India's changing face - 2

 

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India's changing face

     A recent study of Price Waterhouse Coopers (PwC) says that if India manages to grow at 9% p.a., for the next few years, then the size of India's economy could reach an astounding USD 10 trillion by 2034 (exactly 20 years from now) making it a dominant economic force in the Asia-Pacific region. Now let us have a glimpse of some choicest images of swanky new  skylines of Indian cities. These may be nascent when compared with dazzling skylines of Hong Kong or Tokyo but promises us of a very bright future. Hello world.. India is coming!!!!

 

India's Q2 GDP grows at 5.3% - beats estimates

      

     India has once again registered a 5%+ growth rate as its GDP grew at 5.3% during the quarterly through September of this year. The GDP data was slightly better than predictions made by various analysts. Most of the estimates were around 5%-5.1%. Though this growth rate is slower than the Q1 (April-June quarter) figure of 5.7%, it fares better when compared with Q2 growth rate of the previous fiscal which was only at 4.8%. This dip is largely due to sluggish manufacturing sector which grew at an dismal 0.1%. The agriculture sector picked up pace which grew at an satisfactory 3.2% on the backdrop of good monsoon. The actual size of GDP (at factor cost) in the July-September quarter stands at INR 14.41 trillion. The half-yearly growth rate (during April-September period) stands at 5.5% significantly higher than the previous year figure of 4.6%.

LR-SAM Barak-8 test launch hits bull's eye!!!!!!!!

     The defence establishment has a reason to rejoice. The Indo-Israeli Barak-8 LR-SAM missile test-firing (on 10th of November) was a roaring success. This interceptor missile was flight-tested against a moving target (possibly, a Israeli Jericho series missile) & successfully neutralized it. The test was carried out in the presence of Indian officials including DRDO chief Dr.Avinash Chander. According to 'Jerusalem Post' this is the first ever 'operational test firing' of the missile. Its shorter-ranged predecessor variant Barak-1 missiles are in active service with the Indian Navy & have been incorporated in at least 14 Navy ships including flagship INS Viraat, all Shivalik-class frigates & Delhi-class destroyers (shown in image below).

Barak-1 air defence battery on-board INS Mysore

Travelling back in time, the Rs.2606 crore deal to co-develop (50:50) a long-range interceptor missile was signed way back in 2007 between governments of India & Israel after a breath-taking 17 months of tough negotiations. In 2009 the then Indian Army chief Gen.Deepak Kapoor signed a USD 1.1 billion deal to supply Barak-8 air defence systems to India by 2017. These missiles will be incorporated in INS Vikramaditya, INS Vikrant (IAC-1), Kolkata-class destroyers. According to SIPRI reports, Israel has already delivered 75 Barak-8 missiles to Azerbaijan. Eventhough the Barak-1 deal was mired in controversies regarding kickbacks, the Defence Acquisition Council headed by AK Antony cleared second order of 262 Barak-1 missiles at a cost of Rs.880 crores in December 2013.

Is India's SEZ 'Miracle' losing sheen????

     The Special Economic Zones Act which was passed by the Government of India in May 2005 enabled India's exports to reach new heights as a result of which India is now enjoying increased share in International trade (accounting for about 2.4% of global trade). The 192 operational SEZs have cumulatively exported goods & services worth INR 4.94 trillion in the 2013-14 fiscal. It is to be noted that the Indian government has approved as many as 564 new SEZs of which 388 have been officially notified. Cumulative investments in these zones stands at a hefty INR 3,01,655 crores employing around 12.77 lakh persons. What is worrying is the dwindling rate of growth of exports from these zones. This growth rate has declined sharply to a meager 3.8% in 2013-14 fiscal. Compare this with the   previous year figure of 31%. SEZs account for more than one-fourth of India's overall merchandise exports. This means that there is a urgent need for the Modi government to take corrective measures to arrest this decline.

Year-wise performance of Indian SEZs

Years	Exports		Growth over previous year
	Value in Rs. Crores	Billion USD
2005-2006	22,840	5.08	-
2006-2007	34,615	7.69	52%
2007-2008	66,638	14.81	93%
2008-2009	99,689	22.15	50%
2009-2010	2,20,711	49.05	121%
2010-2011	3,15,868	70.19	43.11%
2011-2012	3,64,478	81.00	15.39%
2012-2013	4,76,159	88.18	31%
2013-2014	4,94,077	82.35	4%

CHECKMATE PAKISTAN!!!!!!!

      The recent decision of Modi's cabinet to allocate ~USD 85.2 million for the development of Iranian Chabahar port has significant strategic ramifications as this can be seen as completion of military encirclement of Pakistan. This military encirclement is known to have four dimensions namely 1.Farkhor airbase (Tajikistan) 2.Chabahar port (Iran) 3.INS Kadamba (Karwar) 4.Security pact with Oman.

Shown in the image (below) are crucial strategic points in Arabian sea that can be utilized by Indian military in case of a war with Pakistan. Effective usage of these assets can give an upper hand for India.

Pakistan trapped in the "Triangle of Death"

All these began in 2002 when the Indian government officially acknowledged that it is setting up a full-fledged airbase in Tajik province of Ayni. This set the alarm bells ringing in Islamabad. The then President of Pakistan Pervez Musharaff lodged a strong protest with the Tajik government which the latter turned down. Since then IAF has deployed as many as 12 front-line Mig-29 fighters, transport helicopters (Chetaks & Mi-17s) & other logistics. The next big development came in 2008 when Pakistan was reeling under political instability following Benazir's assassination. The then Indian PM Dr.Singh's visited Oman & signed a Defence cooperation agreement (aka Security pact) with the Sultanate by which the Indian Navy was vested with the authority to dock its ships in any of the Omanese ports sans any prior permission from the Omanese government. By then the Phase-1 of Indian Navy's most ambitious Project Seabird was completed at a cost of some 2700 crore rupees helping India to establish its supremacy over Arabian sea. Best part is that, these slew of measures progressed at a steady pace irrespective of party in power at Delhi. The recent Cabinet decision comes in the wake of this near-completed encirclement strategy. Besides serving this purpose the Chabahar port also helps India to access land-locked Afghanistan bypassing Pakistan. India's much-awaited decision to invest in Chabahar can also be seen as an response to Pakistani Gwadar port (location shown in image) in which the Chinese have invested some USD 200 million till date. What comes to my mind is 'BETTER LATE THAN NEVER'.

In my first ever post, I am putting some awesome images of India's first ICBM Agni-5 on display. Agni-5 is doubtlessly India's pride & enemy's envy. More to come in the days to come.

In my future posts I've planned to write articles on wide range of topics like Defence, Economy, Foreign policies, Politics, Technology & other information that are of some significance to our nation & the world. Feedback, both positive & negative, are always welcome.

Agni-5 during R-Day 2013 (Helicopter shot)

Magnificence of Agni-5

Agni-5 'hiding' from 'EYES IN SKIES'

Hello. Myself  Rajagopalan.M.  I promise that in the days to come I will help you in learning something about everything & everything about something.