Author: Atanu Dey

Economist.

Economics in One Lesson

The art of economics consists in looking not merely at the immediate but at the longer effects of any act or policy; it consists in tracing the consequences of that policy not merely for one group but for all groups.
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The Narrow Corner

“Short, therefore, is man’s life; and narrow is the corner of the earth wherein he dwells.” Marcus Aurelius Antoninus – (121-180) noted that in his Meditations. Here is a picture of how small the earth is whose narrow corner we dwell.
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India Needs More Incubator Funds

Sramana Mitra writes about the seed investment situation in India and says “more money chasing India, and simply not enough deals to absorb the interest. A VC mentality “India is booming, let’s send $200 Million to India” prevails at the moment in Silicon Valley. The grass, washed by the monsoon rains, seems infinitely greener in India, than the dry California hills along Highway 280.”

She adds that the “truth is, India is still very busy being the back-office of multinationals. It is downright impossible to hire senior management for startups, luring them away from $100,000+ packages.” Go read her insights and recommendations on what needs to happen in the incubator space.

Making Distinctions

Hauled from the archives, here is a bit on the distinction between information and knowledge. This is important because I think we are in an age of superfluous information (followup to that here.) Making distinctions aids comprehension and consequently the ability to efficiently effect change. I like to distinguish between economic growth and development because economic development is the goal and in many cases economic growth is the instrument for development.

Rambling on about technology and development

This one is a pointless ramble. OK, most blogging is. But this one is only more so.

Invariably during discussions on India’s development, technology is thrown around and often the notion that India will leapfrog some barrier or the other surfaces. I find myself disagreeing with many of those propositions. I think much semantic confusion is caused by not having a clear understanding of the terms.
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Craig Barrett on the OLPC

The One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project has powerful interests on both sides of the debate. It is easy to guess who’s on which side. Bill Gates, for instance, is predictably against the OLPC as it does not use Microsoft software. The OLPC is not using Intel chips. That could explain why Intel Chairman Craig Barrett will be a critic. Mind you, merely because they are not disinterested observers, it does not follow that they are wrong in their criticism of the OLPC project of Mr Nicholaus Negroponte.
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Trains and the Transportation System

Some of the hazards of traveling around India by air include over-crowded airports, delayed flights, and lost baggage. I was in Bangalore for three days last week and then came back to Mumbai with a day’s stop at the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad. How I wish I had the option of not flying around the country. Indian (the airlines formerly known as Indian Airlines) managed to mishandle my checked-in bag and as of now (nearly 24 hours later) the bag is still missing.

The signs are not good. I don’t mean about my bag but about the whole airlines business in India. Continue reading “Trains and the Transportation System”

The Renaming of Things

Hugh Fitzgerald over at Dhimmiwatch says in an article titled “Aurangzeb Road” (hat tip: Tushar) :

“The Danish Embassy in India is located on Aurangzeb Road in New Delhi. So there is still a road in India that is named after the most ruthless and cruel of the many ruthless and cruel Muslim rulers, oppressor and mass-murderer of Hindus. Why is there a road by that name? Change it, for god’s sake.”

Nope. We can’t do that. Bangalore can be changed to Bengaluru for reasons not very clear. Airlines can be renamed from “Indian Airlines” to “Indian”. But mass murderers have cities and major streets named after them. Dhimmis tend to do that. Personality cult disorder, as I wrote a few years ago.