Reflection

It is quiet at my desk. The India trip is last month's news, our research papers are handed in, and the class is just waiting to see the fruits of our research and field work manifest into that 'A'.

Before this trip, I was really not sure of what to expect from an MBA level course with a travel component. I knew that the course was designed to meet the elective requirements of a few different concentration areas at Rutgers Business School: Marketing, Supply Chain, and Global Business -- but unlike other courses there weren't traditional metrics to help me judge how I was doing and if I was learning what I needed to be learning.

But a few things helped to eleviate this predicament. There was reading to be done, news to catch up with, and we had to also research the companies we were going to see. During the course of the trip, being in a small, close knit group helped because we were able to bounce ideas off of each other and learn from other people's questions. Pictures, videos and diligent note taking also helped to keep us in check and to remind us of what we saw as we traveled. (Note: for anyone traveling through school, I highly recommend investing in a recorder, or an app on the iPhone. It is worth it when you are trying to remember details from the various meetings and encounters and also much easier to take voice notes than to write out your thoughts.)

When we got back from India, our class reflected on what we saw and how we viewed India. At a few points during our presentations, it was hard to believe we were all on the same trip: everyone had something new to add to the discussion and had viewed India in a completely different light. This was definitely the benefit of a travel based course such as this. We were not bound to text-book learning and could focus our learning on what interested us. I was happy to be able to apply concepts from other classes to what I saw in India. Other students choose to focus on ideas related to their profession.

My suggestion for anyone taking this course, or one similar to this, is to make sure to spend a lot of time reading and preparing for what you will see. But when you are there, just look out the window and take it all in. Try to have a few ideas in mind before you go, as to what lens you may want to see the country in. I knew before the trip that I wanted to look into innovation, science, and entrepreneurship. While I may not have seen all of what I expected to see, having an small idea helped to focus my thoughts during the trip.

Thoughts on Dharavi

After spending a few nights at five-star accommodations in the heart of Mumbai -Nairman Point- our journey to India exposed our bushy-tailed and bright-eyed group to one of the biggest slums in India: Dharavi.

Our RBS group had already been exposed to poverty in India before we reached Dharavi. We had seen make-shift homes around the street corners, under bridges, on sidewalks. Poverty is every where. In both Delhi and Mumbai, our RBS group was approached by peddlers trying to make a rupee. Some of them got lucky and were handed 500 rupee notes. Others were turned away. Being Indian and having visited India a number of times before this trip, I felt comfortable with the poverty in India. It took the eyes of my classmates to show me that this was not really okay. I was not too excited to visit Dharavi. Family members in India were surprised to hear that we were going to the slums, and warned me to take care.

Located in the suburbs of Mumbai, near Sion, Bandra, Kurla, and Kalina, Dharavi is a small scale industry and unlike the beggars on the streets of Mumbai and Delhi, you can sense work-ethic. Our group arrived at the slum around 9 AM. While plenty of stores in Delhi and Mumbai would be closed at this hour, Dharavi was bustling with activity. The slum was divided up into industrial areas: plastics, metal work, leather work, pottery work, and even some popular snacks are made there.

First Thoughts

As part of the Rutgers Travel Course to India, I had the chance to experience the challenges and opportunities of this great country. Our group traversed the country from Bombay to Bangalore, from the old city of Delhi to the tranquil and modern campus of Infosys. If anything was clear from this trip, India is a nation of severe contrasts. From a malnourished, naked child lying helplessly on the sidewalk, to a well-dressed, highly-articulate business executive speaking of opportunities for his company to emerge as a market leader; the contrasts challenge your senses to the extreme. While it is clear that India continues to face significant challenges, it has also become clear that India is a country with limitless potential.

India is a country of extremes. The largest democracy in the world, India boasts a powerful middle class consisting of over 300 million citizens. At the same time, this is a country with more than one-third of the world’s chronically malnourished children . In fact, over a quarter of the population live below any humanly-accepted poverty level . India became an independent nation in 1947, however the young government installed socialist policies and largely aligned with the Soviet Union with regards to centralized economic planning and the regulation of markets. By 1991, the Soviet Union had collapsed, and it had become clear that deregulated, free markets were outperforming socialistic trending markets around the world. With such clear evidence in hand, India began to privatize industries and increase foreign direct investment opportunities.

Rutgers Alumna showers awareness with cloud creation

The Daily Targum ran an article on how a Rutgers Alumna is creating awareness of pollution in India through her creative artwork made of recycled plastic bottles.
Anne Percoco has created a mobile sculpture in Vrindavan, India (which is a holy site in Hinduism where Lord Krishna spent his childhood days). Hope we can get to see the sculpture during our trip to Agra. Meanwhile, you can find out more about her work on her website.

India Budget Highlights

Here are the highlights of India's Fiscal Road Map for 2010-2011

THE EVENT: Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee Friday presented the federal government's budget for the fiscal year starting April 1, 2010.

Mr. Mukherjee said the economy is in a much better position now than it was a year ago, and added that growth may exceed the advance estimate of 7.2% for this fiscal year through March.

He said also that the government's total expenditure will be 11.09 trillion rupees ($239 billion) in the next fiscal year, and that the fiscal deficit is likely to narrow to 5.5%--or 3.8 trillion rupees--from this year's estimated 6.9% of gross domestic product.

The Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensitive Index rose 1.9%.

HIGHLIGHTS

*The minister said there is a need to review stimulus measures, which were implemented to revive an economy hurt by the recent global slowdown. But low interest schemes for some sectors will be extended by a year.

*Net market borrowing to be 3.45 trillion rupees for the next fiscal year.

*To simplify foreign direct investment rules and reduce surcharge on companies to 7.5% from 10%.

*Base excise tax on non-petroleum products raised to 10% from the current 8%; analysts were largely expecting a hike of 2%-4%.

*The government aims to raise 250 billion rupees by selling stakes in state-run companies in this fiscal year through March; to sell more in the next fiscal year. The money will be used to bolster social sector funding, which will total 1.38 trillion rupees.

*To spend 223 billion rupees on healthcare, 310.36 billion rupees on schools, 12.7 billion rupees on slum rehabilitation, 1.74 trillion rupees on infrastructure projects, 198.94 billion rupees on roads and 661 billion rupees on the rural sector.

*To have competitive bidding for captive coal blocks and to set up a coal regulatory authority.

*To allocate 51.30 billion rupees to the power sector, and to spend 10 billion rupees on renewable energy. Also, a fund will be set up to promote clean energy

*Excise levy on gasoline, diesel raised by 1 rupee a liter.

*Gold import tax to be increased to 300 rupees per 10 grams from 200 rupees.

*To invest four billion rupees to boost farm output in east India; some farmers will get loans at a low interest rate of 5%.

*To allocate 165 billion rupees for banks' capitalization in an effort to ensure minimum Tier I capital Of 8%. Also, the central bank will consider giving licenses to more banks.

*Panel to be formed to revise financial sector laws.

*The government is confident of implementing a new direct tax code from April 2011. The code aims to consolidate under a single system laws--some of which were framed more than 50 years ago--relating to a number of taxes such as that on income and wealth.

*Annual income up to 160,000 rupees exempted from tax. Government will lose 260 billion rupees in the next fiscal year due to changes in direct tax rules, but gain 465 billion rupees through indirect tax rate hikes. Also, it will gain 435 billion rupees from import tax increases.

*To raise 360 billion rupees through the sale of third generation, or 3G, bandwidth in the next fiscal year.

*A goods and services tax will be introduced by April 2011.

*The government will, in six months' time, present a status paper on its finances. Also, there is a need to manage expenditure better as well as to cut subsidies, the minister said.

Budget 2010: Will Rural India Get a Fair Deal?

Here's an interesting article in the Indian Edition of WSJ that provides insights into India's Fiscal Budget process.
-Harsh