Tag: World Bank

  • Dont divide – we are all interdependent







    Yes I know you must be wondering as if the topic is not complete or I missed something? This blog is not related with politics or religious division either. No, no I am not going to write about terrorist attacks again. They are becoming something very common now a days. We do need a solution to that with Talks, if that does not work perhaps force.

    Look inwardsThe year started on a very strange note – people wrote if 2016 is similar to 2008? The world bank reduced forecast of world GDP growth rate to 2.9% however had a positive outlook on growth of India. However, as we read news like this, we tend to think – ok make this strata analyse this. How about the developing countries as a whole? How is Europe doing? How about China? So we try to divide and look at each as individual or strata or country, isnt it? We are all interdependent, we must think of the whole world. If we look at worldwide trend, we realize that 2.9% is lowered expectation, that is a cause of concern. When such concerns are raised we must do one thing – turn inwards. This inwards is applied on an individual level as well as a local level e.g. the smallest strata we are considering for growth for example country. Look for options for improvement locally. When we see troubles in GDP growth worldwide – the best option to consider is looking for improving economy at country level – increasing local consumption, improving livelihood of the citizen by infrastructure or other basic needs. Because these small steps add to the monolith of global GDP, isnt it?

    The other thing to keep in mind is – when a hungry person eats, that adds to his/her health. If a stuffed person eats extra, his/her health may deteriorate, isnt it? When we are seeing world GDP, we must concentrate on the underdeveloped not on developed world as the driving force for growth. In the end once again – we are all interdependent.

    Image source – Petfinder.com

  • Chicken in the “poultry farm of economy”







    It was October and winters were just starting in Canada, for a change it was nice weather for me. I had not seen < 10 degrees in Mumbai for almost a decade now. In this beginning of winter we – Anil, Abhijit, Prasad and I – were talking about eggs being Veg or non-veg food. I was the only Veg person amongst all and do not eat egg (by choice). So the point went on to whether egg has life & how does fertilization of egg happen?

    poultry

    That discussion became an argument and point of contention. I said I do not eat egg because of my choice, I do not want to question whether an unfertilized egg should be considered as veg & I (and many more Veg) should consume egg.

    It was an interesting question, I never had thought of this. So I searched on net and of course others too did it. The argument was won by Abhijit in the process of egg fertilization. My mind was running in different direction when I read the production process or making of an egg! If you want the drift read how egg production happens (inside a chicken!) here.

    Hens are like gumball machine (as the author of the blog calls it), popping eggs every 25 hours. Hen keeps on producing eggs through its process of ovulation, where Ovum is released to infundibulum, to magnum, to isthmus and to shell glands. The most surprising and disappointing part comes here at shell gland. The white shell which we see in egg is made by not either the diet (ok that is good) or by procuring enough calcium from the hen’s body. Yes, calcium is taken from hen’s body e.g. bones if enough calcium is not consumed by it. Just imagine daily this hen is producing egg and if enough calcium is not in its diet it is decomposing its body to produce the egg.

    Now let us think about hens as human, poultry farm as world economy (well I want to say this but still want to mince the words) and owners of poultry farm are the few who are heading World Bank, IMF, Banks and politicians. They perhaps do not care about what happens to the hen what they want is their egg next day. Oh yes, the owner of poultry farm does health check-up, takes care of sanitation & cheks quality of feed (equivalent of running education and development programs), but its as good a guess of yours as mine – for what?

    Making of shell of an egg and effectively the whole DAILY process of production of egg made me think of humans as the chicken. We are burning our lives (ask chicken uses its bones); why to make the economy work! An economy which is judged by GDP, share market growth and value of money et al. and who is at the core of it all? The Pseudo-owners or the proprietor of the economy of the world!

    Abhijit helped me learn that Veg people can eat eggs which isn’t fertile as that does not have life in it & it could be called similar to any dairy produce.

    Image source http://blogs.economictimes.indiatimes.com/AgroCommodities/54197/