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The US and Japan are coordinating efforts to limit transfer of sensitive technology to China and increase trade and cooperation within the G-7 in high technology sectors. Efforts are being coordinated with South Korea. Janet Yellen says the IMF has overblown the effects on the world economy from the US decoupling from China. IMF reports have also in addition presented India incorrectly as a non aligned country, when it is a close partner of the US. In 2023 US is the largest trade partner of India.The US position is to limit flows of technology in sectors considered vital, and continue world trade in other areas with China. US is committed to friendshoring to India, Vietnam and other countries. Germany's three parties CDU, Greens and SPD are reversing close trade and technology links with China. This is also the policy of the Modi administration which seeks close trade and technology ties to US and EU. The shift is in response to what is really an overconcentration of the supply chain in China that happened as business in the US and EU and the Merkel and the Bush-Obama-Trump administrations failed to see the risks of overconcentration. And carried out misguided policies in trade and investment that are now being reversed by US president Biden, Kishida in Japan, and Modi in India. ...

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The idea of competitive cooperative federalism is for different states within India to compete for development projects through cooperation with the federal government and cooperation with other states. This is in the spirit of rapid development that India needs for modernization, facing the pandemic health challenges, and meeting the growing aspirations of the young people who make up most of India's population of 1.2 billion people. This is happening in Rajasthan with chief minister Ashok Ghelot's seeking the federal government's assistance in tackling the problem of shortage of doctors and medical supplies. Ghelot asked the federal government to make decisions for opening medical colleges in the remaining districts of Rajasthan and approve a medical device park in Jodhpur, a bulk drug park in Kota. A virtual program showed the foundation stone laying for medical colleges in Sirohi, Hanumangarh, and Daua districts. Mr. Modi's goal is to have a medical college for every district in the country and a medical postgraduate institution in each district. Mr. Modi said at that event- "I was listening to the CM of Rajasthan. He has given a long list of projects. His political ideology and party is different and mine is different, but he has much faith in me. This friendhship, trust and faith is a big strength of democracy." ...

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Denmark's shipping company Maersk is a bellwether of global trade with 700, ships and managing port terminals, logistics. Maersk has a new CEO Vincent Clerc as the company takes on a challenging environment with disruptions in the the supply chain and in global shipping during the pandemic, and shift in supply chains to other countries in Asia including India and Vietnam.

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A project of the Japan International Cooperation Agency with the Himachal Pradesh Forest Department in India provides employment for women, increases upward mobility, and conserves biodiversity. Pine needles from the chir pine tree are converted into baskets, pen stands, serving trays. About 1.2 tons of chir pine needles are shed per hectare in Himachal's 124,000 hectares of chir pine forests.

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Next generation logistics with India's new road, ports and aviation infrastructure building will be a key factor in increasing exports to $2 trillion by 2030, says this view in The Mint. The lack of logistics capabilities is holding back exports at the current time. This needs to change with the government's Gati Shakti plans for next generation infrastructure.

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A coronavirus map of the U.S. in November shows darkened areas in the midwest and the mountain states as the most hard hit regions. The U.S., India, Brazil, Russia and France, populous countries in Asia and Europe, and Americas, lead the way in the number of daily cases in the second wave as they did in the first wave of the coronavirus.

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Nirmala Sitharaman tells vegetable vendors that she spent time at the Mylapore vegetable market in Chennai when she was young. She shopped for vegetables and greens on her way to visit MLA Srinivasan's home. Sitharaman is India's finance minister and brings extraordinary simplicity and  feeling for the average person to her role at every level of government.

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Young microworkers in Britain have doubled since 2016. They earn less than 4 pounds an hour says this editorial in The Guardian. Many of them are stressed and burnt out by the constant hunt for tasks. This is not just in Britain. More than half are in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh and this kind of work has boomed since the pandemic. 

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Scientists have now found a cure for the deadly XDR strain of tuberculosis. A trial was run in South Africa recently. Of the 30,000 such cases most are in China, India and Russia. About 10 million people get tuberculosis each year making it the deadliest infectious disease. About 40 daily pills are taken for 2 years for the cure, which is now FDA approved.

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Christine Lagarde on the need to complete the planned reforms giving more voting power to emerging market countries China, S. Korea, Brazil, Mexico, India and others. This woud not change the U.S. voting power of of over 16%. The reforms would also increase contributions from these countries. This issue is likely to come up in meetings of finance ministers in Australia in 2014.

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The US Federal Reserve Report on Economic Wellbeing of US Households 2024-May 2025 gives some insights into the well being of American households. It shows food insufficiency households the same in 2023-2025 at 7%. The situation for cost of living remains a concern in 2024 as well as 2025. Retirement savings have improved for many middle class Americans, as confirmed by reports from Fidelity and Vanguard. The people earning less than 25,000 are 19% and about the same in 2024 under Biden as under DJT in 2025. 39% make $100,000 or more and 26% make $50,000 -$100,000. Combining the 19% making less than $25,000 and the 16% making between $25,000 and $50,000 shows about one third of the population under $50,000 living paycheck to paycheck. It would appear that $2000 DJT rebate putting $160 billion out of $550 billion of tariff revenues for 2025-2026  in the hands of 79 million households that make less than $100,000 would go a long way to keep the situation stable with optimism and hope arising from the restructuring of world trade that would bring trillions of dollars of investment into the US from Europe and Asia. A this investment plus domestic investment should bring back jobs and higher incomes to US manufacturing in small towns across America. The rest of $550 billion tariff revenue of $390 billion would go to reducing the deficit which would improve prospects for the economy in 2027 and produce a more resilient economy in 2027-2028. As shown on this page the popular Democratic Governor of Michigan in her op-ed in Washington Post supports strategic tariffs, and supports using the revenue for a check to American workers of $2000 per worker or per worker household and offers to work with the opposite party to get a WIN-WIN for the American People.  In the whole process of trade tariffs it must be remembered when seeing the inconsistent cases of tariff use by this Republican administration that these were special reason situations not aberrations or whimsical. First, it should be borne in mind that behind the appearance of DJT making tariff decisions is a carefully thought out process that took ten years to form under Reagan era Trade Representative Lighthizer who negotiated with Japan, and his deputy Jamieson for 2016-2024, and the economic and capital markets experience of Scott Bessent as Treasury Secretary. The two cases of inconsistent application of tariffs relate to the 50% tariff on India and the reduction of tariffs on China agreement on rare earths, and the imposition of a large tarif on Japan and the EU. In the first instance with India it was intended to give Ukraine breathing room from Russian attacks as Germany steps up its military preparedness and assistance to Ukraine. With both countries it was about saving face important in Asian or any societies and it has achieved it's purpose. Reports show both Indian and Chinese refiners have quietly cut purchases of oil from Russia leading to Russian oil selling at about $20 discount to Brent crude oil. In the case of Japan the quick action to raise tariffs was intended not to get into long drawn negotiations and show serious intent- Japan is known for dragging out negotiations for years if not decades. The same is true for the European Union. With the Swiss it was about a certain disrespect of the US coming from attitudes that Swiss products were somehow superior. Not just in the long run, in 2026-2028 history will show that the effort done right - and it takes effort to get this right- to restructure world trade so that other nations are not siphoning off the benefits and leaving the US to lose its manufacturing and factories is the right one. And taken with courage and sincere desire to create a fair distribution of the benefits of world trade for too long distorted by egregious practices of competitors. It has nothing to do with 2 senators from the 1930's who were from places like the Mountain West in the US, having no concept of world trade, Smoot and Hawley, who under a irresponsible president Hoover got everything wrong. This is a carefully set out plan to evenly balance the benefits of world trade to all nations.   ...

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Mr Tata in an interview said that the new small car from Tata will be able to meet current and future European emissions standards. There has been some speculation about emissions but this confirms that the technology for the new car has been kept to the forefront so that this car will keep emissions low. Lower Mr. Tata says than many small cars on the road today. Why is this important? Imagine in a counntry where urban areas already have a high level of pollution, cities like Kolkata and Ahmedabad, imagine putting in millions of these cars on the road, it would have been a serious error for Ratan Tata to have a vision of a great vision of a small car for the Indian people without having though about the environmental consequence of this. It appears that the vision includes staying upto date with future European emissions standards also. The other aspect is safety, arapid increase in the car fatality rate also would set this car back, and here Mr. Tata says the car hasn't compromise by using plastic, as a car its like any other passenger car, its made of sheet metal. Profits and margins on this car Mr. Tata says will depend a lot on the input costs. One of the inputs is steel whose prices have been rising. It helps that Tata is a big manufacturer of steel and would be able to better manage this input cost. A lot of sourcing is done on the internet auctions to get the best price and Tata has a long term relationship it appears with Bosch for the engine as Bosch is investing heavily in India. See the links to Tata's $2500 car and to Bosch....

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Union Railways minister in India, Mr. Goyal, raises questions about the estimated cost of a new elevated rail train in Bombay that would cost more per kilometre than the planned bullet train between Ahmedabad and Bombay. He says this reflects corruption and lack of transparency. India has for many decades since independence been held back by corruption that has reduced much needed infrastructure development, and the goal of the new Modi government is to bring transparency and vigilance into government spending to get infrastructure development needs met in the next decade.

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Indian cricketer Ashish Nehra has the right attitude in sports. He is 38, has decided to play cricket only in certain formats, about 8 matches a year. He is a fast pace bowler for Himachal Pradesh cricket team. Here he shares thoughts with PTI reporter that he does not follow what people say about him, about his age, and does not follow Twitter or Facebook. He says what matters is how he practices for the sport. After 12 surgeries and a injury this year Ashish says he knows what it is to be under the knife. People will say many things if he plays well and even more things if he does badly. Ashish says what matters in the end is how he prepares for the sport, like any sport it is the preparation and long hours of practice that make a difference. What he does and how he plays the selection board and the captain of the team know very well, which is why he was invited to play again for India. Ashish can bowl fast comparable to younger bowlers, and has played for India as long as other veteran players M.S. Dhoni and Harbhajan Singh. He conserves his energy by not playing 5 day Test matches. He can then give 100 percent to the 24 or more balls he may bowl in a game. He bowls at about 140 km per hour. In many ways Ashish has the right attitude for sports. Leaving aside the praise or criticism and concentrating on what is ahead. Not even thinking too far ahead. Sometimes it is just the next game, this year, which needs all the attention and can make all the difference. Playing the right way, working diligently at it, helping coach younger players, is all that really counts, in this sport, or any sport.       ...

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Vegetable prices in China went up by 22% in July 2010, from a year earlier, and grain prices went up by 12%, eggs by 8%. About a third of household budgets go to food in the budgets of people in India and China. Wheat prices are climbing on world markets after the ban on Russian exports, and rice prices are also climbing with the floods in Pakistan ruining the rice crop- Pakistan being the No.3 world's rice exporter. Personal spending accounts for 36% of overall GDP in China and 57% in India. Food prices in China were up 6.8% in July, 2010. Industrialization in China, and agricultural land freely taken over for factory sites with the consent of local authorites, may be a complicating factor. See the link to BYD's acquisition of agricultural land for factory site.

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The vaccine produced by the Serum Institute of India with research at Oxford University in Britain will cost about Rs 1000 or $13, and it will be called Covishield. It is expected by November 2020 with 1 billion doses of production planned.

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Arvind Subramanium, outgoing Chief Economic Adviser to the prime minister in an interview with the Hindu newspaper, shares some of the knowledge he gained from failures and successes. The key lesson he gained is that it is important to have independent advisers in government who can speak their mind. Finance minister Jaitley has embraced this point, that such an adviser is not just one more part in the technocratic machinery of government. The success in getting GST he says shows that cooperative federalism is needed going forward as a kind of technology for many changes, including agriculture, DBT.  Subramanium calls the Economic Survey a success with 350,000 unique visitors. He likes the independence and distance of the CEA job to propagate the big ideas combined with closeness to decisionmakers. He counts as a failure not being able to create an office of CEA to the states, a request from 7 chief ministers and state finance ministers. Subramanium sees the need for more people in government with specific expertise in different areas as opposed to generalists as the work of government is becoming much more sophisticated. There is much need for talent and the flow of lateral talent into government.  Responding to economic issues such as the impact of oil prices on the economy Subramanium sees CAD at 2%, inflation at 4.5% much better compared to 2013 levels of double digits and not in unhealthy territory and very manageable. He sees risks in the impact of a combination of oil prices, dollar appreciation, and currency trade wars that are happening. On Iranian oil imports and strict U.S. sanctions on importers Subramanium sees the cost of not complying as stiff once you are in the dollar trading system. On demonetisation he sees there are short term costs and potential long term gains that requires an assessment every 2-3 years provisionally, what happened to tax and formalization, and the costs. Including costs in inconvenience and hardship for informal cash intensive sectors noted in the Economic Survey. For GST he says the revenue growth rate is 16-17% in aggregate for next year, growing 12% in the first year after a difficult implementation. The poorer states have seen an expansion of tax base and revenue performance is unprecedented.    ...

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Opportunities for Indian farm exports in the middle of the Ukraine crisis.

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Tobacco use has reached levels of catastrophe in Jordan as a major public health crisis develops. This Guardian report says there is influence of Big Tobacco in developing countries. About 80% of men in Jordan use tobacco or smoke cigarettes, according to a government and WHO study, smoking an average of 23 cigarettes a day. This could soon spike rates for cancer and other lung diseases, and warnings of a future public health catastrophe comes from the Amman King Hussein Cancer Center.  Indonesia is one of the other nations with high level of tobacco use. In countries in Europe and America where tobacco use is controlled there are restrictions on advertising and efforts to control use which are less prevalent in developing countries that put there health systems more at risk from lung diseases. This is true even of countries such as India and China, where a lot remains to be done. At one time Japan also suffered from this problem. Revenues to the state from tobacco and other financial interests, as well as lack of strong public health protection agencies is a problem that needs to be tackled for public health. In China about 50% of men smoke and there are 300 million smokers, with one third of tobacco consumption in the world in China. In India the figures are 234 million and 47% of men smoke, with the highest smoking at 80% in Kolkata and over 70% in the northeastern states. The damage from this to public health is enormous. In China the China National Tobacco Corporation CNTC is the state run tobacco company, the third largest company by profits in China. In India the largest tobacco company is Imperial Tobacco Company ITC. Tobacco was brought to India and China by the Portuguese from Brazil 400 years ago and may have taken the most lives in the two countries over that period. ...

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The dangers to public health from Tobacco use in China are huge. About 1 in 3 cigarettes in the world are smoked in China says the WHO prominently on its site. The result high levels of cancer, lung and heart disease that could be prevented. A similar situation exists in India and South Korea. Asian countries have performed badly in tobacco use and production creating catastrophic public health risks, even countries that have adopted new technologies and caught up with Europe and the US. 

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Trump takes action against Mexico, China and Canada for illegal flows of fentanyl and migrants across US borders. It is specific targeted and excludes EU, India, Japan, South Korea trading partners. For a decade some countries acted with impunity and American leaders did not respond to protect the people from illegal flows across borders. This action did not come in the first DJT term in 2016-2020 though tariffs were placed. Free trade has to be clean trade where such illegal flows are not in the picture or acceptable.

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The amazing Banyan trees in India are a sight to see. This one a gift from India to Hawaii survives a fire in Maui.

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Lessons Murthy learned along the way to making Infosys what it is. First, be the company you aspire to be. For Infosys this meant contributing to clients and to society around it in India. Second, transparency. Third, 5 lessons for winning markets. First lesson is listen to ideas, open to the young minds especially. Second lesson is meritocracy, decide objectively based on data. Third lesson is benchmark best practice and competitors. Fourth lesson is continuous improvement and maintaining pressure to do better always. Fifth lesson, build aspirations, raise aspirations, this changes ordinary people into extraordinary achievers.