Will 51% FDI in retail sector bring cheers to all classes of society?

[Thad E Ginathom]

All other things aside, it is pretty poor practical politics not to have lined up everyone on his side (allowing for a certain unpredictability). Every new committee member of any organisation learns this lesson: get support first before suggesting anything radical. One would expect better of someone with so much experience of coalition politics.

 

[Kushanava]

"ITS ALL ABOUT ACCEPTANCE"

The truth of life is "Survival of the Fittest" ..If you can't grow , you can't stop others from growing ..but when I speak of growth it doesn't mean we have to take up some thing unknown ...it means grow your strengths and work on your weaknesses.

India's strength is agriculture ..why not grow that!! lets have new production mechanisms ,methods and increase productivity ..lets train the farmers...we can't stick to a method that is 100 yrs old and claim that we are experts.We make the foreigners (walmart,sams etc) buy from us and be credible enough to dictate the prices.

I feel we have even opportunity to grow when we have foreign retailers in India.its only about who grabs the opportunity fast.I see them as a path to market , nothing else ...

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

India's strength is agriculture ..why not grow that!! lets have new production mechanisms ,methods and increase productivity

Start by supporting and developing what is there. 100-year-old methods are not necessarily bad. Many of them are far better than paying out so much to insecticide makers and the scams of patented seeds, genetic engineering, etc. For god's sake, keep Monsanto out!

I am ignorant about agriculture, despite a rural upbringing, but aren't there many farmers in India that would benefit from irrigation and water technology far more than from foreign buyers and their pesticides?

 

[avidyarthy]

Remove your mail fast .... Momota would seek you out from within your city and ......:argue: ... thats all! @ Kushanava

 

[Hiten]

Why do they think that I am not good enough to vote for a PM and only the mps can elect/select/nominate.

Good point.
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Those who favour military intervention are forgetting the state of the nation in our neighbour. Sweden has good democratic system. Al major debatable decision taken by government can be put into referendum where common people can vote.
Regards

 

[S.P.KRISHNA]

Is the country is sold by few or purchased by many ?

 

[avidyarthy]

Now...now, we definitely require 'those' kinds of people in our military, which sadly isn't present! To do away with the existing set-up is next to impossible by any sane method. You have seen what happened with Anna Hazare's efforts. Promises, promises and promises were made with a 'given' time period too ... the end result ... zilch.

These politicians know one thing for sure .... keep mum. Let things cool down from an attained flash point ... then give dosages of reassurances at regular intervals. Public gets bored ... most lose interest ... the media slowly stops reporting ... then reporting dies altogether. Finally, the public FORGETS. Everything finds its way to the dustbin.

Sad, our military is adorned with 'order takers' only, no decision makers!

I really find it hard to swallow how these village-bred semi-literate guys (virtually 70% of our MPs/MLAs) are framing our laws and rules. Do these village guys get better, more practical political training in their youth!

If this system is not exterminated, the same would keep on transpiring based on anti-incumbency. Congress ... then BJP ... then coalition ... over and over again, with no gains for the masses! Something drastic needs to be undertaken .... but, by whom?

 

[thatguy]

The truth of life is "Survival of the Fittest" ..

Why do you consider 'Survival of the fittest' a universal truth? If you are referring to Darwin's theory of natural selection, a little history will be useful. Darwin had never used the phrase in the way it is used now. In fact it wasn't Darwin, but Herbert Spencer who coined 'Survival of the fittest'. Darwin did adopt it later but the sense in which he used it was very different, more like 'Survival of the adaptable or more adapted to the environment'.

 

[ajay124]

"Follow the money. Always follow the money."
-Deep Throat

Dollar Hegemony

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

Only 52 minutes left ...and I find out I should have been on strike today.

Oh well, better late than never: no more posts from me today

 

[gobble]

All other things aside, it is pretty poor practical politics not to have lined up everyone on his side (allowing for a certain unpredictability). Every new committee member of any organisation learns this lesson: get support first before suggesting anything radical. One would expect better of someone with so much experience of coalition politics.

The first time they tried a unilateral decision a few months back they got bombarded. Second time even if they approached the opposition with the same issue for discussion, they wouldnt stand a chance again. Because the BJP has smelt a vote bank and an opportunity to polarise people with emotions running high that they hope to use to their advantage.

Now...now, we definitely require 'those' kinds of people in our military, which sadly isn't present!
Sad, our military is adorned with 'order takers' only, no decision makers!

Without knowing the caliber and mettle of our young Jawans and Officers please do not make such unfair statements. There are black sheep in every organization. Have you read any day to day accounts of Kargil or Sri Lanka? Please try reading the book "Sri Lanka Misadventure" by MK Gupta Ray. Or a Kargil book to know how our soldiers and young officers lead from the front. The bureaucracy related to Armed Forces or MoD may largely be so.

I really find it hard to swallow how these village-bred semi-literate guys (virtually 70% of our MPs/MLAs) are framing our laws and rules. Do these village guys get better, more practical political training in their youth!

If this system is not exterminated, the same would keep on transpiring based on anti-incumbency. Congress ... then BJP ... then coalition ... over and over again, with no gains for the masses! Something drastic needs to be undertaken .... but, by whom?

You should watch DD Lok Sabha TV so understand how these MPs from villages argue about important matters of the nation in broken English. Why on earth cant they use their mother toungue? I have seen shamefully inadequate discussions on matters of Coast Guard and National Security argued at the level of a 5th std child.
--G0bble

 

[avidyarthy]

Armed Forces here, denotes the top rung category only, and not the frontline. It is only that category who would have the means, the following and planning capability. Someone like the late Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw. Yep, there is just no one coming even close to him today. Maybe, thats how they get selected by the political class! Keep the quality mediocre deliberately, then at least there would be no internal upheaval!

 

[Shivam]

I have wasted enough money getting furniture made from a local carpenter. I bought teak wood and he made the furniture so that joints came in the centre of a sofa, dinning table top was skewed to one side, chairs were too short and another sofa very uncomfortable to relax on. After wasting a large amount of money I realised that I should have bought ready-made furniture.

Recently I went to a local store to find a new sofa but it was very expensive, ordering a local carpenter doesn't seem attractive anymore. Secondly the design of a sofa cum bed that I am looking are not available locally.

I'm ready to welcome IKEA with open hands.

( This is my personal opinion ! )

 

[doors666]

I have wasted enough money getting furniture made from a local carpenter. I bought teak wood and he made the furniture so that joints came in the centre of a sofa, dinning table top was skewed to one side, chairs were too short and another sofa very uncomfortable to relax on. After wasting a large amount of money I realised that I should have bought ready-made furniture.

Recently I went to a local store to find a new sofa but it was very expensive, ordering a local carpenter doesn't seem attractive anymore. Secondly the design of a sofa cum bed that I am looking are not available locally.

I'm ready to welcome IKEA with open hands.

( This is my personal opinion ! )

As i mentioned somewhere else, ikea uses particle board for most of their furniture. Goto some roadside cheap furniture shop and inspect the particle board, its the stuff from which they make those brownish color ultra cheap 2000 bucks computer tables. Some one else mentioned that they cant afford teak and mahogany etc, well thats the other extreme. The plywood, the mdf, hdf, rubberwood etc are all much stronger and not much more expensive than the particle board. I have nothing against IKEA, but everything against particle board.

I bought a computer table and a chest of drawers made up of particle board after i shifted into my apt some 7-8 years ago. The computer table is in bad shape, with the edges of particle board peeling off etc. A child can shake it (its pretty large one for that). the drawers, well that was so pathetic that I gave it to my maid after a couple of years of use, my 3 year old almost pulled it on himself. I will never buy anything made of particle board again, doesnt matter if barrack obama hand made them.

I dont like buying the same furniture again and again, and thats how the IKEAs of the world make money, by making you buy their furniture again and again. If they are selling it cheap, there is a good reason for it. Its also not environment friendly, buying and throwing away furniture.

There are carpenters and then there are carpenters. some are good and some are not so good and then some are downright shoddy. There are some ebay vendors that make and sell furniture made up of sheesham wood at very reasonable rates, I have bought a couple of items and i am very happy with these. Let me know if you want the name, of course i am not affiliated to them, just a happy customer.

 

[just4kix]

Is co-operative farming the answer?
The problem with the (small) Indian farmer is that most own a very small piece of land - about 3 acres at the most. I used to travel often on the road last two years and mostly I used to see tiny farms. As opposed to this, even smalln nations such as the Netherlands have huge single farms. Large farms bring economy of scale. It is possible to mechanize. One of the big problems with small farmers is the availability of labour. There is hardly any available and the labourers hold the farmer to ransom. If tilling, seeding, harvesting, etc. is not done at the proper time, the farmer is threatened with crop failure and eventual bankruptcy. I will not touch upon the GM seeds - that is another big issue too.

Now if small farmers got together and pooled their lands together and hired machinery or manual labour to do the jobs, they will benefit.

• They could create one large farmland and remove physical boundaries to be replaced with logical boundaries.
• It will be easier to till the land.
• Combined decision could be taken for which crop to grow for the season.
• Farmers will be able to negotiate with equipment hirers or labourers for good rates and assured services.
• The farmers will be able to group negotiate prices for produce; be it the (large) retailer or middle man.
• The sales turnover minus the combined expenses is the total profit.
• The total profit could be distributed to each farmer as per his landshare ratio.

More or less similar model was implemented by Tribhuvandas Patel to form Kaira District Co-operative Milk Producers' Union Limited (in 1946) and with it came AMUL (Anand Milk Union Limited) by Dr. Verghese Kurien.

 

[Hiten]

Dollar Hegemony

A must read for everyone. Allow me to quote from it..

A strong-dollar policy is in the US national interest because it keeps US inflation low through low-cost imports and it makes US assets expensive for foreign investors. This arrangement, which Federal Reserve Board chairman Alan Greenspan proudly calls US financial hegemony in congressional testimony, has kept the US economy booming in the face of recurrent financial crises in the rest of the world.

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People like apro Sam Manekshaw will never do such thing like overtaking the parliament. Because he(and parsis) understands the value of democracy and constitution. Parsis are wise people and with it have reached the pinnacle in every field. Jamsetji Tata, J.R.D. Tata, Nari Contractor, Freedy Mercury, Dr. Homi Bhabha, Soli Sorabji, Homai Vyarawalla, Zubin Mehta... just to name a few. My absolute favourite and whom admire most is Sir JRD who made Indira Gandhi wait as he was in a meeting. :thumbsup:
Regards

 

[avidyarthy]

Sir, you are taking names of established people only .... I personally would know more about this 'closed' community than most .... reason ... had spent 3 long years in their company in college, 3 different Parsi room partners.

Exceptions would always be there. Whether Manekshaw would actually have done it or not ... nobody can answer so now ... but, Indira Gandhi DID mention this to him in one of their meetings just prior to the Bangladesh War. Thats documented, but definitely not out in the open!

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

... Recently I went to a local store to find a new sofa but it was very expensive, ordering a local carpenter doesn't seem attractive anymore. Secondly the design of a sofa cum bed that I am looking are not available locally.

I'm ready to welcome IKEA with open hands.

( This is my personal opinion ! )

If it suits your personal taste, then fine, I suppose. Personally, and remember I'm a shopoholic, I dislike ikea designs, I dislike the the ikea shopping experience and I dislike the ikea assembly experience.

The only thing is, I don't think that ikea would destroy much of Indian home agriculture or retail. It's a specific-taste thing.

Also, hasn't it already been pointed out that this would single-brand retail? ikea is free to set up shop here right now, if they wish. They haven't, and why would recent changes make a difference? I suggest that ikea is not a valid entry in this thread.

 

[theredcommando]

IKEA is already here -
Why you should look forward to IKEA's entry into India - Economic Times

 

[theredcommando]

Democracy does not mean ideal direction. It just means that there is some sort of consensus(at least 51%) about the direction.
Agricultural policy focus has been steadily shifting towards Industrial policy making in last 60 years. There is definite shift and its not going to change. When there were more farmers, focus was on agriculture, now that services and industry is having more share, focus has changed. Thats democracy.

IMO there is no point in trying to stop the incoming change, it would definitely bring good. And if, for some reason it fails to bring positive change, we can come up with some regulations to control it.

Success is difficult to define. Mental(Spirituality, Rich culture) and physical(Yoga and Ayurveda) fitness was perhaps at its peak in ancient India. That no more holds same level of importance in this period of time. Even if we achieve that, there are bigger problems(neighboring nations) and different definitions of success(military, financial power, intellectual power, Import/Export parity) which are difficult to meet.

If we want to be in sync with rest of the world, there is no point in opposing changes like 51% FDI in retail. We will eventually learn from it and reap its benefits.