The government is working with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to bring down inflation, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said in a statement on Thursday.Mukherjee also said that June inflation data was a matter of concern and he was monitoring the price situation closely.The wholesale price index (WPI) rose an annual 9.44 per cent in June, driven by higher manufactured goods and fuel prices, government data showed.The market expects the RBI to raise key rates by 25 basis points at a scheduled policy review on July 26.(Reuters)
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Sharad Talwar, CEO, IndiaCan aims to train around five lakh 'ready to deploy' people annually. IndiCan was set up when Educomp and Pearson joined hands to create a vocational education institution to provide training as well as placement assistance for entry-level aspirants. Talwar, who was president of Educomp before starting IndiaCan, spoke to BW Online's Poonam Kumar and explained the infrastructure and expansion plans of IndiaCanExcerpts:How Did Educomp And Pearson Come Together For A Joint Venture?I was literally the first employee of IndiaCan when two years ago I was asked to set up a vocational education division for Educomp, India's largest education company. I initially joined 17 ITIs (Industrial Training Institutes) - of which I was the chairman -- across Punjab, Haryana, UP, Delhi and Rajasthan in a public private partnership.The vocational business has great potential but of course ITI work is more like CSR for us. But I realise that it has a huge potential. Also what people generally need is soft skill and spoken English. They may have been trained as auto-mechanics or plumbers, but they need that skill. They need customer services skill also. So we wondered whether we should develop all this content on our own or talk to the best person in this business globally.We have students and teachers but what we don't have readymade content that is portable across the world. Pearson has big practice in this area in China, Latin America and Russia. So we realised that we could actually tweak that content in an Indian context. They also have a great content engine. That's how the conversation initially started and we soon realised that they have the best vocational content in the world. They are the biggest suppliers of publishing material in that segment.What Is The Basic Idea Behind IndiaCan?IndiaCan is basically focusing on vocational education which is a division of Educomp. When Pearson and Educomp inked the joint venture, the mandate was to make people employable. We are not here to provide degrees. We are here to provide a short course to help people get entry-level jobs. We entered the joint venture about a year back. Last year from January to December was the first full calendar year we were in operation. Today I can say that we are in a strong position.IndiaCan has three key divisions. One is vocational educational set-up where we provide short- term courses. Another initiative is a company called PurpleLeap. It enters partnership with colleges and teaches soft skill to the final year's students. These are typically engineering colleges and are meant for those students who fail to land jobs. We are working with around 100 colleges in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Chandigarh and Aligarh.The third initiative is ETEN (Educomp Tele-Education Network) which prepares people for different exams leading to immediate jobs. For example, it helps with CA exam preparations which leads to immediate jobs. We are not into preparation for IITs and IIMs because that does not lead to jobs. We are also training those appearing for bank probationary and civil services exams. We have got 120 colleges for PurpleLeap, almost 120 centres for ETEN and 100 centres for vocational training.What Kind of Infrastructure IndiaCan Has For Vocational Training?We have centres providing retail courses. What sets us apart from other training centres is that IndiaCan retail centres provide industry-specific content in a blended learning environment. There is V-set-learning including video conferences as well as face-to-face training. The students also get hands-on training which helps them get entry-level retail jobs. Another differentiator is international certification.We provide vocational training in sales, basic IT, accounting, retail and spoken English.Why Do People Treat Vocational Education As An Inferior Education?Making vocational education main stream is a very big job. We are working with vocational players who actually introduced the National Qualification Frame Work where people can return to mainstream education after taking a vocational course. More than that, I think the eco system needs to be changed and the industry ought to give a premium to those who have gone to the extent of getting trained and certified. Unless that happens people will not see any benefit in getting a certificate for vocational education.How Do You Equip Teachers?Generally, we find teachers from industry and then we get them certified. Teachers are told to go for a certification course before they can actually teach the class. For instance, every spoken English teacher first has to take a spoken English test which is again a Pearson test. And only those who pass the test are appointed by IndiaCan. It's a very rigorous process.break-page-breakWhat is WorkFirst Certification?WorkFirst is an international work certification - again from Edexcel - a Pearson company. Anybody who gets the certification can work both in and outside India.Why Is This Different From Other Training Institutes?The difference in this certification is evidence. People have to have evidence of their expertise. For example, if we are teaching someone auto mechanism and we conduct a theory exam, it makes no sense. The only way to prove that you are a very good mechanic is to produce evidence. Even in services sectors like retail or sales we have evidence-based system. They have to prove that they have actually learnt selling and retailing. This is not based on paper-pencil exam. Is There Any Other Player Who Can Actually Give You Competition?I don't think anyone has a certification course of this kind. There are many institute which provide short duration courses but we are different from them because we have international content which is tested across the 400 countries in the world. And we have international work certification. Also, we have a huge certification process for all our teachers before they are allowed to teach. We have enabled V-set learning. I think these unique strategies are the big differentiators.What Would Be The Exam Pattern For The IndiaCan Student?It's an evidence-based system and not a paper pencil exam. It's based on evidence that you have actually learnt the trade except for spoken English. It's called placement test. We have a different test for spoken English.Who Is Your Target Audience?School and college drop-outs and working people who want to enhance their skills for career growth. We both "prepare and repair" people's careers. For instance, somebody working as a peon in a company and wants to learn spoken English to take up a front-office job in a hotel or a retail outlet, can come to us.Why Is The Duration Of The Courses So Short?People come to us when they are looking for a job or want to better their prospects. We don't want to train a person for one year and still attend the same level of job which he could get after three months' training. The training is around three months at entry level and there are programmes in which training is for one year. We have a tie-up with NDTV for Broadcast Journalist course. We have 100-hour programmes for spoken English courses and six-month training programme in accounting. We have evening classes for corporates. We have centres which are open between 7:00 p.m and 10:00 p.m.What About Expansion Plans?We plan to go to tier II and III cities. We have around 100 centres across the country at present. In India there are almost 1,000 cities with a population of five lakh where can have a centre and train at least 500 people in a year.What Are The Key Government Projects You Are Handling?We are running two projects with the governments of Rajasthan, Punjab and Gujarat. The key government projects are - Rajasthan Mission on Skill and Livelihood, Special SGSY, Ministry of R&D, Rajasthan Knowledge Corporation Limited, Bhopal Pilot, Angul Pilot and more.These are training centres for people below the poverty line (BPL), people who can't spend any money but have talent. A person has to have a BPL card and we admit them into our centres. We train them for free and get them jobs in respective sectors.poonam(dot)kumar(at)abp(dot)in
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India's inflation quickened in June, driven by higher prices of manufactured goods and fuel, adding pressure on the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to raise rates at its policy review later this month despite signs of slowing growth in Asia's third-largest economy.New Delhi raised local prices of diesel, cooking gas and kerosene last month to cushion its finances and provide relief to government oil companies reeling from revenue losses on state-set fuel prices amid high global crude prices, adding to inflationary pressure.The wholesale price index, India's main inflation gauge, rose an annual 9.44 per cent in June, below the median forecast for a 9.70 per cent rise in a Reuters poll.However, April inflation was revised sharply higher, to 9.74 percent from 8.66 percent, an indication that the final inflation figure for June could breach double-digits.Annual fuel price inflation accelerated to 12.85 percent in June from 12.32 percent in May, while annual manufacturing inflation quickened to 7.43 percent from 7.27 percent."Today's inflation data will force the RBI to continue with its tightening but given the signs of slowdown in certain interest rate sensitive sectors they will settle for a 25 bps increase instead of front loading the rate hikes," said Rupa Rege Nitsure, chief economist at Bank of Baroda.The RBI chief last week voiced concern about sharp revisions in macroeconomic data, including growth and inflation figures, which he said could disrupt calculations when setting policy."I am suspecting that this number will also get revised upwards as we had seen a very sharp increase in food, fuel and mineral prices in the month of June," Nitsure said.The benchmark 7.80 per cent 2021 bond yield rose 3 basis points to 8.29 percent following the sharp upward revision in April inflation data. The 5-year overnight indexed swap rates rose 6 bps to 7.56 percent and 1-year was 9 bps higher at 7.96 percent.The June PMI for manufacturing and the industrial output growth for May dropped to nine-month lows, indicating a soft patch in the economy, but that is unlikely to deter the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) from raising rates at the July 26 policy review.The RBI has raised rates 10 times since March 2010 and is widely expected to raise rates by 25 basis points this month.Goldman Sachs estimates that the direct impact of the hike in fuel prices would be about 60 basis points and the overall impact on inflation would be around 90 basis points.Diesel, cooking gas and kerosene comprise 6.4 percent of the WPI basket and 70 percent of the fuel component of the WPI.Most analysts expect the RBI to go through with a 50 basis points hike this year that will take the repo rate to 8 percent before it pauses.(Reuters)
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India's industrial output grew at a much stronger-than-expected pace in April, reinforcing expectations the Reserve Bank will lift rates for the third time this year at a policy review late next month.Industrial output rose 17.6 per cent in April from a year earlier, the strongest since December 2009, helped by buoyant domestic consumer demand, a revival in exports, and higher infrastructure spending, data showed on Friday.But Rupa Rege Nitsure, chief economist at Bank of Baroda in Mumbai, said the industrial output numbers have been boosted by a low base effect which will start fading from June."If investment growth picks up then for the year as a whole, IIP can be expected somewhere between 8.5-9 per cent in FY11. This surely gives more elbow room to the Reserve Bank of India to pursue monetary tightening," she said.A top government adviser, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, said after the data release that the pace of monetary policy normalisation need not be quickened.Worries over Europe's debt crisis and the health of the global economic recovery, concerns also expressed by most other central banks in Asia, are expected to prevent the RBI from tightening more aggressively.The Reserve Bank of India is widely expected to raise rates by 25 basis points on July 27.The next key data will be wholesale price (WPI) inflation data for May, due on Monday. A Reuters poll shows headline inflation probably held steady around 9.6 per cent last month.The 10-year benchmark bond yield edged up 2 basis points to 7.57 per cent while the 30-share BSE index was largely steady, continuing to trade up 1.1 per cent, following the industrial output data.The median forecast in a Reuters poll was for an annual rise of 13.5 per cent in April, the same pace marked in March.Robust Consumer DemandManufacturing production in Asia's third-largest economy rose 19.4 per cent in April from a year earlier, while mining output was up 11.4 per cent and power generation rose 6 per cent.Friday's data comes on the heels of an annual 8.6 per cent expansion in the economy in the quarter through March, providing another evidence of a strong rebound in an economy that is benefiting from a robust consumer demand.Car sales in India rose an annual 30 per cent in May as rising incomes and a rapidly expanding economy offset the impact of price increases.Manufacturing PMI accelerated at its fastest rate in more than two years in May, while the services PMI continued to remain high, suggesting the economic upswing will remain robust in coming months.The economy is expected to grow at least 8 per cent in the current fiscal year that started on April 1, after growing 7.4 per cent last year.But robust economic growth has also raised the prospects of capacity constraints, which are seen aggravating price pressures.The wholesale price index, the central bank's most closely watched gauge of inflation, probably rose an annual 9.56 per cent in May, staying close to 9.59 per cent in April, according to a Reuters poll. It hit 10 per cent in February, the highest since October 2008.The RBI described the prevailing inflationary situation as "worrisome" and has raised rates twice since mid-March and is expected to deliver another hike of 25 basis points on July 27.(Reuters)
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Indian intelligence agencies received no warnings before the three bomb blasts that killed 18 people in Mumbai, the biggest attack since Pakistani-based militants rampaged through the financial hub in 2008, a top official said on Thursday.Suspicion, however, fell on the Indian Mujahideen, a shadowy home-grown militant group known for its city-to-city bombing campaigns using small explosive devices planted in restaurants, at bus stops and on busy streets."There was no intelligence regarding a militant attack in Mumbai. That is not a failure of intelligence agencies," Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram told a news conference."Know that perpetrators have attacked and have worked in a very very clandestine manner. Maybe it's a very small group, maybe they did not communicate with each other."He said it was too early to point the finger at a particular group, but said the "coordinated terror attacks" could be in retaliation to a number of plots recently stopped by police or the arrests, including from the Indian Mujahideen.The Indian Mujahideen have been accused of having ties with Pakistani militant groups fighting Indian rule in Kashmir.The bombings were the biggest militant attack on Mumbai since the 2008 assaults killed 166 people, raised tensions with neighbour and nuclear rival Pakistan, and left a city on edge.The blasts come as India and Pakistan seek to normalise ties. Pakistani leaders were swift in condemning the bombings, as was U.S. President Barack Obama. Top U.S. diplomat Hillary Clinton is due in India for scheduled talks next week.There was no immediate indication any Pakistani group was involved. But any suggestion of attributing blame to Islamabad would complicate a fraught relationship with India -- with whom it has a long-running dispute over Kashmir -- and further unravel ties with the United States."We live in the most troubled neighbourhood in the world. Pakistan and Afghanistan are the epicentre of terrorism," said Chidambaram, adding that Pakistan had still not given India support in going after those behind the 2008 attacks in Mumbai.Home Grown Groups?There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombs, which were mixed with ammonium nitrate, a chemical compound often used in improvised explosive devices (IEDs)."It's very likely coordinated by Indian Mujahideen looking at the severity and scale of the attacks -- in the past they've used tiffin carrier bombs and IEDs," said Dr Rohan Gunaratna, a Singapore-based al Qaeda expert."Certainly there can be links between those who have done these attacks and overseas sources but the attacks themselves have been conducted by local groups, home grown Indian groups."Chidambaram said 18 people had died in the attacks, lowering an earlier figure of 21. He said 23 out of the 131 injured and admitted to hospitals were in a critical state.Newspaper headlines voiced a mix of resignation and outrage over the latest attacks on a coastal city of more than 10 million that is home to India's main stock exchanges."Attacked. Again," said the Hindustan Times. "We're All Sitting Ducks," said the Economic Times.The blasts came as beleaguered Prime Minister Manmohan Singh struggles to get past a series of corruption scandals and a resurgent opposition that has led to policy paralysis in Asia's third largest economy. A cabinet reshuffle this week was criticised as too little, too late.Mumbai has a long history of deadly bombings and Wednesday's attacks did not rattle financial markets. The home minister said the attacks were not aimed at markets.Jewellery Market TargetedThe bombings were centred mainly on south Mumbai's jewellery market area, crowded with diamond and precious metals traders and artisans. It was not the first time it was attacked.The blasts occurred at about 6.45 pm (1315 GMT) on Wednesday within minutes of each other. One bomb was placed at the side of the road, another on a motorbike and a third on the roof of a bus stop.The home minister said the bombs were detonated with timers, a clock or other triggers, but not done remotely.The biggest blast was in the Opera House area, a crowded hub for diamond traders. Pakistani-based militants carried out the bloody rampage in 2008 near the same popular area.Another blast, also in south Mumbai, was at the Zaveri Bazaar, India's largest bullion market which was hit twice in the past. The third blast was at Dadar, in a street housing Muslim and Hindu shops in the centre of the coastal city. (Reuters)
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Inflation accelerated in May, raising the possibility of the Reserve Bank of India hiking rates even before a scheduled policy review on July 27.The wholesale price index (WPI) rose an annual 10.16 per cent in May, driven by higher food and fuel prices, government data showed on Monday. The median forecast in a Reuters poll was for an increase of 9.56 per cent. Inflation in April was 9.59 per cent.The data came on the heels of April manufacturing production matching its fastest pace in at least 15 years, the latest sign of strong growth in Asia's third largest economy and of rising inflationary pressures.With inflation over its perceived comfort zone of 5 per cent for seven months running, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has described the inflationary situation as "worrisome" and has left open the option of hiking rates ahead of its policy review.But tight market liquidity from payments for 3G mobile spectrum purchases ahead of advance tax payments and worries over Europe's debt crisis could hold back the central bank from aggressive policy action, some analysts feel.A majority of economists polled by Reuters expect the Reserve Bank of India leaving rates steady ahead of its quarterly review on July 27, but almost all see rate hikes in the policy review.The 10-year benchmark bond yield rose 3 basis points after the data.Monday's data showed manufacturing inflation, which the central bank has said is key to its decision making, rise an annual 6.41 percent, compared with 6.70 percent in April.The food price index rose 16.49 percent, while fuel prices were up 13.05 percent.Policymakers expect inflation to ease on better prospects for crops from good monsoon rains. But a hike in fuel prices, which is being discussed by the government, could push it up, an adviser has said.Softening inflation is crucial for the government to push through keenly awaited reforms to free up retail fuel prices, because any move that further increases prices would spark off voter and political protests.The wholesale price index is more closely watched than the consumer price index in India because it covers a higher number of products.(Reuters)
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India's food and fuel price inflation eased in early June, easing pressure on the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to speed up its process of tightening monetary policy.India's food price index rose 16.12 per cent in the year to June 5, snapping a two-week rise, and lower than the previous week's annual reading of 16.74 per cent, government data released on Thursday showed.The fuel price index climbed 13.18 per cent, compared with an annual rise of 14.23 per cent in the previous week.Pressure has been mounting on the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to raise rates ahead of its July policy review after the wholesale price index rose 10.16 per cent in May, the highest in the G20 group of leading economies.K.C. Chakraborty, a RBI deputy governor, said on Thursday the wholesale price-based inflation is not beyond RBI's estimates, but added domestic inflation is a bigger concern than other global factors.Tight market liquidity due to payments for 3G mobile spectrum purchases and advance tax payments, and worries over Europe's debt crisis are expected to prevent the RBI from tightening more aggressively.A Reuters survey shows that most analysts do not see the RBI raising rates before the July 27 review, in line with the bank's earlier stated preference for "baby steps" toward normalisation.The RBI late Wednesday said the federal government would buyback Rs 100 billion ($2.15 billion) of bonds via a multiple price auction on June 18.The move is expected to improve liquidity with banks after an estimated outflow of over Rs 1.36 trillion between late May and June towards third-generation (3G) and broadband spectrum auction and advance tax payments, which have pushed up overnight cash rates.Stubbornly high inflation has emerged as a policy headache for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's coalition government, which has held back on major reforms such as freeing up retail fuel prices ahead of eight state elections due later in 2010 and 2011.Singh has said he expects headline inflation to fall to 5-6 per cent by December.The RBI has raised rates twice, by a total of 50 basis points, since mid-March to tame inflation and is expected to deliver another hike of 25 basis points. The markets have already priced in such a move.(Reuters)
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Signs of a strong second quarter performance for many of the world's major economies prompted economists to up their forecasts for 2010 global economic growth but a slowdown in the second half looks likely, a Reuters poll showed.Median forecasts from almost 50 economists showed the global economy growing 4.2 per cent this year, up from 4.1 per cent in the May poll, and slowing to 4.0 per cent next year.The survey sample was slightly smaller in May but the findings were similar on a like-for-like basis as well.While forward-looking indicators like purchasing managers indexes pointed to a strong second quarter for economic growth in the euro zone and Britain, they have also hinted at a slowdown in quarters ahead for all the big world economies.That said, fast-growing emerging countries like China and India will lead the way for sluggish developing economies -- many embroiled in budget austerity drives in Europe -- and the prospect of a double-dip global recession looks remote."Globally, things are slowing, but ... deceleration is coming from what look like stronger levels of Q2 growth than many expected," said Dominic Wilson, director of global macro and markets research at Goldman Sachs in New York."The toughest issue is how much to rely on better than expected growth outside the U.S.," he said.Growth in China, the biggest Asian economy outside struggling Japan, will gradually slow as the government withdraws anti-crisis stimulus and edge down to 9.0 percent next year from 10 percent this year, the poll showed.The range of forecasts for 2010 global growth was broadly similar to that seen in the May poll, although it narrowed a little for the 2011 forecast with a top end of 5.5 percent and low prediction of 3.0 percent.(Reuters)
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Following is the chronology of major blasts in the country:Varanasi, Dec 7, 2010: Two-year-old girl killed and 25 others injured in a blast which takes place between the Dashashwamedh and Shitla ghats on the river Ganga.Pune, Feb 13, 2010: 17 people killed and over 60 injured when a bomb rips out the famous German bakery in the city.Mumbai, Nov 26, 2008: 166 people killed in coordinated serial explosions and indiscriminate firing across Mumbai including the crowded CST railway station and two five-star hotels -- Oberoi and Taj.Assam, Oct 30, 2008: At least 77 killed and over 100 injured in 18 bombings across Assam.Imphal, Oct 21, 2008: 17 killed in a powerful blast near Manipur Police Commando complex.Malegaon, Maharashtra, Sep 29, 2008: Five people killed after a bomb kept in a motorbike goes off in a crowded market.Modasa, Gujarat, Sep 29, 2008: One killed and several injured after a low-intensity bomb kept on a motorcycle goes off near a mosque.New Delhi, Sep 27, 2008: Three people killed after a crude bomb is thrown in a busy market in Mehrauli.New Delhi, Sep 13, 2008: 26 people killed in six blasts across the city.Ahmedabad, July 26, 2008: 57 people killed after 20 synchronised blasts in less than two hours. Jaipur, May 13, 2008: 68 people killed in serial bombings.January 2008: Terrorist attack on CRPF camp in Rampur kills eight.October 2007: Two killed in blast inside Ajmer Sharif shrine in Rajasthan during Ramzan.August 2007: 30 dead, 60 hurt in Hyderabad terror strike.May 2007: A blast at Mecca mosque in Hyderabad kills 11 people.February 19, 2007: Two bombs explode on board a train bound from India to Pakistan, burning to death at least 66 passengers, most of them Pakistanis.September 2006: 30 dead and 100 hurt in twin blasts at a mosque in Malegaon.July 2006: Seven bombs on Mumbai's trains kill over 200 and injure 700 others.March 2006: Twin bombings at a train station and a temple in Varanasi kill 20 people.October 2005: Three bombs placed in busy New Delhi markets a day before Diwali kill 62 people and injure hundreds. (PTI)
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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 centre.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.One of them is Mumbai, where some 18 million people crowd into slums and skyscrapers, stretching the city's amenities and making it less attractive for investors.While rapidly modernising cities such as Shanghai and Sao Paulo are winning business from centres such as London and New York, the slow pace of urban development in India is harming its cities, which by 2030 will be home to about 590 million people -- nearly twice the population of the United States today.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.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."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.India now spends $17 per capita on urban infrastructure, compared to rival China's $116.That figure is clearly inadequate: while it took about 40 years for India's urban population to rise by nearly 230 million in 2008, it will take only half that time to add the next 250 million people, analysts say.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.Poor infrastructure shaves an estimated 2 percentage points off India's economic growth."There cannot be high economic growth without a high degree of urbanisation," said Ashish Sharma, a principal at consultancy Booz & Co. "There is a clear, positive correlation between the GDP of a country and its degree of urbanisation."Focus On VillagesHistorically, India's politicians and policy-makers have focused on villages. Urbanisation has largely been a result of existing cities expanding economically and demographically, rather than anything planned, Sharma said.This largely haphazard growth has created inequity. With more than 500 million mobile phone subscribers, more people in India have access to a mobile phone than a toilet, a "tragic irony", a recent UN report noted.Lack of affordable housing means India has the largest urban slum population in Asia. Mumbai boasts some of the world's priciest real estate but some 60 percent of its residents are homeless or live in slums.Foreign firms entering India or looking to expand are scouting locations away from Mumbai and Delhi, Booz's Sharma said, because of poor liveability, which drives up costs."Our cities are not the magnets that Singapore, Dubai or even Shanghai are. Anecdotally, it's very clear we're losing our edge to these cities because of poor infrastructure," he said.When it comes to planning, India also lags rival China, which has clear policies, giving its major cities the same status as provinces, and investing ahead of demand."China has embraced and shaped urbanisation, while India is still waking up to its urban reality and the opportunities that its cities offer for economic and social transformation," McKinsey analysts Richard Dobbs and Shirish Sankhe noted.The government, which estimates urban areas can contribute about 65 percent of India's GDP by 2012 with improved services, has a Rs 1-trillion ($212 billion) urban renewal project aimed at building and improving infrastructure, revamping archaic land and property laws and making 63 cities and towns self-governing.But it has little to show since its 2005 launch."We have great plans on paper but when it comes to execution, we've faltered. That's also the case with urban development," said Abhishek Kiran Gupta, head of research at real estate consultancy Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj."But the stakes in this case are high."(Reuters)
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