Editorial

Last year was fabulous for equity investors globally. Globally, equities are up by 25 per cent and emerging markets are up by 38 per cent in dollar terms. India too did very well with the Nifty posting 28 per cent returns. Nifty Midcap and Nifty Smallcap indices appreciated by around 48 and 55 per cent respectively. These are fabulous returns indeed.

The integration of body, soul and mind is what is sought by pilgrims in  religious places. This integration, allowing for the tripartite existence of phenomena, is a very calming, and occasionally, heady experience. Not to believe in the soul is a personal choice, and of course, the synthesis of body and mind is what allows us to think, to be. Should we lose the faculty of thinking and experiencing, we would exist, but our imagination would not have a vehicle with which to express itself.

Every decade there are instances when financial markets react brainlessly to fads and swags. Investors go grazing passively from one place to another, following a leader, without scouting out the grass themselves. This is called herding. History has recorded three most irrational herding phenomena that is unknown to many — the Dutch Tulip mania, the Mississippi Bubble and the South Sea Bubble.

In school, one had to memorise Julius Caesar and one got pretty good at it. The one quote that has always stood out for its perfection in an imperfect world is when Cassius appeals to Brutus to stop the powerful Julius Caesar. The plot to kill Caesar is predicated on these two lines — “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, But in ourselves, that we are underlings.” This comment unleashes a chain of events which results in Roman noblemen collectively assassinating Great Caesar.

The following is an outlook for 2018 for all infrastructure projects —  not just for the small subset of PPP that gets disproportionate attention.

With 17 per cent of world population and a GDP growth rate of 7.2 per cent, India is amongst the fastest growing economies of the world. The Indian healthcare sector grew at a rate of 18 per cent from 2010 till 2016 and is expected to advance at a rate of 15 per cent during 2016-20 to reach $280 billion by 2020.

We should move towards alternative fuel... I am going to do this, whether you like it or not... For pollution, for imports, my ideas are crystal clear” — when Nitin Gadkari issued this stern warning to the automotive industry he firmly conveyed to the world at large that India, like most countries in the world, had decided to go electric in its transportation and it would be in the interest of the Indian automobile industry to start their countdown for conventional vehicles and its curtailed longevity on Indian roads.

The gypsy couple is back home in Pune. In one piece, as it were. Manas Dewan, 43, and his wife Anuradha, travelled across Europe covering a whopping 20,000 km across 18 countries in a span of 100 days on their customised Ducati Scrambler. “We explored a little more of this beautiful planet, experienced nature and elements in the raw, and found bonds of love and friendship with strangers who opened their homes, hearts and lives,” say the Dewans.

The Gaekwad family lives in a single-room-house on the outskirts of a city. The family cooks their food, eats it and sleeps in the same room. This room is also used as a play area by their three-year-old child. Lack of credit has prevented the Gaekwads from obtaining a loan to improve their living conditions. Every day, more and more families find themselves in a struggle to keep a decent roof over their heads.

You remember Bipasha? No, not the sultry actress Bipasha Basu, now happily married but the underlying credo of bijli, pani and sadak which gained currency in the MP elections of 2003 in particular, this came after a decadal rule of Congress under Digvijay Singh ensuring his defeat at the hustings. Actually, the BJP used this theme as its bulwark in the 2003 state elections —for the Assemblies of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Delhi — as Uma Bharti, Vasundhara Raje, and Raman Singh, all swept into office promising development.