My brother-in-law pointed me in the direction of this extraordinary site some days back.
It has some amazingly cool presentations on global development statistics and trends.
For a fascinating perspective, see this chart check the box labelled “trails” (bottom right) and chart India and China from 1979 to date.
It may just make the case for why India may overtake China in income and development indicators over the next 2-3 decades if it continues on the same trajectory.
For those of you who missed it, heres “Why India will* overtake China – I”
.
* And in case you are still wondering about the title (which was in the best traditions of sensationalism), I accept it should be “might” rather than “will”…
April 15th, 2007
Posted by
Shantanu |
China, Development Issues, Emerging Markets, India |
4 comments
In a post on Intel’s new global investment strategy, EETimes Chief Editor, Richard Wallace remarks that, “Venture capitalists, however, tend not to be very global in their outlook, or their capital placements”.
I will comment on that another time (the former is probably not true anymore while the latter may still be the norm – for very good reasons)…nevertheless, this excerpt from Richard’s post is thought provoking:
“My read is this: when it comes to venture capital investing in the high technology sector, Intel is going global, and as goes Intel, so goes the globe.
So a good contrarian investment strategy to the 20-minute rule would be to keep a close eye on the emerging technologies and the emerging markets that Intel invests in.“
You may also want to jump on to this post: 20-minute rule & the Global Entrepreneur
.
* This is Richard’s label – neat!
April 3rd, 2007
Posted by
Shantanu |
Emerging Markets |
3 comments
Brilliant article** from my friend Tosh on India, China and the global economy (timed with the World Cup)
It has all the brilliance of his trademark style – refreshingly direct combined with penetrating insight…
Tosh makes the point that Europe will do well to consider India more seriously – and not least because it has distinct advantages over the US in this regard…
Excerpts:
“…Had India played a fair game of cricket, it would have waited (at least until the Beijing Olympics) before foisting a second, near-alchemical reincarnation of Asia’s rise on an unsuspecting world.
For India has, unexpectedly, joined China in attaining near double-digit economic growth rates. It has done so in violation of that mantra of MBA programmes – that foreign direct investment (FDI) is the recipe for growth in a developing country.
Keep Reading…
March 17th, 2007
Posted by
Shantanu |
China, Development Issues, Emerging Markets, India |
2 comments
Came across this very interesting presentation from Jul ‘06 on “Doing Business in China and India” by Prof. Sebastian Teunissen*.
Large file (1.1MB), 120 slides but worth a look…
* Prof Teunissen is the Adjunct Professor and Executive Director of the Clausen Center at Haas School of Business, Univ. of California in Berkeley.
March 6th, 2007
Posted by
Shantanu |
China, Emerging Markets, India |
6 comments
Amidst all the brouhaha about how the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) report submitted to the UN has proven that global warming is man-made (or more accurately, there is a 90% likelihood that human activity is behind global warming), comes a refreshing voice of scepticism in the form of Ross McKitrick.
Ross is not a head-in-the-sand, oil-guzzling, live-like-no-tomorrow consumer of fossil fuels but a respected Professor of Economics and one of the Expert Reviewers who contributed to the report.
The article hints at data and research that may have been ignored or overlooked while making the case for global warming and climate change. If that is really the case, at the very least, it is shameful and doesn’t help us understand (or deal with) climate change at all…
Keep Reading…
February 17th, 2007
Posted by
Shantanu |
Development Issues, Emerging Markets |
8 comments
In one of its recent editions, (12th Feb ’07) Newsweek carried a cover story on “The $100 Un-PC” and how a product like this might fundamentally transform communities in Asia and Africa
Such a device may hold the key to connecting the next billion people to the internet (I know the same thing has been said of cell-phones but I still believe that given a choice (“choice” is important) a lot more people would prefer the larger display (and better user interface) of a computer for browsing, communicating and online commerce.
The story mentioned two prominent approaches – the first by an Indian start-up called Novatium which has pioneered a simple computer using cell-phone chips that connects to a TV set (and does away with hard-disk drive, extensive memory and pre-packaged software).
The appeal of the device is in its simplicity – the fact that it cannot do too many things actually becomes a plus – and large number of TV-owning families means that the only remaining barrier to go online will be a phone line (now available for less than $5 and within a week in most urban areas in India).
In fact after reading about the device, I am tempted to try one myself – and if it works – buy one for my parents.
Rajesh Jain, co-founder and Chairman of Novatium has thought up an attractive business model to go with the concept. He plans to offer the device as part of a lease deal (with supporting hardware, an internet connection, some application software and service) for $10 a month – at which point, I can see it will effectively penetrate the 300m ~ 400m middle class.
In contrast to Novatium’s thin-client model, the MIT effort – led by Nicholas Negroponte – has targeted the production of a laptop that will be as close to one that you and I use – except at a fraction of the cost. While this approach has its merits (it does not depend on the network for being fully functional) its performance may not be satisfactory and it may not be able to harness the full power of the network/internet.
While both the approaches have their pros and cons, if Novatium is able to get on a network (or find a broadband network) that can deliver the connectivity required for the thin-client business model to really work, its cost, ease of use and business model will, I think, trump MIT’s approach…
How can one have such a stable, omnipresent broadband network quickly? One way could be WiMax – which according to a recent IHT article might lead to as many as 10m-20m broadband subscribers in India within the next 3 years (compared to less than a million in 2006) – wouldn’t that be wonderful?
February 17th, 2007
Posted by
Shantanu |
Emerging Markets, India |
3 comments
It may just make the case for why India may overtake China in income and development indicators over the next 2-3 decades if it continues on the same trajectory.
