Indian Model

Recently, two very interesting and confusing articles on Indian economy has been published, one by the expert on Indian economy Gurcharan Das, former CEO of Procter and Gamble, and author of of India Unbound, and the other by a non-expert and more of literary figure Pankaj Mishra. Here is the link, link, link.

Gurcharan Das argues that India’s greatness lies in its self-reliant and resilient people, but he forgot to mention the selfish, parochial, castist, non-philanthrophic (only religious generous), nature of Indians. There is law but not order, the reason being the corruption in the courts. This results in absence of fear of law among the empowered, privileged.

In the name of privatisation one can see the plight of commuters in the DTC buses and private blue line buses in the capital city of India, Delhi. Is the system become more efficient? The unchanged predicament of power cut even after privatisation in Delhi? No prize for guessing in what is the situation at the other parts of India?

This has become fashionable to blame bureaucracy and government for all the ills of Indian economy among the neo intellectuals. Except Tata, how many private corporate sectors has contributed to the nation building? Birlas, Bajajs, Reliances are all big corporate sectors who have been benefited immensely from the license-permit raj, but what is there contribution to the nation (particularly institution) building, I am not talking about charity donated during disasters and religious purposes?

rental markets for wives!!!!

After a long hiatus I am posting this message.

Here is a very interesting and alarming story regarding the plight of women in India.
Atta Prajapati, a farm worker who lives in Gujarat state, leases out his wife Laxmi to a wealthy landowner for $175 US a month. A farm worker earns a monthly minimum wage of around $22. Laxmi is expected to live with the man, look after him and his house, and have sex with him.

....this was not an isolated incident, and that several men rent their wives to other men on a month-by-month basis.
The male-female ratio is becoming increasing skewed across India because many parents abort female fetuses, preferring sons to daughters.
Female children must be married off, and to achieve that a daughter's parents usually have to pay the groom's family a dowry of cash and gifts - often a massive burden on the parents' resources.
Dowries were outlawed in 1961, but the practice is still common and the law ill-enforced.
The nationwide number of girls per 1,000 boys declined from 945 in 1991 to 927 in 2001, according to the 2001 national census.
It is not unusual for wealthy families to hire housekeeping staff in India, but prostitution is illegal.
The lack of marriageable girls ...has also led to booming business for bride brokers, who are paid to find a woman for a man to marry.
Brokers charge a groom's family up to $1,520, and the girl's family will receive around $435...

I suspect the existence of market imperfection, where a wealthy landlord cannot find a wife while a poor labourer can, are linked to the huge expenditure, which includes the dowry, by the girls' family on marriage.
Perhaps the obligation of expenditure on both sides of the family in marriages are required, thus increasing competition for wives and perhaps raising the value of female offspring