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
From the Tech Quarterly, Mar 2007 of the Economist: “Plan B for global warming?” (paid content) – Is “Geo-engineering” the way to counter climate change?…
…and close on its heels, from the Sunday Times (Mar 18, ‘07): “Sounds crazy but it may save the planet“.
I continue to have faith in human ingenuity!
March 21st, 2007
Posted by
Shantanu |
Development Issues |
no 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
I was a little surprised when I read this but not a lot….”China bans cyber cafes for a year”, (06 March , 2007, Reuters):
“Fearful of soaring Internet addiction and juvenile crime, China has banned the opening of new Internet cafes this year, state media reported on Tuesday.
“In 2007, local governments must not sanction the opening of new Internet bars,” Xinhua news agency on Tuesday quoted a directive jointly released by 14 government departments, including the Ministry of Culture, as saying.
There are currently about 113,000 Internet cafes and bars in China, Xinhua said, citing the Ministry of Information Industry.
The notice comes as lawmakers at China’s annual session of parliament, the National People’s Congress, called for stricter regulations to keep teenagers away from Internet cafes, which are often seen in China as hotbeds of juvenile crime.
“It is common to see students from primary and middle schools lingering in Internet bars overnight, puffing on cigarettes and engrossed in online games,” Xinhua quoted NPC
Last year, a report from the China National Children’s Centre, a government think-tank, said that 13 per cent of China’s 18 million Internet users under 18 were Internet addicts.”
(Also at China bans new internet cafes)
Although the report says that the ban is aimed more at curbing addiction to online games (and internet addiction in general), I suspect the truth is little more complex and there is more to it than appears at first glance.
This move goes to the heart of why China may loose some of its competitive edge in the long term (over several years, possibly decades)…I have written before on how democracy, diversity and the freedom to openly debate/ argue/ discuss ideas is one of the core strengths that India has - thanks to its long democratic tradition* …and it may yet prove to be the winning card in the now boringly familiar debate around India vs. China. see e.g. this post (personally, I dont see this as a zero-sum game).
Coming back to the ban though – what exactly is the government trying to accomplish?
I am looking forward to comments from my Chinese readers and those familiar with China.
.
P.S. In case you thought that curbs on “harmless” freedoms (such as surfing the net/ online gaming) are limited to online activities, think again….according to an Associated Press report:
“…some 170 Chinese cities limit or ban motorcycle use or ownership, largely because they are viewed as underpowered, cheap, polluting machines that clog traffic and endanger others.” and apparently..
“Motorcycles have been banned from almost all the main streets in Shanghai, Huang said, and the city stopped accepting (new) motorcycle registrations in 2002.”
.
* As an aside, the democratic tradition in India goes back over a millenia and is not just a result of Britain’s colonial legacy as is commonly believed.
March 9th, 2007
Posted by
Shantanu |
China, Development Issues, Global Competition, India, Miscellaneous |
4 comments
Friend and fellow blogger Fred recently put a great post on an unusual experiment carried out in India by Prof Sugata Mitra, Chief Scientist at NIIT several years ago – in one of New Delhi’s poorest areas.
The experiment had to do with unsupervised learning and computers.
Here’s how the whole thing began.
The concept has come a long way since. Today Hole-in-the-Wall Education Ltd runs Learning Centres in 23 locations across rural India (and now there is one in Cambodia too!).
A really extraordinary and heart-warming story of innovation, entrepreneurship, perseverance and human ingenuity.
Thanks for pointing it out Fred.
February 22nd, 2007
Posted by
Shantanu |
Development Issues, India |
no 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
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.
