China has the world's biggest traffic jam

Whatever traffic hell you endured getting to work this morning is nothing compared to what’s happening in Beijing, where a mammoth traffic jam is entering its ninth day with no relief in sight.

Thousands of trucks have jammed National Expressway 110 since Aug. 14, creating a traffic jam stretching 100 kilometers. Authorities attribute the mess to highway construction exacerbated by accidents and breakdowns

Read More http://www.wired.com/autopia/2010/08/nine-day-traffic-jam-makes-your-commute-look-rosy/#ixzz0xWKVxqIn

Niyamgiri is saved for now?

Niyamgiri Hills, Orissa: The Vedanta mining project in Orissa has been struck down by the government. This after a committee said the company had violated forest and environment laws.

Forest clearance for the project in the Niyamgiri Hills has been cancelled and there shall be penal action against Vedanta for violating laws. A notice has also been issued to the company for its alumina refinery in Lanjigarh, for increasing "1 mn tonne capacity...to 6 mn tonnes illegally."

Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said, "There has been a very serious violation of Environment Protection Act, Forest Conservation Act and the Forest Rights Act...there have been no emotions and no politics and no prejudice involved in this report

Click here for full report.
Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/jairam-says-no-to-vedanta-mining-project-in-orissa-46736?cp

we are like this only

China - World's Second Largest Economy now

After three decades of spectacular growth, China passed Japan in the second quarter to become the world’s second-largest economy behind the United States.

Tokyo said that Japan’s economy was valued at about $1.28 trillion in the second quarter of 2010, slightly below China’s $1.33 trillion.

By the way, where is India?

Are American Small Investors shying away from Stock market?

Small Investors have played a large part in the American Stock Exchange unlike in the Indian Stock markets. Last week I read a article that few Small Indian Investors are also getting out of the markets by withdrawing from the Mutual Funds.

NYTimes is reporting that the phenomena is happening in America too, as more than 20 billion USD have been withdrawn from their Mutual Funds. It could be a long term drift in investment psychology and the attitudes Americans have about their money.. Are slowly large shifts happening?

Indian Gymnastics - from Wired.com

Infosys - A Chop Shop?

Infosys - A Chop Shop - Senator Schumer

Criticising companies outsourcing highly-paid American jobs, a US Senator has described Indian IT major Infosys as a "chop shop", a place where stolen cars are dismantled and parts sold separately.

The comments were made by Democrat Senator of New York Charles E Schumer during discussions on the Border Security Bill, a USD 600-million emergency package aimed at strengthening security along the porous Mexican border.

"The emergency border funds will be paid for by assessing fees on foreign companies known as chop shops that outsource good, high-paying American technology jobs to lower wage, temporary immigrant workers from other countries.

"These are companies such as Infosys," Schumer said on the Senate floor on Thursday.

My Comments:

Infosys and other Indian Software Company should try to do at least one or two products, to prove that they also have real capability in developing software. I am always surprised to see them keep on multiplying their revenues Year-over-year even when the Global Economy itself
is under performing, even without holding any IP and real competitive edge.

My thoughts is that they are leveraging the gap between the cost of essential life services in India vs the same in US (indirectly through the currency value difference between Indian Rupee and the US Dollar). But this Currency Value difference itself is the ugly offspring of US making its Paper currency the world's Currency (giving a monopoly player status for US). The US is now tasting its own medicine it had been administrating to the entire world.

What is happening is that non-tech, non-financial service providers (read as middle class people) value has eroded under globalization across the globe. This exploitation cannot go on forever and US non-tech, non-finance service providers are now fighting back. Their Indian Counterparts to would start fighting back soon.

Urbanization & Growth : India, China & Asia

Notes from Reuters Special on Urbanization - India & China Story

1. It happens every year. When monsoon rains lash Mumbai, the city turns into a cesspool, which along with its potholed roads and gridlocked traffic, mocks its ambition of becoming a global financial center. India has Asia's third-largest economy and the increasing global clout that goes with it. It is already home to a quarter of the world's 20 most densely populated cities.

2. Indian cities over the next two decades will also house 40 percent of the country's population and generate some 70 percent of new job opportunities, McKinsey Global Institute (MGI), the research arm of consultancy McKinsey, estimates in a report.

"Across all major quality-of-life indicators, India's cities fall well short of delivering even a basic standard of living for their residents," the report said. To cater to this growth, India needs to invest $1.2 trillion in capital expenditure, mainly infrastructure, over that period, an eight-fold increase of current spending levels, MGI said.

3. India will, over the next two decades, see an urban transformation the scale and speed of which has not happened anywhere except China, with many cities becoming larger than many countries, in terms of population size and GDP.

"It's going to be one of the most defining changes that we have yet to see," said Roopa Purushothaman at Everstone Investment Advisors.

Analysis :

Historically, India's politicians and policy-makers have focused on villages. Urbanization has largely been a result of existing cities expanding economically and demographically, rather than anything planned. This is reflected in Sonia Gandhi's approach, who has conceded that the price hike in petrol is to fund the social schemes (read village oriented). This would tantamount to penalize the urban population to help rural population.

Economic plan ensured jobs not heading to India, China: Obama

United States President Barack Obama has said that the new economic plan of his government focused on making the middle class more secure and the country more competitive so that the jobs and industries of the future were not outsourced to China and India.

From: Hindu

A Chinese Innovation - Metro -meets BUS meets TRAM

Finally Chinese have come of age and are now providing innovative solutions to world's problems.

Here is a Metro Meets BUS meets TRAM idea that might be implemented in Beijing Suburb this year. The concept is interesting where Countries like India can leverage on its new road infrastructure to create better Mass Transport Systems.

Deficit Rise foretalls World War III?

Above chart is US federal deficit / GDP ratio, 1900-2010. The two prior peaks (1919=17, 1943=28) coincided with WWI and WWII respectively. Currently we are at the 10.64; 3rd highest in the 110 year series, and not declining yet.

Does this forecast a world war III?