tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post878832067941075343..comments2024-03-27T15:36:44.737-07:00Comments on Haq's Musings: India and Pakistan Contrasted in 2010Riaz Haqhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comBlogger248125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-82912133191394219522022-09-20T10:49:38.909-07:002022-09-20T10:49:38.909-07:00India’s economy has outpaced Pakistan’s handily si...India’s economy has outpaced Pakistan’s handily since Partition in 1947 – politics explains why.<br /><br />By Surupa Gupta<br />Professor of Political Science and International Affairs, University of Mary Washington<br /><br />https://theconversation.com/indias-economy-has-outpaced-pakistans-handily-since-partition-in-1947-politics-explains-why-187053<br /><br /><br />Pakistan's economy grew at a faster pace than India's from the 1960s through 1980s thanks in large part to generous outside aid and cheap loans, as well as more foreign trade...... The growth script flipped in the 1990s, with India growing at a 6% rate over the next 30 years, outpacing Pakistan’s 4%.<br /><br />-------------<br /><br />What explains the role reversal (starting in 1990s)? Economics and politics both played a part.<br /><br />Pakistan has long relied on external sources of funding more than India has, receiving $73 billion in foreign aid from 1960 to 2002. And even today, it frequently relies on institutions such as the International Monetary Fund for crisis lending and on foreign governments like China for aid and infrastructure development.<br /><br />The aid has allowed Pakistan to postpone much-needed but painful reforms, such as expanding the tax base and addressing energy and infrastructure problems, while the loans have saddled the country with a large debt. Such reforms, in my view, would have put Pakistan on a more sustainable growth path and encouraged more foreign investment.<br /><br />While India also got a fair amount of support from international aid groups and a few countries such as the U.S. earlier in its existence, it never depended upon it – and has relied less on it in recent decades. In addition, in 1991, India liberalized trade, lowered tariffs, made it easier for domestic companies to operate and grow, and opened the door to more foreign investment.<br /><br />These reforms paid off: By integrating India’s economy to the rest of the world, the reforms created market opportunities for Indian companies, made them more competitive, and that, in turn, led to higher growth rates for the overall economy.<br /><br />Another way to measure the different paths is in gross domestic product per person. In 1990, India and Pakistan had almost identical per-capita GDPs, a little under $370 per person. But by 2021, India’s had surged to $2,277, about 50% higher than Pakistan’s.<br /><br /><br />The reasons for their different choices have a lot to do with politics.<br /><br />Pakistan has suffered from near-constant political instability. From 1988 to 1998 alone, it had seven different governments as it alternated between civilian and military governments following coups. This discouraged foreign investment and made it much harder to make reforms and follow through on them. Through all these changes, Pakistan’s military spending as a share of its GDP remained higher than India’s during the entire post-independence period.<br /><br />India, on the other hand, has managed to maintain a steady democracy. Though it’s far from perfect, it has kept leaders more accountable to the people and led to more inclusive growth and less reliance on foreign institutions or governments. In one decade alone, India lifted over 270 million people out of poverty.<br /><br />At a time when democracy is under threat in so many parts of the world, this history, in my view, reminds us of the value of democratic institutions.<br /><br />Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-40878721550145343972021-11-23T16:03:09.490-08:002021-11-23T16:03:09.490-08:00Pakistanis are less miserable than Indians in the ...Pakistanis are less miserable than Indians in the economic sphere, according to the Hanke Annual Misery Index (HAMI) published in early 2021 by Professor Steve Hanke. With India ranked 49th worst and Pakistan ranked 39th worst, both countries find themselves among the most miserable third of the 156 nations ranked. Hanke teaches Applied Economics at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. Hanke explains it as follows: "In the economic sphere, misery tends to flow from high inflation, steep borrowing costs, and unemployment. The surefire way to mitigate that misery is through economic growth. All else being equal, happiness tends to blossom when growth is strong, inflation and interest rates are low, and jobs are plentiful". Several key global indices, including misery index, happiness index, hunger index, food affordability index, labor force participation rate, ILO’s minimum wage data, all show that people in Pakistan are better off than their counterparts in India. <br /><br />http://www.riazhaq.com/2021/11/misery-index-whos-less-miserable-india.htmlRiaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-47766029979131569672021-11-20T21:37:56.368-08:002021-11-20T21:37:56.368-08:00India-Pakistan Comparison:
Dr. Jawaid Abdul Ghani...India-Pakistan Comparison:<br /><br />Dr. Jawaid Abdul Ghani, a professor at Karachi School of Business Leadership, has recently analyzed household surveys in India and Pakistan to discover the following:<br /><br />1. As of 2015, car ownership in both India and Pakistan is about the same at 6% of households owning a car. However, 41% of Pakistani household own motorcycles, several points higher than India's 32%.<br /><br />2. 12% of Pakistani households own a computer, slightly higher than 11% in India.<br /><br />3. Higher percentage of Pakistani households own appliances such as refrigerators (Pakistan 47%, India 33%), washing machines (Pakistan 48%, India 15%) and fans (Pakistan 91%, India 83%).<br /><br />4. 71% of Indian households own televisions versus 62% in Pakistan.<br /><br />https://www.riazhaq.com/2017/05/comparing-ownership-of-appliances-and.htmlRiaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-66341419320490073582021-11-20T21:29:28.620-08:002021-11-20T21:29:28.620-08:00Food is more affordable in Pakistan than in Bangla...Food is more affordable in Pakistan than in Bangladesh and India, according to the Global Food Security Index 2021. Earlier in 2021, Global Hunger Index report also ranked Pakistan better than India. Numbeo Grocery Index reports that the food prices in Pakistan are the second cheapest in the world. <br /><br /><br />https://www.southasiainvestor.com/2021/11/global-food-security-index-2021-food-in.htmlRiaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-70265748898843215672017-12-13T22:06:43.605-08:002017-12-13T22:06:43.605-08:00Meghnad Desai: A country of many nations, will #In...Meghnad Desai: A country of many nations, will #India break up? #Hindu #Hindi #Beef #Dalit #Muslim #Naga #Tamil Quartz<br /><br />https://qz.com/1156242/meghnad-desai-a-country-of-many-nations-will-india-break-up/<br /><br /><br />Excerpts of Baron Meghnad Deai's book "The Raisina Model"<br /><br />India has avoided equal treatment of unequal units. Representation in the Rajya Sabha is proportional to population size. If anything, it is the smaller states that may complain about being marginalised, though so far none has. The larger states thus dominate both Houses of Parliament. It would be difficult for small states to object, much less initiate reform. In future, small states could unite to present their case for better treatment. Except for Punjab and Nagaland, there has been no attempt to challenge the status quo.<br /><br />The issue, however, is that India has still not fashioned a narrative about its nationhood which can satisfy all. The two rival narratives—secular and Hindu nation—are both centred in the Hindi belt extending to Gujarat and Maharashtra at the most. This area comprises 51% of the total population and around 45% of the Muslims in India. It is obviously a large part of India and is contiguous. Of course, ideas of secularism and Hindu nationhood capture the imagination in other parts of India too, but even so, there is a lot of India outside this.<br /><br />In the agitation to establish Hindi as the sole national language in 1965, India came close to a rupture between the north and the south. It was the Chinese debacle which united the country. But the idea of the south seceding was openly discussed. The north-east is a region which has long felt alienated from what it calls the “mainland.” It has never been woven into the national narrative, just as the south has been ignored. Privileging the Hindu-Muslim divide has left the numerous other minorities and linguistic nations outside the idea of the Indian nation. The current agitation about beef eating and gau raksha is in the Hindi belt just an excuse for attacking Muslims blatantly. As most slaughterhouses in UP are Muslim-owned, owners and employees of these places are prime targets.<br /><br />But that apart, the idea that beef eating is anathema to Hindus across India is just wrong. Hindus, with the exception of Brahmins, have been known to eat meat, even beef. South Indian Hindus, for example, eat beef. The lower castes and Dalits openly do. Then we come to the tribal people. They have no reason to be deprived of their food sources because some upper caste Hindus in Awadh feel strongly about beef eating.<br /><br /><br />Across India, Hindus and non-Hindus eat beef. No one has the right to impose a uniform eating culture on others. Just because the BJP has won a large vote in UP, it does not license vigilante attacks on beef eaters. There will be other elections and Indian voters are known for expressing their displeasure through the ballot. The democratic process has bound the different regions and nations together because everyone has a hand in the election of governments. <br /><br />The idea that India has just two “nations,” Hindu and Muslim, is far too simple.<br /><br /><br /><br />There are many nations. Across the Dandakaranya are tribes whose names are unknown even to most Indians.<br /><br />The recent incident at a Delhi club where a woman wearing a north-eastern dress was denied entry as someone in the management decided she was “improperly dressed” tells all. This relative isolation of the peripheral, low-density areas of India is a worry. It has not taken an agitational form as yet. But the integration of the tribal people in India as bona fide citizens has yet to be achieved. The categories of Hindu or Muslim may not apply to them. They may have their own religion, some form of animism or worship of the land. They could be Christians. There are, after all, a number of Christian sects in India as Christianity has been practised in India since the first century ce, before Islam was even preached. The many tribal languages have yet to gain recognition.Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-42618103629613055822017-03-10T08:18:29.620-08:002017-03-10T08:18:29.620-08:00India is far ahead of Pakistan in more ways than I...India is far ahead of Pakistan in more ways than I can count :-) <br /><br />Here are some: <br /><br />1. India leads the world in open defecation....in absolute numbers and percentages. <br /><br />2. India leads the world in child marriages....in absolute numbers and percentages. <br /><br />3. India has more poor, hungry and illiterate people than any other country in the world. In percentage terms, the poverty rate in India is 2X higher than in Pakistan. <br /><br />4. More farmers have killed themselves in India than any other country in the world. <br /><br />5. Top 1% of Indians own 58% of India's wealth, 2nd only to Russia's 70%.<br /><br />6. India has a mass murderer Modi as its elected leader. <br /><br />7. India has more slaves than any other country in the world. <br /><br />8. India has had more anti-minority riots than any other country in the world. <br /><br />9. India is only one of only two countries where Apartheid is still rampant....the other is Israel. <br /><br />10. There are more active insurgencies in India than any other country in the world. <br /><br />And yet, India is a "secular democracy"!!!!!<br /><br />All of the above are easily verifiable facts from credible sources which track such data.Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-22874630535609417332014-10-04T09:33:03.662-07:002014-10-04T09:33:03.662-07:00India and Pakistan are running neck and neck in pe...India and Pakistan are running neck and neck in per capita GDP in both nominal US dollar terms and purchasing power parity terms, according to data available from multiple sources.<br><br /><br /><a href="https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2195.html" rel="nofollow">CIA World Factbook</a> reports that the 2013 official exchange rate GDP of India is $1.67 trillion while that of Pakistan is $237 billion. It's a ratio of 7, about the same as the population ratio between the two countries.<br><br /><br />http://www.riazhaq.com/2014/10/india-pakistan-economic-comparison-2014.htmlRiaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-36759105356254161442013-08-14T16:41:57.223-07:002013-08-14T16:41:57.223-07:00^^RH: "Second, 60% of India's workforce p...^^RH: "Second, 60% of India's workforce produces 16% of Inda's GDP in agriculture. Compare that with 42% of Pakistani workforce in agriculture contributing 19.4% of GDP..."<br />------<br /><br />Here is our country compared to China & India in agricultural productivity:<br /><br />http://alturl.com/wurvjHopewinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07885301987622998733noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-60804332635436178462013-08-14T16:37:07.614-07:002013-08-14T16:37:07.614-07:00^^RH: "Second, 60% of India's workforce p...^^RH: "Second, 60% of India's workforce produces 16% of Inda's GDP in agriculture. Compare that with 42% of Pakistani workforce in agriculture contributing 19.4% of GDP. "<br />------<br /><br />The standardized essence of this comparison is here:<br />http://alturl.com/8f39kHopewinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07885301987622998733noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-44858203864428668002013-07-28T19:25:41.295-07:002013-07-28T19:25:41.295-07:00The latest 2012 IQ data published by Richard Lynn ...The latest 2012 IQ data published by Richard Lynn and Tatu Vanhanen puts mean IQ of Pakistanis at 84 and of Indians at 82.2, and Bangladeshis at 81. <br /><br />Each country has big std deviations and large positive outliers. <br /><br />The highest IQs are reported for East Asia (100+) and the lowest in sub-Saharan Africa (just over 70). <br /><br />https://lesacreduprintemps19.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/intelligence-a-unifying-construct-for-the-social-sciences-richard-lynn-and-tatu-vanhanen.pdfAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-39227453583081892912013-06-28T22:14:25.366-07:002013-06-28T22:14:25.366-07:00Pakistan's annual GDP rose to $252 billion (18...Pakistan's annual GDP rose to $252 billion (184.35 million pop times $1368 per capita) in fiscal 2012-13, according to <a href="http://www.finance.gov.pk/survey/chapters_13/executive%20summary.pdf" rel="nofollow">Economic Survey of Pakistan 2012-13</a> estimates based on 9 months data.<br /><br />http://www.finance.gov.pk/survey/chapters_13/executive%20summary.pdfRiaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-81693775959524671292013-06-28T19:16:41.056-07:002013-06-28T19:16:41.056-07:00Here's a Business Standard report about Indian...Here's a <a href="http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/rupee-fall-shrinks-fy13-gdp-size-in-terms-113060100014_1.html" rel="nofollow">Business Standard</a> report about Indian GDP shrinking on US $ terms:<br /><br /><i>The size of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) grew to Rs 100 lakh crore in 2012-13, about 11.7 per cent higher than the Rs 89 lakh crore a year before. However, it contracted in dollar terms due to the rupee's depreciation.<br /><br />GDP at market prices (including indirect taxes) had grown 15.1 per cent in 2011-12.<br /><br />The GDP size, at Rs 1,00,20,620 crore in 2012-13, is only just short of the advance estimate of Rs 10,028,118 crore issued in February this year by the Central Statistics Office.<br /><br />In dollar terms, the economy's size fell to $1.84 trillion in 2012-13 against $1.87 trillion the previous financial year. It was so because the rupee depreciated to 54.3 against the dollar on an average in 2012-13, against 47.8 in 2011-12.<br /><br />India's per capita income grew to Rs 68,757 in 2012-13, growing 11.7 per cent over Rs 61,564 the previous year. In dollar terms, per capita income fell to 1,266.2 in 2012-13 against 1,287.9 in 2011-12. (SECTOR-WISE QUARTERLY ESTIMATES OF GDP GROWTH FOR 2012-13)<br /><br />According to recent estimates of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, India's economy has probably surpassed Japan for the third highest slot in world GDP, in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP) at 2005 prices. Both economies had seven per cent share in world output in 2011. However, OECD projected that in 2012 or a year after, India would replace Japan as the third largest economy. Also, India's economy might grow larger than the euro area in about 20 years.<br /><br />However, in current prices, India's economic size might have shrunk a bit due to fall in the rupee value against the greenback. The OECD estimated that on PPP at current prices, India's share in world GDP was six per cent in 2010 and Japan's was seven per cent.<br /></i><br /><br />http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/rupee-fall-shrinks-fy13-gdp-size-in-terms-113060100014_1.htmlRiaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-83109029791841115952013-05-06T08:52:10.041-07:002013-05-06T08:52:10.041-07:00Bravo Pakistan, for doing such a great job...keep ...Bravo Pakistan, for doing such a great job...keep it up...!!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-30834078008714069152012-09-15T13:54:07.827-07:002012-09-15T13:54:07.827-07:00ISHRAT HUSAIN 1997: Summary of 50th Anniversary Co...ISHRAT HUSAIN 1997: Summary of 50th Anniversary Comparison between India & Pakistan<br /><br />http://users.erols.com/ziqbal/ih2.htm<br /><br />What is the bottom line then? The overall record looks mixed. Pakistan scores high on income and consumption growth, poverty reduction and integration with the world economy. India has done very well in developing its human resource base and excelled in the field of science and technology. Both countries face a set of common problems -- the inherited legacy of a control mind-set among the government and rent-seeking private sector, widespread corruption, poor fiscal management, weak financial system and congested and overcrowded urban services. <br />But there is an important and perceptible positive shift in most of the indicators of India since 1991. Export growth rates have almost doubled, GDP growth is averaging 6 to 7 percent in recent years, current account deficit is down and foreign capital flows for investment have risen several fold. The edge that Pakistan has gained over India in most of these indicators until 1990 is fast eroding. Pakistan, on the other hand, has made greater progress in privatization of state owned enterprises and in attracting foreign investors to expand power generating capacity in the country.<br /><br />How does the future look like? Since 1991, both India and Pakistan have embarked on a policy of liberalization, outward orientation and faster integration with the global economy. The initial responses have been very positive. As outlined earlier, portfolio and foreign direct investment flows in the last few years have surpassed those accumulated over the last 20-25 years. Indian exports recorded an increase of 50 percent since 1991 while Pakistan, despite a setback due to failure of successive cotton crops, have expanded by two-thirds since 1990. The political uncertainty in India has been minimized after the elections and adoption by the coalition government of the Congress’ agenda on economic reforms. This combination of political stability, economic policy credibility and well developed human resource base places India at an advantage today. But there is no earthly reason as to why we in Pakistan cannot put our house in order, strike a consensus among the two major political parties on the contours of our economic policy direction, stop brick-bating each other for the larger sake of the country’s interests and avoid promoting contrived and perceived sense of economic instability.<br /><br />The imperatives of globalization and integration with the world economy dictate that the countries that are not agile and do not seize the opportunities at the right time are likely to be losers. What is encouraging is that the economic policy stance of both major parties in Pakistan is identical, i.e., liberalization of the economy. We have made a head-start and let us not lose this momentum by narrow-minded and purely self-serving interests. The destiny of a nation depends upon the hard work, discipline and internal cohesion of its people and the vision of its leaders. Let our future generations not blame our leaders for failing to leave a legacy of prosperity and hope for them.<br />Hopewinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07885301987622998733noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-69905559604208128532012-09-15T13:53:29.234-07:002012-09-15T13:53:29.234-07:00ISHRAT HUSAIN 2007: Summary of 60th Anniversary Co...ISHRAT HUSAIN 2007: Summary of 60th Anniversary Comparison between India & Pakistan<br /><br />http://www.iba.edu.pk/News/speechesarticles_drishrat/Indo_Pak_economies_compared.pdf<br /><br />To sum up, Pakistani economy performed very well until 1990 and was well ahead of India during this period. But there has been a perceptible shift since 1991 and India has done much better and has overtaken Pakistan. A growth rate averaging 6 percent for the last 15 years without any periods of decline for a diverse society of one billion is indeed highly creditable. As a global leader in business outsourcing, an attractive location for the services sector, a dynamic Private sector it is positioning itself to become a major player in the global economy. World class professionals educated and trained in India and abroad are adding to the intellectual capital of the country. The out ward orientation, liberalization and integration in the global economy are paying huge dividends. World attention is now focused on India and China. A buoyant and highly confident 200 to 300 million strong middle class has emerged as the back bone of domestic economic expansion led by consumption.<br /><br />Pakistan has slipped badly in the last 15 years. Despite impressive economic performance between 2002-07 the country is facing serious difficulties. Macroeconomic stability has to be re-established to restore confidence of domestic and international investors and financial institutions. Pakistan has also lost its advantage in international trade by continuing to depend up low-tech non-dynamic sector such as cotton textiles as its main export earner. A narrow base, lack of diversification in commodity composition and markets has accentuated the vulnerability of the economy.<br /><br />Internal security problems and participation in the war against terror have tampered the investor enthusiasm. Skill shortages and low educational intensity of the labor force are putting at risk the efforts for productivity gains. Private sector players have not yet attuned themselves to the new realities of global markets and are still engaged in lobbying for rents at the expense of the government. Infrastructure deficiencies, particularly the shortages in electricity are having a detrimental effect on the business as well as on the living conditions of the households.<br /><br />Widening gap between the rich and the poor and regional income disparities are creating pressures on internal social cohesion and inter-provincial harmony. Political divisiveness and tensions have exacerbated these tensions. Unless these challenges are forcefully resolved the gap between Indian and Pakistani economies will continue to widen in the future.<br />Hopewinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07885301987622998733noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-62233964413986208162012-08-06T22:10:07.338-07:002012-08-06T22:10:07.338-07:00Here's a PakistanToday story on Pakistan's...Here's a <a href="http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2012/03/01/news/profit/kse-contradicts-official-figures-for-pakistan%E2%80%99s-gdp-says-actual-amounts-to-300bn/" rel="nofollow">PakistanToday</a> story on Pakistan's current GDP being closer to $300 Billion:<br /><br /><i>The actual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Pakistan is nearer to $300 billion and not $210 billion, as is shown officially. And, if the ailing economy of the troubled Pakistan is assumed to grow by 3 per cent per year by 2015 the size of the actual GDP would likely to set between $ 350 and $ 375 billion. This was stated by Managing Director KSE Nadeem Naqvi while briefing the visiting V. Shankar, Member of the Board, Standard Chartered Bank PLC and CEO Europe, Middle East, Africa and Americas here at Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) on Wednesday.<br />“Using conservative estimates, 50 per cent of the economy is in the undocumented sector,” Naqvi said adding that further estimation showed that the per capita income of top 10 per cent of households in Pakistan was near $5,000 versus national per capita income of $1,190.<br />“This represents a significant potential market for investment and financial services,” the MD added. Also, Naqvi highlighted the areas where KSE and SCBPL could cooperate that, he said, include investor awareness generation, attracting Non-Resident Pakistanis (NRPs) to the capital market and helping private companies list on the Exchange. Earlier, Shankar, accompanied by Mohsin Nathani, Chief Executive of Standard Chartered Bank (Pakistan) Limited (SCBPL) and senior members of his management team, rang the “Opening Bell” of the KSE in the presence of Chairman KSE Muneer Kamal, MD Nadeem Naqvi, DMD KSE Haroon Askari and directors of the KSE Board.<br />On the occasion Shankar said there was tremendous opportunity for growth in intra-regional trade for the South Asian economies, particularly India and Pakistan. Illustrating India-China bilateral trade, he said when Sino-Indian trade opened up they had to overcome some apprehensions, however, today they were one of the largest trading partners with benefit to both countries. Welcoming the guests, chairman KSE Muneer Kamal said Pakistan’s economy was at an inflection point. Despite challenges posed by low tax-to-GDP ratio, power sector difficulties and current account pressure due to demand slowdown in key export markets, Pakistan at present was in a position to repay IMF loans.<br />The foreign exchange reserves, supported by strong remittances by overseas Pakistanis, were in a much healthier position than at the height of global financial crisis in late 2008. While debt servicing burden had risen, it should be viewed in the global context and Pakistan’s total debt-to-GDP ratio of 64 per cent was far lower than many Euro zone and G-8 economies.<br />A concerted effort to mobilise tax revenue and focus on emerging domestic energy resources such as coal would go a long way in fixing structural deficiencies causing large budget deficits. Kamal highlighted that economic growth can be further accelerated with growing intra-regional trade in the sub-continent. He pointed out that while intra-regional trade in East Asia was 23 per cent of GDP, it was only 1 per cent of the GDP in South Asia. </i><br /><br />http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2012/03/01/news/profit/kse-contradicts-official-figures-for-pakistan%E2%80%99s-gdp-says-actual-amounts-to-300bn/Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-57016397372649731712012-03-18T23:05:26.097-07:002012-03-18T23:05:26.097-07:00Pakistan is the third largest arms importer after ...Pakistan is the third largest arms importer after India and South Korea, according to <a href="http://www.sipri.org/media/pressreleases/rise-in-international-arms-transfers-is-driven-by-asian-demand-says-sipri" rel="nofollow">SIPRI</a>:<br /><br /><i>Asia and Oceania accounted for 44 per cent of global arms imports, followed by Europe (19 per cent), the Middle East (17 per cent), the Americas (11 per cent) and Africa (9 per cent).<br /><br />India was the world’s largest recipient of arms, accounting for 10 per cent of global arms imports. The four next largest recipients of arms in 2007–2011 were South Korea (6 per cent of arms transfers), Pakistan (5 per cent), China (5 per cent) and Singapore (4 per cent).<br /><br />‘Major Asian importing states are seeking to develop their own arms industries and decrease their reliance on external sources of supply,’ said Pieter Wezeman, senior researcher with the SIPRI Arms Transfers Programme. ‘A large share of arms deliveries is due to licensed production.’<br /><br />China shifts from imports to exports<br /><br />China, which was the largest recipient of arms exports in 2002–2006, fell to fourth place in 2007–11. The decline in the volume of Chinese imports coincides with the improvements in China’s arms industry and rising arms exports.<br /><br />Between 2002–2006 and 2007–11, the volume of Chinese arms exports increased by 95 per cent. China now ranks as the sixth largest supplier of arms in the world, narrowly trailing the United Kingdom.<br /><br />‘While the volume of China’s arms exports is increasing, this is largely a result of Pakistan importing more arms from China’, said Paul Holtom, director of the SIPRI Arms Transfers Programme. ‘China has not yet achieved a major breakthrough in any other significant market.’<br />---------<br />Other notable developments<br /><br />In 2011 Saudi Arabia placed an order with the USA for 154 F-15SA combat aircraft, which was not only the most significant order placed by any state in 2011 but also the largest arms deal for at least 2 decades.<br /><br />Greece’s arms imports decreased by 18 per cent between 2002–2006 and 2007–11. In 2007–11 it was the 10th largest arms importer, down from being the 4th largest in 2002–2006. Greece placed no new order for major conventional weapons in 2011.<br /><br />Venezuela’s arms imports increased by 555 per cent between 2002–2006 and 2007–11 and it rose from being the 46th largest importer to the 15th largest.<br /><br />The volume of deliveries of major conventional weapons to states in North Africa increased by 273 per cent between 2002–2006 and 2007–11. Morocco’s imports of major weapons increased by 443 per cent between 2002–2006 and 2007–11.<br /><br />The comprehensive annual update of the SIPRI Arms Transfers Database is accessible from today at www.sipri.org.</i><br /><br />http://www.sipri.org/media/pressreleases/rise-in-international-arms-transfers-is-driven-by-asian-demand-says-sipriRiaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-57531236567366909032012-01-19T09:17:25.704-08:002012-01-19T09:17:25.704-08:00Here are excerpts from a Dawn report on World Bank...Here are excerpts from a <a href="http://www.dawn.com/2012/01/19/pakistans-economy-recovering-wb.html" rel="nofollow">Dawn report</a> on <a href="http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTPROSPECTS/Resources/334934-1322593305595/8287139-1326374900917/GEP_January_2012a_FullReport_FINAL.pdf" rel="nofollow">World Bank's assessment</a> of Pakistan's economy:<br /><br /><i>...Pakistan is South Asia’s second largest economy, representing about 15 per cent of regional GDP.<br />----------<br />The portion on Pakistan points out that the country’s economy firmed in the second half of 2011. Industrial production surged to grow at a robust 32.1pc annualised pace during the three months ending in October, after falling at 9.1 and 10.1pc rates during the first and second quarters, respectively.<br /><br />Part of the strengthening in growth reflects base effects due to the widespread flooding that had hampered activity in the second half of 2010. Since the floods occurred in July and August 2010, GDP growth on a fiscal year basis (ending June-2011) slowed to 2.4pc.<br /><br />The report notes that Pakistan’s weak growth outturns are also tied to “worsening security conditions, accompanied by greater political uncertainty and a breakdown in policy implementation”.<br /><br />The report also notes that “infrastructure bottlenecks, including disruptions in power delivery,” remain widespread.<br /><br />A notable bright spot has been a strengthening of exports, evident particularly in the first half of 2011, led by textiles that surged 39pc in the first half of the year.However, like India, Pakistan’s export volume growth saw a sharp fall-off in October.<br /><br />Indeed, Pakistan’s export volumes fell to a minus 46pc rate in the three-months ending October.<br /><br />Along with an upswing in worker remittances inflows, robust exports have supported Pakistan’s external positions and contributed to an improvement in the current account from a deficit of 0.9pc of GDP in 2010 to a surplus of close to 0.5pc of GDP in the 2011 calendar year.<br /><br />The World Bank notes that monetary tightening in Pakistan brought about positive real lending rates in early 2011 as well, the first time since late 2009.<br />------------<br />The bank points out that for South Asian nations, including India and Pakistan, domestic crop conditions and price controls are more important determinants of domestic food price inflation.<br />------------<br />Regional monetary policy authorities face several challenges in reducing inflation.<br /><br />More recently, currency devaluation has contributed to inflation as well. In Pakistan, monetary authorities have also been monetising the deficit, complicating the efficacy of other monetary policy efforts to reduce inflation.<br /><br />A key factor working against monetary policy efforts is the overall stance of fiscal policy, which despite some consolidation, remains very loose.<br /><br />Monetary authorities in Pakistan have responded to persistent price pressures by raising policy interest rates and/or introducing higher reserve requirements.<br /><br />Lower revenue growth has contributed to larger fiscal deficits in Pakistan. Terms of trade losses are estimated at about 1.9pc of GDP for the region in aggregate. India and Pakistan saw negative impacts of close to 1.8pc of GDP – estimated January through September 2011 terms of trade impacts relative to 2010.<br /><br />Remittance inflow to Pakistan rose by an estimated 25pc in 2011, partly in response to the widespread flooding in the second half of 2010.<br /><br />International reserve positions in South Asia have generally improved since mid-2008. Latest readings of foreign currency holdings were equivalent to at least three-months of merchandise imports in Pakistan.<br />-----------<br />A good crop year (2011-12) in much of South Asia and sustained high regional stocks are providing a buffer for grain prices and import demand in 2012....</i><br /><br />http://www.dawn.com/2012/01/19/pakistans-economy-recovering-wb.html<br /><br />http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTPROSPECTS/Resources/334934-1322593305595/8287139-1326374900917/GEP_January_2012a_FullReport_FINAL.pdfRiaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-32072138550789986672012-01-15T20:18:58.536-08:002012-01-15T20:18:58.536-08:00According to The Fiber Report 2009/10, Indians con...According to <a href="http://www.oerlikontextile.com/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-1763/" rel="nofollow">The Fiber Report 2009/10</a>, Indians consumed 4.18 million tons of cotton while Pakistanis consumed 2.558 million tons.<br /><br />Assuming a population of 1.2 billion for India and 180 million for Pakistan, the per capita cotton consumption works out to 3.48 Kg in India and 14.2 Kg in Pakistan. <br /><br />http://www.oerlikontextile.com/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-1763/Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-64222722237142488732012-01-14T14:07:48.079-08:002012-01-14T14:07:48.079-08:00Raj: "Why couldnt the ISI spot Osama Bin Lade...Raj: "Why couldnt the ISI spot Osama Bin Laden's hideout before the Americans could? especially since it was just 1 or 2 miles oh sorry my mistake 0.8 miles from the Pakistan Military Academy in Bilal Town"<br /><br />Have you heard about Jimmy Bulger? He was on FBI's most wanted list and remained free in America for 16 years. Who was hiding him? US govt?<br /><br />Pakistan has hundreds of MNCs and more are coming each year...Carrefour and Hardy's came only recently. <br /><br />Raj: "Moreover the Tension arising between the military and the government now of a coup d'etait is not going to help or persuade MNCs to settle in Pakistan "<br /><br />Coup rumors are just rumors. It's not stopping MNCs where they see profits and growth. <br /><br />Here's an except from a piece written for Maleeha Lodhi's compendium "Pakistan Beyond The Crisis State" by Mudassar Mazhar Malik, an MIT (Sloan) and LSE (London) educated Pakistani economist and investment banker on his assessment of Pakistan today:<br /><br />"Today, there are over 300 foreign multinationals have well established<br />business operations in Pakistan. The US, European Union and Japan remain the largest three foreign direct investors with new inflows emanating from the Middle East and China." <br /><br />Raj: "you not trusting the cia India's 28.2% is living under the poverty line compared to 32% in Pakistan"<br /><br />CIA also believed there were WMDs in Iraq!!! It's credibility is extremely low. <br /><br />Most Indians and the rest of the world don't trust CIA's poverty data either. Just look at recent data from multiple sources like the World Bank, UNDP and Oxford MPI---each shows India not only poorer than Pakistan, but also poorer than sub-Saharan Africa. In fact, India is the 6th poorest country in the India in terms of people living on less than $1.25 a day.Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-56929252352834363032012-01-14T12:33:58.503-08:002012-01-14T12:33:58.503-08:00Hi, My name is Tanu and am an indian who has been ...Hi, My name is Tanu and am an indian who has been living in London since I was 8 years old.I couldnt look through all of your posting but from some of the posts that you have wrote,but it came across to me that you are subliminally degrading India and therefore is not presenting an objective post but rather biased information for example referring to articles which deals with accounts of the western diplomat who talked about New Delhi having a horrible climate.This is NOT relevant information AT ALL WHATSOEVER as it is basically an opinion which is VERY VERY different from factual information and can vary from one person to another.For example, its like me even though I am a common person stating that all muslims are terrosrists,which is total and UTTERLY RUBBLISH and very misleading information ,whereby in your case you are basically generalising and considering that New Delhi's weather is horrible by posting up one man's perspective of his experience.<br />I now have 1 question which I hope you might be able to answer.<br /><br />Why couldnt the ISI spot Osama Bin Laden's hideout before the Americans could? especially since it was just 1 or 2 miles oh sorry my mistake 0.8 miles from the Pakistan Military Academy in Bilal Town, Abbottabad which is pretty much doubtfull dont you think?.Also Pakistan is a safe haven of International terrorists such as Dawood Ibrahim and The leader of Lashkar-e-Taiba Hafeez Muhammed Saaed,who directed the bombing in Mumbai and the Parliament attack in 2001.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />You talk about poverty in India which is a major problem which I again acknowledge,but according to facts by the people llving below national poverty line by UNDP and am not talking about the CIA p-ercentage as there is a sense of you not trusting the cia India's 28.2% is living under the poverty line compared to 32% in Pakistan,with a population of 1.2 Billion India tries to manage poverty but it isnt working to be honest.But,when compared with pakistan facing the same problem and has the same time of formation as India, with less the 1/12th the population of India shows to me of how your statement of how " Pakistan has done betterin providing basic necessities and reducing hunger and poverty"<br /><br />Moreover the Tension arising between the military and the government now of a coup d'etait is not going to help or persuade MNCs to settle in Pakistan due to its political turmoil presented throughout Pakistan's Political history which will take a toll on the economic sector as a whole.<br /><br /><br /><br />Tanu RajTanu Rajnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-86321397124591433222011-12-07T11:43:24.846-08:002011-12-07T11:43:24.846-08:00Here's a BBC report on rapid growth of inequal...Here's a <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-16064321" rel="nofollow">BBC report</a> on rapid growth of inequality in India:<br /><br /><br /><i>Inequality in earnings has doubled in India over the past two decades, a new report says, making it one of the worst performers among emerging economies.<br /><br />The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) says the top 10% of wage-earners make 12 times more than the bottom 10%, compared to six times 20 years ago.<br /><br />The OECD says India has the highest number of poor in the world.<br /><br />Some 42% of its 1.21 billion people live on less than $1.25 a day.<br />Poverty line<br /><br />"Brazil, Indonesia and, on some indicators, Argentina have recorded significant progress in reducing inequality over the past 20 years," the report, entitled Divided We Stand: Why Inequality Keeps Rising, says.<br /><br />"By contrast, China, India, the Russian Federation and South Africa have all become less equal over time."<br /><br />In India, the report says, the ratio between the top and the bottom wage-earners has doubled since the early 1990s.<br /><br />India has also not fared well in poverty reduction, the report says.<br /><br />It says 42% of Indians live below the poverty line, as against the official Indian figure of 37%.<br /><br />The Paris-based OECD is a grouping of 34 advanced and emerging economies.<br /><br />Recently, the Indian government was criticised for saying that an individual income of 25 rupees (52 US cents) a day would help provide for adequate "private expenditure on food, education and health" in villages.<br /><br />In cities, it said, individual earnings of 32 rupees a day (66 US cents) were adequate.<br /><br />Many experts said the income limit to define the poor was too low and aimed at artificially reducing the number of people below the poverty line.<br /><br />A World Bank report in May said attempts by the Indian government to combat poverty were not working.<br /><br />It said aid programmes were beset by corruption, bad administration and under-payments.</i><br /><br />http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-16064321Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-1212422889336505952011-11-19T10:44:52.271-08:002011-11-19T10:44:52.271-08:00India will not reach its Millennium Development Go...India will not reach its Millennium Development Goal on sanitation before 2047, while Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nepal will not achieve the target before 2028, according to a <a href="http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportid=94241" rel="nofollow">United Nations report released on the eve of World Toilet Day 2011</a>. <br /><br />The <a href="http://www.wateraid.org/documents/Off-track-off-target.pdf" rel="nofollow">WaterAid report</a> titled "Off-track, off-target: Why investment in water, sanitation and hygiene is not reaching those who need it most" says that 818 million Indians and 98 million Pakistanis lack access to toilets. It also reports that 148 million Indians and 18 million Pakistanis do not have adequate access to safe drinking water.<br /><br />http://www.riazhaq.com/2011/11/india-pakistan-off-track-off-target-on.htmlRiaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-9906690933422819602011-10-28T20:34:52.986-07:002011-10-28T20:34:52.986-07:00Here's WHO data on suicide rates in Asia:
Pak...Here's <a href="http://www.who.int/mental_health/resources/suicide_prevention_asia_chapter1.pdf" rel="nofollow">WHO data</a> on suicide rates in Asia:<br /><br /><i>Pakistan has the lowest estimated prevalence of less than 3 per 100,000, followed by Thailand at 7.3 per 100,000. Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand and Singapore have low to medium rates of between 9.9 and 13.1 per<br />100,000. Higher rates of above 15 per 100,000 are seen in China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (Hong Kong SAR), and India and still higher rates of above 20 per 100,000 are seen in China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and Sri Lanka.</i><br /><br />http://www.who.int/mental_health/resources/suicide_prevention_asia_chapter1.pdfRiaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-51414646222991093642011-10-28T18:50:08.503-07:002011-10-28T18:50:08.503-07:00Occasional and isolated but nonetheless tragic sui...Occasional and isolated but nonetheless tragic suicide cases like Raja Khan's in Pakistan get a lot of media coverage as they should. Meanwhile, over 200,000 farmer suicides in India have passed with little media attention in India.<br /><br />Here's a <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia-pacific/government-report-says-15-people-commit-suicide-every-hour-in-india/2011/10/28/gIQAVFGWOM_story.html" rel="nofollow">Washington Post</a> report on rising suicides in India:<br /><br />NEW DELHI — Ram Babu’s last days were typical in India’s growing rash of suicides.<br /><br />The poor farmer’s crop failed and he defaulted on the $6,000 loan he had taken to buy a tractor. The bank’s collectors hounded him, even hiring drummers to go round the village drawing attention to his shame.<br /><br />“My father found it unbearable. He was an honorable man and he couldn’t take the humiliation. The next day he hanged himself from a tree on his farm,” his son Ram Gulam said Friday.<br /><br />Babu’s suicide went unreported in local newspapers, just another statistic in a country where more than 15 people kill themselves every hour, according to a new government report.<br /><br />The report released late Thursday said nearly 135,000 people killed themselves in the country of 1.2 billion last year, a 5.9 percent jump in the number of suicides over the past year.<br /><br />The suicide rate increased to 11.4 per 100,000 people in 2010 from 10.9 the year before, according to the statistics from the National Crime Records Bureau.<br /><br />Financial difficulties and debts led to most of the male suicides while women were driven to take their lives because of domestic pressures, including physical and mental abuse and demands for dowry.<br /><br />A 2008 World Health Organization report ranked India 41st for its suicide rate, but because of its huge population it accounted for 20 percent of global suicides.<br /><br />The largest numbers of suicides were reported from the southern Indian states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, where tens of thousands of impoverished farmers have killed themselves after suffering under insurmountable debts.<br /><br />The loans — from banks and loan sharks — were often used to buy seeds and farm equipment, or to pay large dowries to get their daughters married. But a bad harvest could plunge the farmer over the edge.<br /><br />Sociologists say the rapid rise in incomes in India’s booming economy has resulted in a surge in aspirations as well among the lower and middle classes, and the failure to attain material success can trigger young people to suicide.<br /><br />“The support that traditionally large Indian families and village communities offered no longer exists in urban situations. Young men and women move to the cities and find they have no one to turn to for succor in times of distress,” said Abhilasha Kumari, a sociology professor in New Delhi.<br /><br />http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia-pacific/government-report-says-15-people-commit-suicide-every-hour-in-india/2011/10/28/gIQAVFGWOM_story.htmlRiaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.com