Here's the text of Amitabh's "India Poised"ad:
"There are two Indians in this country. One India is straining at the leash, eager to spring forth and live up to all the adjectives that the world has been showering recently upon us. The other India is the leash. One India says, give me a chance and I’ll prove myself .The other India says prove yourself first and maybe then you’ll have a chance. One India lives in the optimism of our hearts. The other India lurks in the skepticism of our minds. One India Wants. The Other India Hopes. One India Leads .The Other India Follows.
But conversions are on the rise .With each passing day more and more people from the other India have been coming over to this side. And quietly while the world is not looking, a pulsating, dynamic new India is emerging. An India whose faith in success is far greater than its fear of failure. An India that no longer boycotts foreign-made goods but buys out the companies that makes them instead.
History, they say, is a bad motorist. It rarely ever signals its intentions when it is taking a turn. This is that rarely ever moment. History is turning a page. For more than half a century ,our nation has sprung, stumbled ,run , fallen ,rolled over ,got up ,dusted herself and cantered, sometimes lurched on. But today as we begin our 60th year as a free nation, the ride has brought us to the edge of times great precipice. And one India – a tiny little voice at the back of the head – is looking down at the bottom of the ravine and hesitating. The other India is looking up at the sky and saying, its time to fly…"
NEW DELHI: India looks set for another year of strong growth after the economy unexpectedly accelerated by a scorching 9.3 per cent during the first three months, analysts say. Last Friday's first-quarter data, driven by robust manufacturing and services output, surprised many analysts who had forecast growth as low as 8.5 per cent after five interest rate hikes in a year. The aggressive monetary tightening and a stronger rupee, which has hit exports, means it is unlikely India will repeat last year's torrid 9.4 per cent expansion, the fastest in 18 years, analysts say But India's "growth story," which has prompted foreigners to pump billions of dollars into shares, infrastructure and other investments, remains intact. Expansion is being "consumption led" with "rising incomes and a growing middle class" in the country of 1.1 billion people, said Deepak Lalwani, director at London investment house Astaire and Partners. "The economy has gained its own strong momentum due to cumulative reforms," said Lalwani, who sees growth of 8.5-9.0 per cent in the fiscal year to March 2008. Agriculture, which has pulled down the broader economy, also fared better than expected during the first quarter, posting 3.8 per cent growth. While nine percent is at the upper end range of most full-year forecasts, economists have raised their expectations following the quarterly figures. JP Morgan boosted its growth estimate from eight to 8.6 per cent and Morgan Stanley from 7.7 per cent to 7.8 per cent. India's HDFC bank said it was looking at "8.5 per cent plus" from an earlier 8.3 per cent. Other investment houses said they were considering hiking their forecasts. Finance Minister P Chidambaram said he was "confident GDP growth will remain close to nine per cent this year" even though first-quarter growth was "a shade below" the 9.6 per cent expansion logged in the year-ago period. India's economy, which has expanded by an average annual 8.6 per cent in the past three years, is the fastest growing after neighbouring China. China's economy expanded by a roaring 11.9 per cent in the second quarter. Analysts say India's growth would cool in coming quarters as the central bank's tight money policy, which has pushed interest rates to five-year highs, crimps capacity expansion and hurts credit growth. Sales of cars are already slowing due to higher loan costs and spending on consumer durables has fallen. "There is some softness already in credit growth and rail freight and exports," said Abheek Barua, chief economist at HDFC Bank. But the central bank is unlikely to ease its hawkish monetary policy stance rapidly. Data Friday showed inflation fell to below four percent for the first time in over 15 months to 3.96 per cent but the strong first-quarter growth means that fears of overheating are still alive, analysts said. "It does not seem likely the central bank will loosen rates in a hurry... (as) the economy continues to grow at an above trend pace," said Manika Premsingh at Edelweiss Capital brokerage. The new inflation rate is far below the bank's annual target of "close" to five percent. But economists say the drop was mainly due to a high base effect from a year earlier when inflation stood at 5.6 per cent. "The bank won't be lulled," said Soumitra Chaudhuri, economic advisor to credit rating agency ICRA. "Inflation isn't dead, the economy is growing fast, and if you don't watch inflation it will come back with a vengeance," he said. (Shamelessly) Posted as-is from:  |
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