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US president DJT meets Indian PM Modi on the first day of his visit to the US. PBS shows the joint press conference of the two leaders as India and the US embark on a new journey. India to reach out for 1.4 billion people- and as a model for 1.7 billion people including Indonesia- reach out for Developed modern India by 2047, the 100th anniversary of India's independence from the British Empire. The US as the leading western economy meeting new challenges from China as it partners with India for 2.4 billion people living in South Asian and North American democracies and the UK/Canada/Australia/Japan the largest group of people with a common history and institutions of government based on a shared history with Britain and the Modern World it created by pioneering the Scientific and Industrial Revolution. And a shared civilization where the Bhagavad Gita meets the Authorized Version of the Bible in the religion and civilizations that provide a common heritage of the spirit. To conduct the affairs of man in ways that provide good honest governance and a shared interest in peaceful development for the welfare of humanity. ...

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As this editorial in the Hindu points out enabling land acquisition for industry is still one of major problems facing India as it struggles to modernize its economy and create manufacturing jobs. Amendments to the land acquisition law was a top priority of the Modi government in its first year in 2014-2015. The effort stalled with Opposition resistance and opposition of farmers groups. Even as India moves up in the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business index it still remains below the top 50. The prime minister of Singapore on a visit to India made it clear that these problems restrict the level of investment in India and the speed of its modernization effort. As the Hindu editorial points out the need to win farmers votes has prevented further moves to amend land acquisition laws so that industrial development can move ahead. This can be costly for India if it means fewer jobs created, and costly for the government in its effort to win votes without being able to show the results of modernization in new development, new infrastructure and new jobs created.     ...

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Reducing income inequality and increasing farm incomes would increase consumption spending and investment for further growth in the Indian economy. Investment in infrastructure development is another source of growth. Higher oil prices and the bad loans in the banking system are barriers to increasing growth of the Indian economy. The problems during the last 2 years of the Congress led UPA government, including the bad loans in the banking system and the uncertainty after corruption cases including the telecom auctions, required that the Modi government take strong action in the first year. 

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A live interview by BBC Hindi with Arvind Kejriwal, chief minister of Delhi. In the interview Kejriwal says there are 55 deaths from the demonentisation by removal of 500 and 1000 rupee notes in India. When questioned about this and proof, Kejriwal says BBC is biased. The effort by the the Modi government to  remove these rupee notes is an effort to get people in the informal economy,  the deals in real estate, and people in other parts of the economy which pay little or no taxes to bring the cash to banks and pay the taxes due. This is intended to increase government revenue for investments in infrastructure and education, healthcare. services. The large scale of the shift has caused difficulties for ordinary people, and the upper classes, and the government is working to work through these problems. In India the black money as it is called is estimated to run to about 1 trillion dollars. It is also the result of corruption and has deprived the economy of needed investments and modernization. ...

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The Indian economy grows at 6.3% in the third quarter of 2017. The demonetization, and new GST tax plan, had slowed the economic growth to 5.7% in the second quarter of 2017. Higher economic growth is important to generate the jobs needed as 10 million young people join the workforce each year. The Modi government responded to the slowdown by accelerating spending on infrastructure- a $100 billion spending plan on roads and highways, and $32 billion cash infusion for state run banks with the effort to clean up the bad loans in the banking system. 

Elections in prime minister Modi's home state of Gujarat are coming up and this will give some indication of voter sentiment in 2017. The Pew Research Survey in 2017 shows Modi's personal popularity is high and continues to bolster the government's prospects.

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Prime minister Modi campaigning in his home state of Gujarat, and taking control of the campaign in the state. He has visited the state to launch the bullet train project, a new ferry service for Saurashtra, and for the Narmada dam completion.

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Of NYT's decades old indifference, an almost Churchill like distance and indifference to the aspirations of the people of South Asia it can be said- indifference to the aspirations of 1.4 billion people to modernize the country with the same infrastructure that Europe and the US, Japan, and now China take for granted. Indifference to the problems in creating a nation  with 13 languages and 1.4 billion people that has a freely elected parliament never before done in history, one which also delivers on banking accounts, health care, infrastructure, for all its  people, of all races and religions. This indifference runs counter to everything that Indians admire about America. And a lack of awareness of what Indians admire today about the Biden administration's promise to make the words of Jefferson true in America as the Modi administration does in India- "We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, (created equal) and that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." The NYT's indifference to this inequality both in the US and in India run counter to the founding principles of Jefferson and of India's saint from Wardha, Mohandas Gandhi, who both fought the British empire at the height of its prominence.  ...

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DW.com's Krishnan discusses the proposed sale of India's national airline Air India. The airline has recurring losses over the last ten years with debt of about $8 billion. By 2011 the airline's losses meant it did not have enough money to pay salaries and further government infusions were planned at that time. The market share of the airline has dropped to 13% as SpiceJet and IndiGO have taken larger share of the market. The Modi government has taken a decision to divest government ownership as losses continue to mount.

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Food aid given by the Indian government to every household in need was critical in tackling the two years of the pandemic for a country with 1.2 billion people. Few realize the significance and real meaning of this in the lives of hundreds of millions of people. Here Dr. Iso shows how during the Edo period (1603-1867) in Japan 7.5 kilos of rice were given to each backstreet tenement house and the importance given to speed. In this sense the Modi government was following a practice that goes back to ancient times. This kind of social spending for food, medicine, and other social needs is a part of the common history in Asian countries and also has its history in European societies. 

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The work of key Ministries in India is tracked by the Hindusthan Times in March 2018 showing the progress of the Modi government. At the Defense Ministry  a major effort is underway to promote the defense sector to reduce the defense imports of $100 billion over the last decade, and to make this a major jobs generating sector. The Foreign Ministry is pursuing the China-India dialogue, and efforts to tackle the trade deficit with China of $51 billion. The Ministry of Education is working on giving universities autonomy from the Universities Grant Commission so that first tier universities can plan their own development, hire faculty and plan for the future without UGC approval. Jawaharlal Nehru University and the University of Hyderabad, first tier institutions have autonomy from UGC under this effort. 

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After a weeks long standoff both sides disengage expeditiously in the India's border dispute with China over construction of a road in the Doklam plateau region of Bhutan. In this NYT report experts in Hong Kong point out that it is not in China's economic interest with an aging population and debt crisis, tense economic relations with the U.S., and for India struggling with modernization issues, to turn a remote border issue into an open conflict. It would also complicate relations in the Asian region with Japan and economic relations with the U.S, countries with whom China's economy is intertwined through supply chains and other ways. Disputes with China and South Korea have in the past affected the Chinese economy, and China has developed trade with India as its companies look for growing markets. India's Modi administration is focussed on the economy. In this context of broader relations the road construction in Doklam appears to be an aberration that is hard to explain except as a miscalculation and poor understanding of the best interests of the region and of the world.   ...

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The US Saudi Strategic Alliance is modeled on the US Japan Treaty and commits US to defend the Saudi kingdom. A draft of the treaty is being negotiated. It requires a two thirds majority in US Congress. A parallel US Saudi Cooperation Agreement is also put in place by Biden and can be done by Executive Order. What motivates this at this time and why after 9/11 when most of the attackers were Saudi, and after relations with Saudi deteriorated under Obama and president Biden's questioning some Saudi actions? The two main reasons are the change Salman of Saudi is bringing to the country modernizing its internal society and and freeing it up from the religion based restrictions of an earlier period, and his focus on investment in the economic development working with India and partners in the region, a relief from the incessant wars from the period of Reagan/Bush as the US makes domestic policy benefits determine foreign policy under Biden. Unknown in most of the world and media a change of demeanor happened at the G-20 meetings in India when prime minister Modi brought Biden and Salman together on economic development plans of a development corridor linking India through Saudi andest Asia to Europe. Biden supported the effort and it showed the Saudis under Salman as leading a development plan along with Modi and other partners for development in the Middle East after frequent wars dissipating the resources of the region and of the US. since Reagan/Bush policy failures and escalation. It is this intervening period of three decades of war that led to China's gains in relation to the US, with twin strikes to the US of China's domination of supply chains, deindustrialization, and loss of manufacturing jobs for working classes in US and Europe. Coupled with this is the opportunity for Biden and Blinken to give Israel an opportunity it never enjoyed for most of its life as a free nation since 1948 to have peace with its Arab neighbors. It is even possible that the prospect of this happening without a settlement for Palestinian statehood that would leave things in Gaza and Palestine at status quo that propelled the sudden attack on Israel. Biden and Blinken want to do the Saudi deal with a new element of getting Palestinian statehood on a basis of respect for dignity of people and of economic independent country which would put to rest decades of Arab neighbor disapproval of Israel. This is both a new vision of West Asia, what we call the Middle East, and an opportunity to focus and also cope with on Asia with the rise of China, India, as the two largest economies with EU and US in the world. ...

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Insights from WSJ readers on causes for slowing growth in India, Modi and Gujarat, the education system, and anti-inflation policies of the central bank.

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China generates 53% of its emissions from coal in May 2024. All the remaining from non fossil sources. Two factors are evident, yet both do not indicate a big fall off in fossil emissions from this point just a plateauing effect with it flattening out. The first is that China is putting in solar and wind at 8 times the level of the US, taking up two thirds of world solar and wind installations. The second is that the one third of emissions from construction and real estate is falling off because that industrial sector has collapsed. Overall the future points to slowing of emissions as China comes only gradually down from that 53%. What happens in China makes a huge impact on climate change. India has also committed to climate change action and meeting targets early under PM Modi so that India as it industrializes will not follow the path of jumping fossil emissions China had. This is useful to know as the US and EU, UK, expand solar and wind. It is important that the US stay committed to climate change action something missing from the Republican platform for 2024. Delaying climate change action will impose huge costs on the US that could be about 1 trillion dollars if it is stalled now and is taken up in 2028. ...

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How is Ceylon or Sri Lanka faring for the economy and the standard of living after the collapse in 2022-2023? Krishna Srinivasan the IMF Director Asia Pacific and Peter Breuer in Feb 22, 2024 report say there is light at the end of the tunnel. It shows a graph of where tax revenues had fallen to 9% of GDP making it impossible for the government to function and for essential imports to be financed. "Corruption, tax exemptions, and non-competitive procurement and allocation practices imply higher taxes and costs for everyone, hitting the most vulnerable hardest." This is where PM Modi has made a huge, huge difference in India. It also calls for prevention- "Prevention also requires providing a safe space for public engagement in governance." The British American concept of governance through elections has to be modified with emphasis on as Srinivasan and Beuer state correctly -creating a safe space for public engagement in governance. Only when the public and the young people of the country understand the basics of the economy and an educated informed mindset in created -as is the goal of Lyrarc.com- can the conditions be created for this good governance. This is true for India and is true for its neighbors Ceylon or Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Indonesia, with whom India has a long history of the closest relations. The rest of the report goes on to call for an end to corruption and inefficiency.         ...

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Can the Modi government mitigate the effects of crony capitalism in India to build a strong economy with a large middle class, opportunities for aspiring people in rural areas migrating to cities, and better conditions for farmers. The author of the book "Billionaire Raj" thinks so, and this reviewer believes it is needed for a democracy such as India to achieve its potential. During the post independence Congress Raj the country experienced crony capitalism first under a socialist government, and after 1990 after the opening of the economy to foreign investment under successive governments of the Congress and BJP parties.

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15th Civil Servants Day in a country of 1.2 billion people where the role of civil servants is critical for development. This is what the prime minister Mr. Modi had to say to civil servants-"Taking the dreams of the common man to level of resolve is the responsibility of the system. The Sankalp or resolve should be taken to siddhi or completion and that should be the goal for all of us. We should be there to handhold at every stage in this journey of sapna or dream to sankalp to siddhi." In addition it is imperative "that the schemes and governance models be developed in the global context and be updated regularly," says prime minister Modi. He also emphasized the importance of sharing the experiences of the award winners with others on weekly basis. Also important experimentation where one scheme is chosen for implementation in a few districts and the experience discussed in next year's Civil Service Day. In this way enlarging on successful experiments that has proved invaluable for electricity supplies and renewable energy. This kind of culture being important to make progress. The Hindu provides this list for winners of the PM's Awards for Excellence in Public Administration in categories below Innovation- Gujarat Education Department, Agriculture Department Ladakh, Department of Land Resources West Champaran Bihar, Bongaigon Assam Seamless end to end service delivery without human intervention- Karnataka, New Delhi Municipal Council PM Svanidhi Yojana- Varanasi UP, Anantnag Jammu and Kashmir One district-One product -Darbhanga Bihar, Siddharthnagar UP Poshan Abhiyaan -  Kumuram Bheem Asifabad Telngana, Datia Madhya Pradesh Khelo India-  Churu Rajashthan, Bishnupur Manipur   ...

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This article in the Economist says the bad loans in the financial system threaten to derail India's rapid growth. It points out that about 17 percent of all loans are estimated to be non-performing. Government plans to set up a bad bank and have bad loans transferred at steep discounted rate to the bad bank are still at an early stage. India weathered the 2008 financial crisis with a financial system in better shape. Since then a surge in lending has led to an increase in the bad loans. Today both banks and corporate firms are facing this problem. The political system and dysfunctional governance with frequent changes for management at state controlled banks are part of the problem.

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Adriana Kugler a Labor economist at Georgetown is president Biden's nominee for the Federal Reserve Board. In 2021 she was nominated as Executive Director at the World Bank. Her work is on how labor and social policies can improve the lives of working people, help create jobs, and help the less well off get education and training. Asked about Biden nominating labor economists to top jobs she says-"This is the key issue of our time. This is what we need to fix." As the first Latina in this position at the World Bank, Kugler who is a Colombian-American says, "they view me differently," and have a sense of being heard by someone who understands what it is like ot grow up in a developing country.

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For an institution the size of the World Bank at a time when most of the developing world is suffering from debt burden and climate change, the skepticism on climate change of its head David Malpass was coming under heavy criticism from the Biden White House. He was appointed by president Trump in 2019. He resigned today. 

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Additional funding of $100 billion is proposed for the World Bank to meet the needs of Africa, and other countries in Latin America and Asia. These needs are for climate change investments, renewable energy, and for health and education that has suffered as debt repayments have increased with higher interest rates, putting 52 countries near default on debt. The US with 16% of the shares in World Bank would contribute $3.2 billion for this to happen.

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Australian cricket captain Aaron Finch is only 6 runs short of Indian Virat Kohli as the highest run scorer in ODI one day cricket. His batsmanship has revived the Australian team with 6 centuries and 8 half centuries since the beginning of 2019 and a total of 1739 runs in 35 games.  Only Rohit Sharma comes close in centuries scored.

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This opinion in the Hindusthan Times points out that prime minister Modi's speech at Kozhikode following a militant attack in Kashmir in September 2016, reflects a long standing policy since the late 1970's of Congress party and BJP or Janata party administrations. The idea is to encourage cross border exchanges to reduce tensions. The emphasis in back channel talks between India and Pakistan also emphasize the idea of CBM, cross border movement. The prime minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif, has also expressed in the past the importance of cross border movement and trade as ways to improve the economies of both countries. The idea of building up trade and increased exchanges between the two countries is supported also by the U.S. and other western countries. The example of Ireland and Northern Ireland where trade and cross border exchanges are considered important by all parties after Brexit, is an example of how important this is.

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The leaders of India and China, Narendra Modi and Xi Jinping will meet at a 2 day summit in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, China, on April 27, 2018.  The meeting is significant because for the first time the 2 leaders will meet on a one on one basis for a significant part of the time without aides to get a better understanding of each other, and a get a sense of how to establish a good relationship between the 2 countries. Ma Jiali of the China Reform Forum, a think tank affiliated with the Communist Party's Central Party School says a better relationship would serve China's interests for regional calm, so that China can focus on internal issues of tackling poverty in the interior of China, tackle economic issues arising from a difficult trading relationship with the U.S. including the tariffs of the Trump administration.  China's leadership have not anticipated the decisions made by president Trump and the Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to take a strong stand on correcting an imbalance in trade that leads to about $1 billion in trade deficit each day for the U.S. with China. Previous administrations in the U.S. have not taken action. Also at issue in the U.S. China relationship is for the first time transfer of technology for "Made in China 2025." China's earlier advances were made with a free flow of technology from the U.S. and Europe.  The last time the two leaders met was in 2014. This time the issues of border relations in the Himalayas, and the relations with China in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean region, the growing relationship between Australia, U.S., India and Japan, are seen in a different light with the strong disagreements on trade relations with the U.S.  China sees a need for improving relations with India. Prime Minister Modi faces new elections in 2019 and the need to focus on infrastructure and development to win a second term in office for the ruling BJP Party.  A reduction in tensions serves the interest of both countries and leaders.   ...