 2 surface cleaner.

The 81st Geneva Motor Show

Manual Deskterity: An Exploration of Simultaneous Pen + Touch Direct Input

INDIA MEANS.........BUSINESS

I read this article in TOI-crest and wanted to share it on my blog. Read what this article contains:

The numbers are impressive - per capita GDP has more than doubled from Rs 15,625 in 2000 to Rs 37,490 in 2009, foreign exchange reserves have risen nine-fold from $34 billion to $286 billion in the same period, and the Bombay Stock Exchange's market capitalisation has soared from $184 billion to over $1.2 trillion. But the figures still don't truly reflect the Indian economy's triumphant march through this decade, or the intimidating aura that Indian business is increasingly acquiring in western eyes. To get a sense of that, rewind to a recent interview which appeared in TOI-Crest , in which trendspotter Malcolm Gladwell was asked if he had a message for Indians. His response: "One day, all of us in the US will be working for you. Be kind to us." (Actually his answer was the reason for which I liked this article, such a simple answer but means a lot).

Sure, it was a joke. But it also contained a kernel of truth. Thousands of Americans and foreigners of other nationalities already work in companies owned by Indians. If the 1990s was when India let in the world, the Noughties is when it went out to the world - and increasingly did so as a conquering force.

Big-ticket acquisitions made headlines - the Tatas acquiring Corus and Jaguar Land Rover, the Aditya Birla Group buying Novelis, ONGC Videsh taking over Imperial Energy, Videocon picking up Daewoo Electronics. But away from the spotlight, many smaller companies too were planting the tricolour on corporate headquarters around the globe, with Indian companies acquiring 828 foreign firms between 2005 and 2009 alone. The term 'Indian multinational' is no longer an oxymoron, and Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata recently said his successor could well be an expatriate - after all, 65 per cent of the group's $71 billion revenue now comes from overseas operations.

While India Inc was going global, the domestic economy was going from strength to strength. After growing a strong 6.4 per cent in 1999-2000 , it weathered a rough couple of years, but picked up pace from 2003-04 (8.5 per cent) and really accelerated from 2005-06 , posting 9.5 per cent, 9.7 per cent and 9 per cent in three straight years of China-like growth. The global recession slowed down GDP growth in 2008-09 to an estimated 6.7 per cent, and there was talk of it slipping below 6 per cent this year, but an eye-popping 7.9 per cent spurt in the July-September quarter has led the finance ministry to estimate 7.75 per cent growth for this fiscal - a figure the developed world can only sigh about wistfully.

Once, India feared globalisation . Today, World Bank president Robert Zoellick, among others, describes India as a crucial pillar in an interconnected world. The future seems bright - according to several projections, India will overtake China as the world's fastest-growing economy by 2020, and be the world's third largest economy by 2025. But as the rising Naxal menace shows, aspiration from rising growth can easily turn into frustration at exclusion from it. India has done a good job of wealth creation in this decade. It needs to get better at wealth distribution in the coming one.

Turmoil in the US.....

Today, the US economy is in serious financial crisis. The crisis began with the bursting of the housing bubble in the US. Sub-prime crisis what US faces today is the effect of yesteryears. The crisis can be attributed to a number of factors such as inability of borrowers to make their mortgage payments, central bank policies, declining housing prices made refinancing difficult etc..A long-term boom in the US housing prices encouraged borrowers to take more mortgages. Also, it let the borrowers into a false belief that it would not be difficult to refinance the mortgages at a more favourable terms later. However, once the housing prices started reducing moderately, refinancing became more difficult. As a result, borrowers became unable to make their mortgage payments due to which banks suffered a high amount of loss. It is the time which has caused due damage to Bear Stearns, the fifth largest investment bank in the US. It was on the verge of bankruptcy as it was sold off to JP Morgan at a throwaway price. Last month Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy and Merrill Lynch was sold off to Bank of America. And now the spotlight had turned on AIG, the largest Insurance company in the US, whose financial predicament was being disclosed few days ago. Though the US government has approved the bailout package to rescue the economy out of the possibe danger by creating necessary liquidity for the banks and financial institutions yet the US economy is suffering from illiquidity. This financial crisis had its major implications on the US economy as well as the global markets.

Veronika decides to die....

We tend to take life for granted. We keep chasing elusive goals set by others for us. Paulo Coelho’s “Veronika decides to die” reminds us to really live life each day as opposed to just existing. This is a story of a girl named Veronika who lives in Ljubljana, Slovenia. She has everything in her life a girl can ever dream of. She is young and pretty, has plenty of attractive boyfriends, has a steady job, a loving family. Still Veronika is not happy, still she is not satisfied, still her heart is empty, still her heart craves for something missing in her life, still she wants to end up everything and die. Finally she decides to commit suicide by taking an overdose of sleeping pills in order to stop that endless routine.

While she waits for her death, she decides to read a magazine. After seeing an article in the magazine which wittily asks “Where is Slovenia”, she decides to write a letter to the press justifying her suicide, the idea being to make the press believe that she has killed herself because people don’t even know where Slovenia is. Unfortunately her plan fails and she wakes up in Villete, a mental hospital in Slovenia, where she is told that she has a week to live. During her internment in Villete she realizes that she has nothing to lose and can therefore do what she wants, say what she wants and be what she wants without having to worry about what others think of her. As a madwoman, she is unlikely to be criticized. Because of this newfound freedom, Veronika experiences all the things she never allowed herself to experience including hatred, love and even sexual awakening. She starts to see her past relationships much more clearly and understand why she felt her life had no meaning. Veronika’s experiences lead her gradually to realize that every second of existence is a choice that we all make between living and dying. Through the story of her remaining days, Coelho encourages the reader to believe in hope and follow his or her own dream without the fear of being seen as mad.

This book reminds us that every moment in our lives is special and precious. Like other works by the same author, this one also is about those people who yearn for finding what life is all about. “Live each day as if it were a miracle”, he tells us. After I read this book, which I thoroughly enjoyed, I pondered its thoughts, and I wondered: if I were to die in 5 days, what would I want to do that I can't do today because the world will call me crazy? Well... it's actually a hard list to come up with. Some moments of the Veronika's story were even shocking and insightful for me. One of the Villete's patients tells Veronika to masturbate and to be bold in her imagination while doing it. By that particular moment, Paulo Coelho brings out the importance of sexuality in our lives and states that this theme continues to be a taboo and leaves many people unhappy and dissatisfied.

What is normal in our society? Why is it considered normal? Why people refuse from something very important for them under social pressure? These are just few issues which Paulo Coelho presents in his book. Reading this book didn't leave me indifferent, it was not just one of many books which are forgotten after some time. Thanks to "Veronika Decides to Die", i realize that everyday routine should not be an obstacle in living happy fulfilling life. Now I know that following the rules created by other people will not make me happy. If I am unhappy, it's not other people's fault rather it’s my own fault because I was not strong enough to follow my own passion. I believe that every reader will find something in the book that particularly meshes well with his or her own view of life.

The Quotes I love:

1. There is alwayas a gap between intention and action.

2. Nothing in this world happens by chance.

3. Some people always want to help others. Just so that they can feel better than they really are.

4. People think about sex only once a fortnight and transform that thought into action only once a month.

5. People never learn anything by being told, they have to findout for themselves.

6. You have two choices, to control your mind or to let your mind control you.

7. We are allowed to make a lot of mistakes in our lives, except the mistake that destroys our lives.

8. An awareness of death encourages us to live more intensely.

9. The danger of an adventure is worth than thousand days of ease and comfort.