Today I wrote a letter to economist Tim Harford, who writes a weekly Q&A feature at Financial Times, London, which I keenly follow. Reproduced below. Readers not as witty as Tim will be forgiven for logging in their responses at my blogger site.
"Dear Tim Harford,
Some of us are considering if Elin Nordgren was too quick to file for divorce from Tiger Woods. She is going for the split within days of the first discovery, or at least admission by Tiger of the affairs. This is quite in contrast to the actions of the respective wives of Shane Warne, David Beckham and Bill Clinton, each of whom had strayed and was caught in public view.
I believe that the reasons that prompt wives of rich and/or powerful men to file for divorce in reaction to their husbands’ extra marital affairs are mostly economic and professional, not emotional. For example, Simone Callahan, the wife of the Australian cricketer Shane Warne, tolerated his scandals for several years before finally divorcing him. Australian cricketers by no means make as much money as global golf stars, hence, the probability of Simone receiving a handsome amount of alimony was low, pushing her to work on salvaging what she had – a comfortable life, father of her kids as her husband and social status quo. Similarly, the prospect is pretty thin that Victoria will make vulgar sums of money, find a satisfactory new life partner and form a celebrity couple all at one time, after divorcing David Beckham. Hillary had a much lower probability of making the Foreign Secretary, let alone the President of USA as a divorcee vs. with a charismatic Bill Clinton by her side.
It may, therefore, follow that usually a rich and professionally successful male may get an attractive woman to be his wife, who happens to be more objective and analytical, and whose decisions are not predominantly driven by her love for him. Therefore, a rich male must methodically analyze his female partner’s potential upside in divorcing him before he decides to indulge in an affair, and select a break point beyond which he will remain loyal.
Tim, do you think I have discovered a new canon in sexual economics?
Regards,
Chetan"
Sunday, 20 December 2009
Thursday, 29 October 2009
Irrelevant name
I have been curious about religions and the basis of belief and wisdom. Over last five years I have taken my the first steps on this front. I went all the way to Haridwar to collect my set of the Vedas and the Upanishads - none were available in Mumbai or Delhi in Sanskrit with Hindi translation, and I did not want to read them in English. I have yet to make serious progress with this reading, though. Got a copy of the Quar'an from my friend Mufazal, which I read up over the next four months; and a copy of Gideon's Bible from the GM at the Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai, which I am yet to read. Funnily all star hotels in India have a copy of Bible in their rooms, no other 'book'! As a school kid, I had attended elementary Sanskrit classes where the reference material was the Gita, which I have now read a few times. Also my mom had made us kids recite 'shantakaram bhujaga shayanam..' etc and the Gayatri mantra.
This is not to claim that I became pious or even wise.
Forget about becoming wise - I started asking questions. I noted that the Qur'an several times mentions the word 'Islam' and the the word 'Christian' can be easily referred back to Christ, which goes back to 'cross' or 'crucify'. But in no Indian scriptures you find the word 'Hindu'.
The Gita and other Sanskrit scriptures just use the word 'Dharma' as a generic concept of righteousness, rather than naming it anything. It appears to me that the 'Vedic wisdom', as I prefer to call what is genereally referred to as Hinduism, is against any sort of labelling. It is a pluralistic approach to finding the truth.
The life of certain walls in the back streets of Mumbai is quite sad,funny and relevant in this regard. Mumbai's homeless who sleep on roads at night, spit and urinate on these walls. The municipal corporation cleans up and whitewashes the walls and then it paints the symbols of all half a dozen religions - predominantly Hinduism, Islam and Christianity - followed by the Indian street dwellers. And lo and behold, the sanctimonius street sleepers stop defacating against the walls - so long as the pictures do not peel away under the constant sun and the monsoon lashes. And then there is a new life cycle of urinating, painting and a brief period of lull.
The municipal corporation unintentionally follows the pluralistic approach of the Vedas. Director Manmohan Desai did this with his hit Bollywood movie Amar, Akbar, Anthony - three real brothers raised as Hindu, Muslim and Christian. A predominantly Hindu India loves its gods being surrounded by the photos and statues of Christ, Mary, the Kaaba, the lucky number 786, Guru Nanak and so on. Movie starlet Rakhi Sawant continuously swears by Lord Jesus and Lord Ganesha, as if they were partners owning Sony Entertainment Television. Superstar Salman Khan prays in a Ganesha temple. Hindu girls light candles at the Mahim Church to be blessed with a rich husband.
I love it.
This is what exactly Vedas would have taught us and hence they never labelled religion with a name, they just call it Dharma, the duty, the right path. What is right and what is wrong is so well understood by a vast majority of the Indian masses, that they hardly care for the brand, the commandments and the rule book.
The question then is what is 'Hindu'? My limited research says that 'Hindu' is a Persian word and it may not be older than 1000-1100 years. It is most certainly a post-Islamic word coined by the Farsi or Farsi dialect speaking traders and armies that crossed over to India from Central Asia. It is the word that described the rich exotic civilisation that prospered for milleniums on the valley of river Sindhu. 'Sindhu' led to the nomenclature Hind for the land beyond the river and Hindu for the people residing there. 'Hindu' is the title given to us funny god loving (not god fearing)10,000 year old civilisation by Central Asians who were to cross over and then rule rich parts of that land.
'Hindu' was more of a simplistic description for the people who followed a thousand ways to pray to the same one supreme force and dozens of different languages to speak and hundreds of different food habits and recipes and dozens of different physical features, but one thing that was common to all of them - they did not follow any of the three Abrahamaic religions.
And we have come to love this title as our own - similar to our love for the names Bombay (always has been Mumbai to natives, it's not a new name), Calcutta (Kolkata to natives) and Bangalore (Bengaluru to natives).
My questions is, life has moved on...do we still need to be known by this now irrelevant title? Let's go back to our roots and find who we really are and what is our true name.
This is not to claim that I became pious or even wise.
Forget about becoming wise - I started asking questions. I noted that the Qur'an several times mentions the word 'Islam' and the the word 'Christian' can be easily referred back to Christ, which goes back to 'cross' or 'crucify'. But in no Indian scriptures you find the word 'Hindu'.
The Gita and other Sanskrit scriptures just use the word 'Dharma' as a generic concept of righteousness, rather than naming it anything. It appears to me that the 'Vedic wisdom', as I prefer to call what is genereally referred to as Hinduism, is against any sort of labelling. It is a pluralistic approach to finding the truth.
The life of certain walls in the back streets of Mumbai is quite sad,funny and relevant in this regard. Mumbai's homeless who sleep on roads at night, spit and urinate on these walls. The municipal corporation cleans up and whitewashes the walls and then it paints the symbols of all half a dozen religions - predominantly Hinduism, Islam and Christianity - followed by the Indian street dwellers. And lo and behold, the sanctimonius street sleepers stop defacating against the walls - so long as the pictures do not peel away under the constant sun and the monsoon lashes. And then there is a new life cycle of urinating, painting and a brief period of lull.
The municipal corporation unintentionally follows the pluralistic approach of the Vedas. Director Manmohan Desai did this with his hit Bollywood movie Amar, Akbar, Anthony - three real brothers raised as Hindu, Muslim and Christian. A predominantly Hindu India loves its gods being surrounded by the photos and statues of Christ, Mary, the Kaaba, the lucky number 786, Guru Nanak and so on. Movie starlet Rakhi Sawant continuously swears by Lord Jesus and Lord Ganesha, as if they were partners owning Sony Entertainment Television. Superstar Salman Khan prays in a Ganesha temple. Hindu girls light candles at the Mahim Church to be blessed with a rich husband.
I love it.
This is what exactly Vedas would have taught us and hence they never labelled religion with a name, they just call it Dharma, the duty, the right path. What is right and what is wrong is so well understood by a vast majority of the Indian masses, that they hardly care for the brand, the commandments and the rule book.
The question then is what is 'Hindu'? My limited research says that 'Hindu' is a Persian word and it may not be older than 1000-1100 years. It is most certainly a post-Islamic word coined by the Farsi or Farsi dialect speaking traders and armies that crossed over to India from Central Asia. It is the word that described the rich exotic civilisation that prospered for milleniums on the valley of river Sindhu. 'Sindhu' led to the nomenclature Hind for the land beyond the river and Hindu for the people residing there. 'Hindu' is the title given to us funny god loving (not god fearing)10,000 year old civilisation by Central Asians who were to cross over and then rule rich parts of that land.
'Hindu' was more of a simplistic description for the people who followed a thousand ways to pray to the same one supreme force and dozens of different languages to speak and hundreds of different food habits and recipes and dozens of different physical features, but one thing that was common to all of them - they did not follow any of the three Abrahamaic religions.
And we have come to love this title as our own - similar to our love for the names Bombay (always has been Mumbai to natives, it's not a new name), Calcutta (Kolkata to natives) and Bangalore (Bengaluru to natives).
My questions is, life has moved on...do we still need to be known by this now irrelevant title? Let's go back to our roots and find who we really are and what is our true name.
Saturday, 5 September 2009
Jalal - The Tea Boy
This extract on leadership from Robin Sharma’s book Greatness Guide was forwarded to me by a friend and I reproduce it especially for my colleagues from the investment banking community. If you don’t bother to read it, don’t worry, because rich bankers have rarely made good, lasting leaders (look around and point out if you know any)- they have to be busy predominantly focusing on short term profit targets.
"Leadership Isn’t a Popularity Contest
Being a leader isn’t about being liked. It’s about doing what’s right. Great leaders are different. They fearlessly make tough calls. They speak their truth. They run their own race, making the right decisions and worrying little about public opinion. They are courage in action.
I speak and write a lot about being caring and respectful of people. Treat your people well and they’ll treat your customers well. That’s a no-brainer. Help people get to their goals and they’ll happily help you get to yours. I’ll take that value to my grave. See the best in people and be the most compassionate person you know. But being kind doesn’t mean being weak. Being a good human doesn’t mean that you don’t need to be strong and courageous when required by the circumstances.
Extraordinary leadership is a balance between being tender yet tough, compassionate yet courageous, part saint and part warrior, friendly yet firm.
All that the best leaders really care about is being fair, doing what’s right and getting results.
Do the right thing rather than doing the popular thing. The best thing to do is generally the hardest thing to do. Make the tough decisions. Speak with candor. Let underperformance know when they underperforming. Tell you superstars how much you love them. Just be real." - Greatness Guide by Robin Sharma
Just to add my two bit - a leader is not necessarily the one who has the power to strategise, decide and instruct. Every person is a leader of his own goals,which may be sub-goals of his surroundings. He is a leader if he sees a great dignity and relevance in what he does and if he eventually succeeds in making a remarkable difference to his surroundings; he ceases to be a leader if he fails to do so.
Henry Ford said the he preferred to be a first rate truck driver rather than a second rate executive.
Just check out your surrounding - namely your family business, your home, your company, your Ministry...Probably you will see drivers and tea-boys functioning with more dignity, success, efficiency, precision and quality compared to the nominated leaders.
"Leadership Isn’t a Popularity Contest
Being a leader isn’t about being liked. It’s about doing what’s right. Great leaders are different. They fearlessly make tough calls. They speak their truth. They run their own race, making the right decisions and worrying little about public opinion. They are courage in action.
I speak and write a lot about being caring and respectful of people. Treat your people well and they’ll treat your customers well. That’s a no-brainer. Help people get to their goals and they’ll happily help you get to yours. I’ll take that value to my grave. See the best in people and be the most compassionate person you know. But being kind doesn’t mean being weak. Being a good human doesn’t mean that you don’t need to be strong and courageous when required by the circumstances.
Extraordinary leadership is a balance between being tender yet tough, compassionate yet courageous, part saint and part warrior, friendly yet firm.
All that the best leaders really care about is being fair, doing what’s right and getting results.
Do the right thing rather than doing the popular thing. The best thing to do is generally the hardest thing to do. Make the tough decisions. Speak with candor. Let underperformance know when they underperforming. Tell you superstars how much you love them. Just be real." - Greatness Guide by Robin Sharma
Just to add my two bit - a leader is not necessarily the one who has the power to strategise, decide and instruct. Every person is a leader of his own goals,which may be sub-goals of his surroundings. He is a leader if he sees a great dignity and relevance in what he does and if he eventually succeeds in making a remarkable difference to his surroundings; he ceases to be a leader if he fails to do so.
Henry Ford said the he preferred to be a first rate truck driver rather than a second rate executive.
Just check out your surrounding - namely your family business, your home, your company, your Ministry...Probably you will see drivers and tea-boys functioning with more dignity, success, efficiency, precision and quality compared to the nominated leaders.
Saturday, 8 August 2009
Chetan's Nuisance
I have set up an automated email tool on blogger.com, which sends emails to the 10 souls I have selected as my captive readers. Fortunately for my friends, it can't be more than 10 at a time. Having requested people repeatedly to read my blog - to no avail - I resorted to force. It has evoked favourable response.
E.g. my CFO ex colleague from Mumbai finally reacted - he accused me of being on a 7 day weekend. He thinks I am lazy. If I were a competitive and smart banker, how could I get time to cook and then write about it?
A friend from Dubai told me that making pancakes was sissy. He advised me to resort to one of the multi functional Philipina maids ubiquitously available in the Gulf countries.
Guys, rather than writing mails, why don't you post your barbs on the 'comments' box on my blog? Will appreciate.
Also those who are suffering silently, rejoice! I am about to change settings to move on to the next 10, so will have to let you go for now.
E.g. my CFO ex colleague from Mumbai finally reacted - he accused me of being on a 7 day weekend. He thinks I am lazy. If I were a competitive and smart banker, how could I get time to cook and then write about it?
A friend from Dubai told me that making pancakes was sissy. He advised me to resort to one of the multi functional Philipina maids ubiquitously available in the Gulf countries.
Guys, rather than writing mails, why don't you post your barbs on the 'comments' box on my blog? Will appreciate.
Also those who are suffering silently, rejoice! I am about to change settings to move on to the next 10, so will have to let you go for now.
Eat Words Joseph Leahy...
Over a century ago, Sir Frederick Upcott, the British colonial administrator in India, had scoffed: “Do you mean to say that Tatas propose to make steel rails to British specifications? Why, I will undertake to eat every pound of steel rail they succeed in making.” Tatas not only started making steel soon after, they went on to acquire the Anglo Dutch Corus Steel in a $13 billion deal. "Upcott would have suffered slight indigestion...," says a historic account of the house of Tatas.
We have seen lots of Indian journalists brag about the Indian economic emergence. However, for the first time in my lifetime - and I am happy to be there - the tide seems to be turning in favour of India in the Western media.
The 31st July 2009 edition of Financial Times has a news report by Joseph Leahy on Tata's trouble with Jaguar-Land Rover, with a side piece titled "East Steel Sir Frederick...", all praise for the Indian acquisitions of storied English assets.
It recounts the Hinduja owned Ashok Leyland of the former British Leyland, Tata's Tetley Tea, Eicher Motors' Royal Enfield - the world’s oldest motorcycle company, originating in the English Midlands in the 1800s, Hindustan Motors' Ambassador car, ex-Morris Oxford and again the Tata owned Corus Steel. By no means this is an exhaustive list.
"The colonised has become coloniser — at least when it comes to manufacturing," says
Leahy, and adds, "But the company with the biggest taste for all things British is the Tata group, the 151-year-old company that has become India’s biggest diversified conglomerate. Its association with the UK began more than 100 years ago, when it set up a branch office in London."
“The growth in mature markets will not match what’s happening in India. There will be huge demand over the next 10-15 years,” Leahy quotes Abdul Majeed of PwC in Madras, India’s southern automotive hub. “If you look at the competition, whether it’s BMW or Mercedes or Porsche or Audi or Volvo, everyone is trying to make sure they get their act together in India,” says Majeed.
I reckon Leahy is a strawberries and cream eating tennis fan, because he forgot about the Indian predominance of cricket, a sport of English ancestry, as well as about the bhangra playing in the English pubs and the goras eating tandoori chicken and curry in the UK restaurants - of course with swigs of 'made to the Indian specifications' Cobra beer.
We have seen lots of Indian journalists brag about the Indian economic emergence. However, for the first time in my lifetime - and I am happy to be there - the tide seems to be turning in favour of India in the Western media.
The 31st July 2009 edition of Financial Times has a news report by Joseph Leahy on Tata's trouble with Jaguar-Land Rover, with a side piece titled "East Steel Sir Frederick...", all praise for the Indian acquisitions of storied English assets.
It recounts the Hinduja owned Ashok Leyland of the former British Leyland, Tata's Tetley Tea, Eicher Motors' Royal Enfield - the world’s oldest motorcycle company, originating in the English Midlands in the 1800s, Hindustan Motors' Ambassador car, ex-Morris Oxford and again the Tata owned Corus Steel. By no means this is an exhaustive list.
"The colonised has become coloniser — at least when it comes to manufacturing," says
Leahy, and adds, "But the company with the biggest taste for all things British is the Tata group, the 151-year-old company that has become India’s biggest diversified conglomerate. Its association with the UK began more than 100 years ago, when it set up a branch office in London."
“The growth in mature markets will not match what’s happening in India. There will be huge demand over the next 10-15 years,” Leahy quotes Abdul Majeed of PwC in Madras, India’s southern automotive hub. “If you look at the competition, whether it’s BMW or Mercedes or Porsche or Audi or Volvo, everyone is trying to make sure they get their act together in India,” says Majeed.
I reckon Leahy is a strawberries and cream eating tennis fan, because he forgot about the Indian predominance of cricket, a sport of English ancestry, as well as about the bhangra playing in the English pubs and the goras eating tandoori chicken and curry in the UK restaurants - of course with swigs of 'made to the Indian specifications' Cobra beer.
Tuesday, 28 July 2009
It's Ability, Not Friendship That Matters
Saudi Education Minister Prince Faisal bin Abdullah has signed a SR2 billion contract with China Railway-15 Bureau Group for the construction of 200 school buildings in various cities of the Kingdom. The Chinese company won the contract in competition with several global construction companies, the Saudi Press Agency reported Saturday. The new school buildings with a total capacity of 150,000 will be operational months after the date of the signing of the contract. The contract period has been fixed at 14 months. The contract represented 6 percent of 3,500 projects currently being implemented by the Ministry of Education at a total cost of SR20 billion. When completed, the schools will have a capacity of 1,700,000 students of both sexes. The ministry takes over an average of 80 new schools a month.
This development shows two vital facts: one - China has become the preferred infrastructure builder for the Kingdom in recent years. Apart from schools, the Chinese companies are building Saudi Arabia's railways, and other infrastructure - worth billions of dollars.
Now consider these facts to understand India's relevance to Saudi Arabia:
1. Indians have been working in Saudi Arabia since before the days oil was found.
2. India has the largest number of expats living in Saudi Arabia as of now
3. India has the world's second largest population that follows Islam - the religion that defines the Saudi nation
4. Indian engineers and other professionals have played a huge role in building the existing infrastructure in Saudi Arabia (even though the contractors may have been non-Indian)
5. Saudis for generations have received education in India and have social links with India
6. Indians in Saudi Arabia have assimilated with the society by adopting Arabic language and local customs
Also look at this:
1. The Chinese do not live and work at all in Saudi Arabia, except a handful who work for Chinese companies that have won contracts here
2. China has since 60s suppressed its Uighur Muslim minority
3. There is hardly any cultural or other similarity or interaction between China and Saudi Arabia
However, the big bucks flow to China from Saudi Arabia. Saudi hypermarkets are full of cheap goods manufactured in China. China has wisely started a 24 hour Arabic satellite channel that spreads the virtues of the Chinese culture and the news of how happy the Chinese Muslims are!
The Indian government and companies should get this lesson - Shape up! Understand the world dynamics! The world will love you not because you are a friendly state with law abiding expats enriching the foreign economies. You will be loved for your strength, as in the case of your IT outsourcing abilities. Improve your brand equity. Look at you weaknesses - your inability to put your own infrastructure right - and you lose billions in potential business.
This development shows two vital facts: one - China has become the preferred infrastructure builder for the Kingdom in recent years. Apart from schools, the Chinese companies are building Saudi Arabia's railways, and other infrastructure - worth billions of dollars.
Now consider these facts to understand India's relevance to Saudi Arabia:
1. Indians have been working in Saudi Arabia since before the days oil was found.
2. India has the largest number of expats living in Saudi Arabia as of now
3. India has the world's second largest population that follows Islam - the religion that defines the Saudi nation
4. Indian engineers and other professionals have played a huge role in building the existing infrastructure in Saudi Arabia (even though the contractors may have been non-Indian)
5. Saudis for generations have received education in India and have social links with India
6. Indians in Saudi Arabia have assimilated with the society by adopting Arabic language and local customs
Also look at this:
1. The Chinese do not live and work at all in Saudi Arabia, except a handful who work for Chinese companies that have won contracts here
2. China has since 60s suppressed its Uighur Muslim minority
3. There is hardly any cultural or other similarity or interaction between China and Saudi Arabia
However, the big bucks flow to China from Saudi Arabia. Saudi hypermarkets are full of cheap goods manufactured in China. China has wisely started a 24 hour Arabic satellite channel that spreads the virtues of the Chinese culture and the news of how happy the Chinese Muslims are!
The Indian government and companies should get this lesson - Shape up! Understand the world dynamics! The world will love you not because you are a friendly state with law abiding expats enriching the foreign economies. You will be loved for your strength, as in the case of your IT outsourcing abilities. Improve your brand equity. Look at you weaknesses - your inability to put your own infrastructure right - and you lose billions in potential business.
Monday, 27 July 2009
Smile-o-meter
Recently Tokyo railway station installed electronic scanning equipment on customer facing work stations - check out BBC. These gadgets catch the smiles of workers as they are communicating with customers buying tickets or asking for directions. If the worker is not smiling adequately - ie if the smile is not wide enough or teeth do not show up to a desired degree, she or he gets reported. Throughout the day the scan keeps reporting the smile score - I think the desired level is between 75% and 90% full smile as defined by preset parameters.
My first reaction is that I want to buy the shares of the company manufacturing the smile scan devices, as I can see the universality of this application. In whatever country you are, there would be dozens of institutions where thousands of workers need to be monitored for their smile quotient. It's a multi-billion dollar business in the making. On second thought, I am already dumping the shares. Probably workers will find several innovative ways of cursing the customers with a 90% smile. In that case smile scans will be useless. So the business plan flattens out.
Honestly, I find the stressed out air hostesses and cashiers more homely and predictable - smiling ones will leave me confused and unstable for a few moments!
My first reaction is that I want to buy the shares of the company manufacturing the smile scan devices, as I can see the universality of this application. In whatever country you are, there would be dozens of institutions where thousands of workers need to be monitored for their smile quotient. It's a multi-billion dollar business in the making. On second thought, I am already dumping the shares. Probably workers will find several innovative ways of cursing the customers with a 90% smile. In that case smile scans will be useless. So the business plan flattens out.
Honestly, I find the stressed out air hostesses and cashiers more homely and predictable - smiling ones will leave me confused and unstable for a few moments!
Tuesday, 21 July 2009
Reality TV: How to Select Public Officials
The most interesting TV show over last few days was the confirmation hearing of Sonia Sotomayor, President Obama's nominee for the US Supreme Court. I really do not know how much of the the senators' voting process and the conditions for the appointment to be overturned, but it is great to see a would be public official so extensively questioned. The responses tell us a lot about the personality, her thinking and her track record.
Just imagine our supreme court judges and cabinet secretaries being interrogated. I am all for India emulating this useful democratic process. If not anything, these would provide rich content for the half dozen laughter championships hosted by various TV channels.
Just imagine our supreme court judges and cabinet secretaries being interrogated. I am all for India emulating this useful democratic process. If not anything, these would provide rich content for the half dozen laughter championships hosted by various TV channels.
Monday, 20 July 2009
Nano and others: Why should cars in India be 60% or more expensive than elsewhere?
It's great that India has pioneered the world's cheapest car. This feat must be terribly difficult especially in India due to its skewed tax structure. In most manufacturing/importing countries a standard Honda Accord costs equivalent of Rs.1-1.1 million (USD 22,000). For that model we pay Rs.1.6+ million (USD 34,000). A BMW 5 Series costs Rs.2.3-2.4 million (USD 48,000), but in India it sells for Rs.5.5 million (USD 110,000), etc. This equation is true at the lower end, too.
The thought of taxing cars high is the inheritance from people who thought like the poor - probably rightly so 60 years ago - but its relevance is lost to the people who want to create wealth, not just realign it. Taxes on 'luxury' goods are aimed to redistribute wealth. We do need Robinhood mechanisms to transfer some money from the wealthy to the poor, but we need to redefine who is wealthy and also redefine the mechanisms.
A material reduction in import duties and excise duties on cars will lead to greater production and thereby greater employment. With low cost of labour, steel and other ingredients, India could be a preferred low cost producer for world's leading car companies, especially at a time when most of these companies are making losses. We can certainly be cheaper than likes of Mexico and Thailand, who already enjoy the status of preferred car manufacture locations.
The thought of taxing cars high is the inheritance from people who thought like the poor - probably rightly so 60 years ago - but its relevance is lost to the people who want to create wealth, not just realign it. Taxes on 'luxury' goods are aimed to redistribute wealth. We do need Robinhood mechanisms to transfer some money from the wealthy to the poor, but we need to redefine who is wealthy and also redefine the mechanisms.
A material reduction in import duties and excise duties on cars will lead to greater production and thereby greater employment. With low cost of labour, steel and other ingredients, India could be a preferred low cost producer for world's leading car companies, especially at a time when most of these companies are making losses. We can certainly be cheaper than likes of Mexico and Thailand, who already enjoy the status of preferred car manufacture locations.
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