Showing posts with label chandrababu naidu. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chandrababu naidu. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 21, 2019

India And Reforms



When Indira Gandhi nationalized banks across India, she called it reforms. When Ronald Reagan orchestrated large scale privatizations across sectors of the US economy, he called it reforms. I guess you want to be seen reforming.

In Germany, they have this concept of lifelong employment. You go to work for a company early in your life, and you stay with that company for much of your working life. And Germany is a top performing economy. It beats the US economy by a wider margin than does the Chinese economy.

There are people who argue for US-style hire and fire policies in India. They call it labor reform. That hire and fire can work. But in India, for many people, or maybe most, if you get fired, you face a certain financial cliff. You might not be able to go grocery shopping in a week. In such a scenario hire and fire might be a catastrophe.

In Japan also they have this concept of lifelong employment. I am not arguing for it. All I am saying is there is no magic pill. Too many people argue if only India were to put in place easy hire and fire, the economy would rocket past the Chinese economy. Not true. Stop looking for magic pills.

A great Indian example was Indian Railways when Laloo Yadav was Railway Minister. Indian Railways is state owned. It is the largest employer in the world. And rule number one for Laloo was, do not fire anyone as we attempt to increase our revenues and profits. Rule number two was, do not raise railway ticket prices. Because "I am a man of the people." Within those two parameters, Laloo managed to usher bumper profits. He managed to slash prices on railway tickets.

So it is not true state-owned companies are always a bad idea. When Modi was Chief Minister of Gujrat he did not nationalize a single state-owned company in his state. Instead, he granted each of them autonomy. The major thing he did was he brought political interference to a halt. They all became profitable.

State-owned companies can work. Private companies can work. Collect data. Assess data. Engage in evidence-based decision making. Do not blindly follow this or that ideology. The proof has to be in the pudding.

When Laloo took over Indian Railways that was in the red, the number one piece of advice was, fire a bunch of people. If you want to turn a profit, fire a bunch of people. Indian Railways is "bloated," he was told. But Laloo knew better. I can not fire people, Laloo said. "I am a man of the people."

He turned Indian Railways around.

Another buzz phrase is land reform. Basically, the idea is it should be much easier for industrialists to buy land. Maybe the idea does not work in India. You are mostly talking about small farmers. That small piece of land is their entire world. They depend on it for their basic food. It is not that they are against industrialization, but what will they eat the day after?

Land pooling is a better idea. You turn those landowners into shareholders in your proposed company. Why will you not look at alternate ideas like these? Chandrababu Naidu successfully implemented that idea as he started work on his dream city Amaravati. And the farmers who participated are happy. Akhilesh Yadav used something similar as he acquired land for the Delhi Lucknow expressway.

The very phrase land acquisition is problematic. It sounds like robbery. Land pooling is a friendlier phrase.






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Friday, May 17, 2019

India 2019: The Final Lap

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Thursday, May 16, 2019

India 2019: Congress Not Wanting PM Position Is A Game Changer

"Central Role" For Rahul Gandhi In Forming New Government: Tejashwi Yadav
Rahul Gandhi's Hands-On Solution After Helicopter Glitch In Himachal
Congress not averse to supporting regional party leader for PM post: Ghulam Nabi Azad
TRS not averse to go with Congress, if PM is regional
Lok Sabha Elections 2019: PM Modi Is "Losing And Is Desperate", Says Congress Leader Salman Khurshid He said, "He is changing course because he is desperate. He knows he is losing and he is desperate. You just compare the last campaign with this campaign. He was in control of that campaign but he is not in control of this campaign."
Lok Sabha Elections 2019 Highlights: Sonia Gandhi Writes To Party Leaders For May 23 Opposition Meet

The Congress declaring it does not necessarily want a PM from the Congress party is a game changer. That vastly expands the possibilities of UPA-4. It will become harder for the BJP to pull in a few more parties even if it is near something like 250. Some current members of the NDA like Nitish Kumar and Ram Vilas Paswan might desert the NDA if push comes to shove.

But the Congress supporting from the outside drama should not be enacted. Whoever comes to power should give a full five-year term. PM or no PM the Congress must participate in the government.

Step one has to be to form the coalition, UPA-4. This is a new, expanded coalition. Then those aspiring for leadership should come forward, and the pool of MPs should vote, in two rounds if necessary. That would be the most stable way to do it. Backroom consensus building is b.s. And each party's strength would get reflected in the cabinet. So the Congress would get the largest number of ministers.

I would think Rahul Gandhi would be most suitable for Convenor of the coalition, and the best person to serve as PM would be Chandrababu Naidu, who just so happens to be the most senior politician in the country.

This move by Congress is not necessarily magnanimous. No matter what happens, the Congress by itself will be much smaller than all the smaller parties combined. This is just respecting arithmetic. This is basic democracy.


Convenor of UPA-4: Rahul Gandhi
Prime Minister: Chandrababu Naidu
Defense Minister: Mayawati
Telecommunications Minister: Akhilesh Yadav

Naidu because he could give India double-digit growth rates.

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Naidu's Amaravati

Chandrababu Naidu built Hyderabad. He lost it to the bifurcation. Hyderabad is now in Telangana. He is now building Amravati from scratch. He claims it will be among the top five cities in the world "by every parameter."

He has had financial issues. He has been pestering the government in Delhi for additional funds.

I think he should go to global financial markets.

He acquired land for the city through land pooling. That is a beautiful concept. Similar out of the box thinking could take care of the cash crunches that the building of the city might bring forth.

Amravati should not only be the capital of Andra Pradesh. It should also be a knowledge city that hosts the industries of tomorrow. And it should create and sell bonds and raise money in the global financial markets perhaps at 5% interest rates. A knowledge city should be able to generate enough revenue to pay the interest on the bonds for the near future.











































Investor’s faith in Amaravati bonds reflects trust in AP: Naidu
Former Britain PM Tony Blair visits Amaravati, praises Naidu's Real Time Governance
Naidu plans mother of all B-schools in Amaravati. He built the global IT hub of Hyderabad from the ground up, but lost it after Andhra Pradesh split. Not one to wallow over losses, Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu is back to doing what he does best – building world-class institutions like the Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad. ...... is busy drawing up a blueprint to set up a premier institute of excellence in the public private partnership mode to outshine ISB. ....... The institution is proposed to be set up in the Amaravati capital region over nearly 100 acres at a cost of 500 crore. For this, he plans to rope in the best of the best of the global academic world like the London School of Economics, Harvard Kennedy School, National University of Singapore as well as the University of Birmingham as well as the who’s who of the global corporate world. Various UN agencies, the World Bank, ADB and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation are some of the other intended global partners for the project. ....... The idea is that each of the 10 or more industry partners would contribute 50 crore under their CSR head and would be part of the governing board ....... And Naidu has found the man for the job – Pramath Raj Sinha, founding dean of ISB and co-founder of Ashoka University. ....... The institution of global scale would offer very refined MBAs with specializations in niche segments. “The institute will be an independent, non-partisan and non-profit organisation. It shall perform functions of consulting, primary and applied research, global annual discussion and learning forums, performance evaluation and monitoring and education that provides management skills to the government work force ....... “The CM wanted a world class think-tank in our state to cater to the knowledge needs of governments and businesses of the country and that it should welcome some of the finest academicians and thinkers from across the globe.” ........ The institute’s activities would be in accordance with the State’s Sunrise Vision 2029 framework to transform AP into “a happy, inclusive and globally competitive society”.
Amaravati Bonds Listed on BSE: What This Means for Andhra Pradesh
It Is Japan Government's Responsibility To Build Amaravati: Chandrababu Naidu "Your (Japan's) Maki and Associates is designing our capital buildings. So it is Japan government's responsibility to build Amaravati. It should be next to Tokyo," Mr Naidu remarked, inaugurating a two-day Andhra Pradesh-Japan Public-Private joint conference in Vijayawada today. ...... In the near future, we should have a direct flight between Amaravati and Tokyo...... Pointing out that 15 Japanese companies were currently doing business in Andhra Pradesh, the chief minister wanted the number to increase ten-fold to 150 in a year. ...... "AP is an innovative state. People here are creative. We are strong in knowledge economy. ....... About 80 delegates from Japanese majors like Mitsubishi, Mitsui, Fuji, Nippon, Toyota, NEC, Toshiba, Sumitomo besides representatives of Japan External Trade Organisation are attending the event, organised by the Andhra Pradesh Economic Development Board.
Chandra Babu Naidu lays foundation stone for grand Venkateswara temple in Amaravati Spread across 25 acres of land on the banks of river Krishna, the mega temple will be equipped with all the modern day facilities. According to state officials, Venkateswara Swami Temple will be designed as per Agama and Vastu Shastra where makers are planning to showcase the rich architectural values from the ancient kingdoms like Pallava, Chola, Chalukya, and Vijayanagar.
‘Amaravati Bond 2018 listed on BSE today
A 21st century Indian city Shamshabad will not just be an ordinary airport, Naidu told me. It was to be a hub airport, like Singapore and Dubai. “Singapore and Dubai airports are getting overcrowded. Hyderabad is bang in the middle, between them. It can be a new hub airport, not just for national and international transit passengers but for cargo, aircraft maintenance, export-oriented business, international conferences and exhibitions,” said Naidu. ...... China began building Zhengzhou as an aerotropolis a decade after Naidu thought of Shamshabad-Cyberabad as an aerotropolis of a kind. But then, in 2004, Naidu was voted out of office. ...... Naidu’s planned aerotropolis project remains half done. A very Indian outcome to a very non-Indian idea at the time....... In building Amaravati, the new capital of the new state of AP, he wants a Singapore in India! There is enough talent in coastal Andhra and the globalised Andhra community to make this possible. Naidu’s “Act East” policy of seeking inspiration and capital from Singapore, Japan and China is laudable....... some analysts have charged the land-pooling scheme of being “anti-farmer, anti-poor and socially unjust”, favouring absentee landowners (at the cost of poorer tenant farmers) and speculators, all belonging to favoured castes. ....... Amaravati can become India’s best city of the 21st century — which means a modern, humane, energetic, green and clean, and liveable city with public spaces, facilities and transport. If Naidu delivers, he would earn his place in history.

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This Turn By Nitish Is Meaningful



This turn by Nitish Kumar is meaningful. He has not said anything new, but his party's declaration that Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa qualify for a Special Category status by the center is meaningful. There are rumors the BJP is getting less than a majority in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. If that ends up being true, that will be a sure indication the BJP might not come back to power. If those three states gang up and say we will support whoever gives us Special Category status, that would be a game changer. Because that would torpedo the BJP's chances of forming a government even if they are near 250.

Nitish surely is not worried about Bihar. The RJD would be glad to step in should the BJP walk out.

If this is the thought process then that might be an early indication that as Nitish Kumar sees it, the BJP is not getting the majority of seats in UP and Bihar. It has long been said in Indian politics that there never has been an instance when a party lost UP and still formed the government in Delhi.

If the BJP-led NDA is closer to something like 230, it is possible an expanded NDA might demand a non-BJP PM.

Declare Nitish Kumar as PM face, demands JD(U) lawmaker
Nitish Kumar Has Written His Own Sad Twist To His Tale
In Bihar, Nitish Kumar's Party Catalyst For Win: Prannoy Roy's Analysis

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Monday, May 13, 2019

India 2019: A Fractured Mandate?



the BJP may end up winning 190-210 seats, and the NDA in its current form bagging 220-240 seats....... “This may mean the NDA will have to sign up at least four large regional parties in post-poll alliance to form the government,” the brokerage said. ...... There is a big question mark on what happens to UP ....... “Depending on whom you speak to, you get a range between 20 and 60 seats for the BJP. It really is not very clear.” ...... BJP political party workers on the ground say the Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) joining the BJP in a post-poll alliance cannot be ruled out. ...... the BJP has proven to be more adept in making new alliances and keeping old ones, compared with the Congress. ....... despite not being officially part of the UPA, a number of strong regional parties seem ideologically committed towards a non-BJP election outcome


N. Chandrababu Naidu: The maker of tomorrowland Naidu is looking to transform Andhra Pradesh from an agrarian to a tech-driven economy. ...... chief minister of united Andhra Pradesh from 1995 to 2004 was the catalyst that made Hyderabad the wonder that it is today, still clocks 16 hours at work. ...... In 2000, Time magazine named Naidu South Asian of the Year for turning Hyderabad, which it described as “an impoverished, rural backwater place”, into “India’s new information-technology hub”. ...... Amaravati, the capital city of the new state, is being built from scratch on the southern banks of the Krishna river ...... He believes Andhra Pradesh can become the No. 1 state by 2029 in every economic parameter ...... in the past five years his state has achieved an average GDP growth rate of 10.52% ...... Naidu’s vision is to convert a largely agrarian state into a future-focussed, technology driven economy in tune with the needs of the 21st century. ....... he is talking specifically about big data, which lies at the heart of governance in the state. “If one has the right historical and current data, one can predict and execute things much better for individuals and the community because outcomes will be closer to expectations,’’ he says. ...... Real Time Governance Society monitoring centre housed in building No. 1 of the government secretariat in Amaravati. The monitoring centre is straight out of a Hollywood sci-fi film. On one side are giant screens, or dashboards, with constantly flashing images, videos, and data monitored by a few dozen people. These dashboards provide real-time data on the status of government welfare schemes and important government projects; road traffic; deaths, marriages and births in households; first information reports filed at various police stations; and even files signed by officials and ministers. Similar centres are present across the state. ......... “We have linked all the 240 government schemes across 30 departments and created 560,000 combinations, which help us resolve issues and grievances of people on a real-time basis. It is our way of breaking down the silos of various departments and bringing everyone together on the basis of data” ....... On March 1 the government had full data on its 44.9 million citizens across 123 parameters; it had 2,000 video cameras tracking vehicles and traffic violations, 2,000 government officials conversing with 3 million people in the state to solve their grievances and issues. Babu says the government has got 18 million complaints over the past four years. .......... the tech-savvy Naidu ...... Naidu wants the 217 sq. km. Amaravati to set the standards for smart cities in India—a truly global city that will draw top global firms to set up base there. Roads and water supply will be like in Amsterdam; power supply as in Germany and the U.S.; and the “green-blue” city—called so for the 51% green cover and 10% water bodies it will boast—will have storm water management matching that in the U.K. and Malaysia. ........ To overcome the challenge of land acquisition for building Amaravati, the state went in for land pooling. Farmers who gave up their land were offered a 10-year annuity package. “We have made farmers shareholders in the development process in the new capital, without evicting them from their habitations,” says Naidu. The annuity amount will not only increase 10% every year, but farmers will also get back a part—nearly one-third—of the developed land, which they can sell in the next 10 years.......Within two-and-a-half years, land which was selling at ₹10 lakh an acre has begun to fetch ₹2 crore. “So if the farmer decides to sell the developed plot, he can make a lot of money...... “Today 20% to 30% of all mobile phones are being manufactured in AP, I want it to go up to 50% to 60%,” says Naidu. Reliance Industries has announced an electronics park for making mobiles and televisions in Tirupati; electronics manufacturers Foxconn, and TCL Corporation, too, have plans to invest there....... Further south from the banks of the Krishna river are 13 urban plazas, signifying the 13 districts in the state. Means of transport in the city will run on electricity. There will be water-taxis, dedicated tracks for cyclists and well-shaded pavements, encouraging people to walk. The green pockets in the city are modelled on New York’s Central Park and Lutyens’ Delhi....... Amaravati is expected to be built by 2025 and the AP Capital Region, which comprises parts of Guntur, Vijayawada, and Tenali, by 2028.



Chandrababu Naidu Claims Modi Won't Become PM, Asserts Four Surveys Reveal TDP Victory predicted that Modi will never become Prime Minister again ..... He added that a Congress-led coalition is to form the government in the centre.



Mamata Banerjee will play key role, says Chandrababu Naidu On Ms. Banerjee’s request, Mr. Naidu addressed the crowd in Telugu to loud cheers. ...... Kharagpur, which houses the oldest IIT in the country and serves as important hub of South Eastern Railways, has a Telugu population of about 30% 




In a scenario where the BJP-led NDA ends up with 220-230 seats, the Congress-led UPA hovers around 140-150 seats, and the rest of the parties collectively bag about 270-280 seats, it might make sense for that Federal Front to get the pick for Prime Minister, and in that crowd Chandrababu Naidu might be the most capable candidate. That he is not in the running makes it even more attractive. A Federal Front with outside support from the Congress-led UPA might be stable enough.

There seems to be a growing chorus that these are the kinds of numbers India might be looking at. The truth is nobody knows.

Naidu Prime Minister, Mayawati Defense Minister.

In case there is a fractured mandate, many member parties of the NDA and the UPA might ditch those alliances.

But should the NDA end up with something like 230, it will be in a fairly good position to make a mad dash for a few big regional parties like Naveen Patnayak in Orissa, perhaps even Mayawati. Maybe Mayawati wants to become Deputy Prime Minister. Heck, it might even rope in a once NDA partner Chandrababu Naidu, who is focused on staying Chief Minister.





Should the BJP-led NDA end up with something like 220, that would create a scenario where some non-BJP person could rise to the helm. And the best way to elect that person is to follow the simple democratic process. All the MPs would form a pool. And that pool of MPs would engage in two rounds of votes. The highest two vote-getters would go into a second round. And the one who garners a majority of votes would naturally be the leader. That person could be from a party with only 20 MPs. Why not?

The most qualified person would be Naidu. Somebody like Rahul Gandhi would be best as Convenor of the coalition: UPA-4. On this side of the aisle, Naidu is best positioned to give India a double-digit growth rate.








Chandrababu Naidu Reinforces Opposition Unity With Meets in Bengal, Delhi
Opposition meeting likely to be held by Chandrababu Naidu and Rahul Gandhi on May 21

Hypothetical Scenario
Election Results
BJP-led NDA: 220
Congress-led UPA: 140
Non-BJP, non-Congress: 185

The last two come together to form UPA-4. Pool of MPs: 325.

Election for Parliamentary Leader:
First round of votes: Rahul Gandhi: 140 votes, Chandrababu Naidu: 185 votes.
Rahul Gandhi: Convenor of UPA-4
Chandrababu Naidu: Prime Minister of India



Rahul Gandhi and Mamata Banerjee can not see eye to eye. But Naidu can talk to both.



The problem is in the process. Instead of a few leaders saying we will sit together and decide, the steps have to be (1) form the coalition, (2) pool together all MPs of the coalition, and (3) organize an election for parliamentary leader for the coalition with every MP in the pool voting.

Chandrababu Naidu interview: Tried my best to connect Telangana and AP
KCR succeeds where Chandrababu Naidu failed
N Chandrababu Naidu fumes at TD leaders for skipping meets
TDP tech advisor is whistle-blower, not thief: Chandrababu Naidu hits back at EC's charge
Kingmaker sweepstakes: Naidu outfoxes KCR Praising the Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief as a “Bengal tigress”, Naidu claimed she “would act as a kingmaker in the formation of the next government” at the Centre. The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief also announced a meeting of 22 Opposition parties in Delhi, likely on May 23 to discuss government formation....... midway through the Lok Sabha elections and amidst speculation of BJP not faring as well at the hustings, KCR started distancing from it while trying to cosy up to regional, secular parties.
Jagan’s padayatra to connect with the people and the TDP government’s struggle to implement farm loan waivers are reminiscent of the 2004 political scenario.
‘Chandrababu Naidu may merge TDP with Congress’
‘Country will get a new PM, under Mamata Banerjee’s leadership’ says Chandrababu Naidu
Will Naidu merge TDP with Congress?
Afraid, nervous Modi speaks his mother tongue: Hatred
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