Will India Overtake the United States in Economic Terms?

India – An Emerging Superpower

First Published: July 5, 2009 ADawnJournal.com

For as long as most of us can remember, the world’s largest economies have been the same. For economic muscle and influence, it was to the United States, the more established nations in the EU and to Japan that most attention was turned. But in the early part of the 21st Century, a lot has changed. New alliances form, and new industries flourish over time, but what few people saw coming until very recently was the arrival of a new economic force made up of some very diverse nations – the BRIC. Brazil, Russia, India and China – four nations with vast landmasses and huge populations which had nonetheless, for one reason or another, failed to flourish as global economies. As we come to the close of the century’s first decade, each is – for its own reasons – coming to bear more power in the global market.

There are those who would have sworn blind that India was the last country that would emerge as a global economic big hitter. The overwhelming impression that many first have when India comes to mind is the poverty that has dogged it for many years – and there is still a significant proportion of India’s population that lives below the “international poverty line”. There are still street children in India’s cities – but the poverty in this nation may yet be attenuated to some extent if the government of Manmohan Singh and his successors handles the continuing financial growth of this nation as they would hope to. One of the things that has previously held India back – its massive population, which some would dub overpopulation – is set to be at least partially beneficial, giving a very large workforce to a country which encourages foreign investment.

India’s huge and diverse landmass is also beneficial in economic terms, as it allows the country to spread its economy over a number of industries – agriculture is a major one, and the service industry even more so. India’s industrial sector, which includes major textile, chemical and steel industries, means that whether the world’s money is in construction, fashion or medicine, there will be a demand for what India is making and what it is exporting. Within the next decade the GDP per capita is likely to skyrocket – although how evenly this is distributed will be the focus of much attention.

Whether or not India finds a way of squaring the circle – its economic growth is attributed to its move towards a market-based economy, and may rule out a program of wealth distribution – it is still set to be one of the motors which drives global economic growth in the years to come. There is every chance that, once the final economic figures for the year are collated and calculated, India will have had growth of almost or more than 7% – making it a rare nation in a world where growth is still absent from most economies in the wake of the worst global recession for more than sixty years. Most forecasts suggest that in the middle of this century, India will overtake the United States in economic terms. Like we say, not what we might have expected a few years ago.

Work at Home Trend Is On The Rise, Even Among Non-Entrepreneurs

Employees Are Catching Up With Entrepreneurs On Working At Home

First Published: May 21, 2012 EntrepreneurJourney.com

In the past, it was thought that working at home was a luxury that could only be afforded by entrepreneurs. However, in the post-industrial economy, a greater numbers of paid employees are choosing to work at home. Due to the availability of technology and the increasing popularity of working at home, more employers are offering the option to work at home than ever before. 

I was looking for some stats to illustrate this trend. The most reliable I was able to find is a publication by Stats Canada made available in 2010. Let’s look at some numbers: 

Self-employed people working at home in 2000 = 1.4 million

Self-employed people working at home in 2008 = 1.8 million

Percentage of the workforce working at home in 2008 = 11.2% 

Percentage of people who are working at home and employees = 48% 

Percentage of people who are working at home and entrepreneurs = 52% 

More university graduates (22%) are working at home than high school graduates (7%). 

More male employees (29%) worked at home than female professionals (19%). 

More self-employed females (67%) are likely to work at home than males (56%). 

City employees are more likely to work at home than those who live outside a city. 

Now, if you are an entrepreneur and already working from home, you are well aware of the advantages of working at home. If you are an employee and would like to work from home, talk to your manager or HR dept. regarding work at home opportunities provided by your company. If you would like to search for work from home jobs, enter these keywords in your search queries: “work at home”, “part time”, “work from home”, and so on. 

Will India’s Stalled Economy Pick Up?

World Bank Cuts India’s Growth Forecast

First Published: ADawnJournal.com November 2, 2013

The days of the 8 percent GDP growth are distant memories and it seems like India’s economy has nowhere below to go, except up.

According to the global credit rating agency Moody’s, India should see a growth of 6.5 percent by the second half of 2015. On the same note, Moody’s expects fixed investment to grow 3.5 percent in 2014 as well.

However, the World Bank predicts a different picture. In a report released in recently, the World Bank cuts India’s GDP growth from 6.1 percent to 4.7 percent for 2013/2014 fiscal year and expects economy to go up to 6.2 percent in 2014/2015 fiscal year.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) even predicts a more conservative growth 3.8 percent for 2013 and 5.1 percent for 2014.

India’s central bank chief ,Raghuram Rajan, expects the economy to pick by the year end due to restarting $115 billion dollars stalled resource projects and better than expected agricultural production. However, whether the interest rate hike is eminent is still uncertain.

India’s economy grew at around 8 percent between 2002 and 2013. In 2010-2011 it reached its peak at 9.3 percent, but reached a ten-year low, 5 percent, in 2012-2013.

The Best Android Flight and Trip Tracking Travel Apps

My Top Favourite Free Android Flight and Trip Tracking Travel Apps

 

First Published: Mar 18, 2012 EntrepreneurJourney.com

Travelling will never be the like the old days due to what technology brought us on our smart phones or tablets via hi-tech apps. Just 3 years ago, I could not have possibly imagined that just forwarding my trip confirmation email to these app email addresses can perform magic instantaneously on my android devices and all the travel itinerary and detailed hotel information will be organized day by day. Today, I will discuss my top 5 favourite travel apps you should try to make your next travel smooth and hassle free. 

WorldMate by WorldMate - A very popular mobile travel app. Free version has lots of features which can not be found on some other paid version apps. Among all other app websites, only on WorldMate’s website did I find the Check-In button that lets you check in from home and receive a boarding pass before leaving home. WorldMate does have a paid version for other platforms, but not for Android. However, I would not buy a paid version for a $10 annual fee when I can buy other paid apps for a one time $5 or $10 only. 

TripIt by TripIt Inc. - Tripit is another travel organizer app that shows all your trip details in one place, including flights, hotels, cruises, restaurants, concerts, etc. Many other travel apps uses TripIt or have the ability to sync with TripIt. So having a TripIt account gives you the advantage of sending your travel details to other apps without sending a confirmation email to each of them again. 

Kayak Flight Hotel Car Search by Kayak - Kayak is an all-in-one app that lets you search hotels, flights, setup price alerts, etc. and at the same time you can track your flights. The only thing I can complain about with Kayak is that it takes up more space on your device as it is more than just a flight tracker. 

FlightTrack by Mobiata - When it comes to flight tracking, FlightTrack does the job very well. However, there is no free version. The basic version costs $4.99 and it does not offer to sync with Tripit or anything else - you need to enter your flight information manually. The pro version costs $9.99 and has the ability to sync with TripIt. Its major disadvantage is that it can only track flights - nothing else. 

World Economy, Recession, and Investment Opportunities

Reading the World Economy

First Published: ADawnJournal.com May 31, 2009

While there is a lot of talk about the current economic strife affecting a large part of the globe, it is natural that there will be different levels of concern in different nations. This is a global recession, and it is affecting people on each continent. But when one says “global”, does that mean that everyone is in the same boat? Well, no, of course not. There are different levels of indebtedness and different prospects for recovery in just about every independent economy. How countries have prepared for a time just like this will affect how able they are to deal with it. Some countries are not, for their purposes, in recession at all.

Reading the finance pages of daily newspapers, it can be tempting to try and keep score, as we watch one economy after another slip through the trapdoor. When one country goes it is natural to look at its near neighbours and its historical allies and trading partners in order to see if they will follow – or how their own plans will be affected. It is easy to see, in retrospect, how the major world economies slipped into recession, as credit was given in too cavalier a manner to people who were ill equipped to pay it back. There are some countries who have fallen in a secondary wave because their industries have been hit by a reduction in orders from recession-bitten nations.

Then there are other countries who have managed to remain as yet untouched by the grim hand of recession. It is interesting to look at these countries and see what they have in common – usually it is the fact that they have strong infrastructures, an industry that the rest of the world relies on even in times of financial privation, or have been more or less isolationist from a trade point of view. Some combination of the above is a recipe for being largely recession-proof – but at the cost of being less likely to profit from a global boom.

Reading the recession is worthwhile, whatever your reasons for doing it. If you are a potential investor, it helps to know what countries are ripe for investment opportunities and which are to be avoided at all costs. If you are concerned about your own position within an industry, it can help to see how that industry is faring worldwide. It is also true to say that the first people to see (and maybe profit from) th e end of the global recession will be those who follow the financial news from all over the world.

Although this world is split up into hundreds of countries, and those self-same countries are often devolved into administrative regions, there are generally global consequences to local issues. You may not know today how a drop in the price of a certain commodity will affect your own life, but by watching the stories as they play themselves out you can give yourself a firm grasp of the issues that may not matter right now, but will begin to pretty soon.