A Little Math about the Indian Economy

Just some back of the envelope calculations. Figures that I've just begun to take interest in. I wanted to jot some down and put them in perspective.

1% SLR decrease => INR 40,000Cr released in the market.
M3 (money supply) = INR 40 trillion.
With a population of 1 billion => INR 40K per person.
Indian GDP = INR 41 trillion (which probably implies on an average, a Re. changed hands once in the year).

Now the forex (money) market has trading worth $3.8 trillion/day (4-5 X M3!).
But only 0.1% of the above transactions involve INR.

Tons more to know and be bewildered by.

Sensitivity

I just saw an NSD adaptation of "Rama Nama Satya Hai". An absolute tear-jerker. The plot revolves around terminally ill patients in a hospital, some even delusional, all addicted to cheap alcohol and tobacco, some explaining their dreams, others relating their life history. A most no-frills presentation with minimal sets, and in fact, the characters didn't even return to stage to gather applause.

Lack of sensititivity has become a problem in my life. My dreams are full of high rises and exotic resorts, while I can't even see those less fortunate around me, the social barriers prevent me from noticing how life is lived around us. The play was meant to slightly sensitize us, those with selective vision.

Brand name association brings along with it superiority complex, an elitist attitude and a separation from most of the earthlings. Education, employment and consumption revolve around brand value. Sensitizing implies removing all these filters and annotations and returning to basics. Had George Bush stepped out of his Yale dorm room, his Crawford ranch, or the White House, the big wide world could have made more sense to him.

It's a dog's life otherwise. It comes at you fast. One moment you're running an empire, the next you're on a footpath. A dialogue in the drama, by an ex-mafia, hit with AIDS by a bar dancer and terminally ill in the hospital states, "99% of what happens is our calling, we ask for it".

Evolution

I recently saw the TED talk by Ray Kurzweil. It's a much recommended watch. However we study evolution, plot a proxy for evolution (say technology adaptation etc) against time on the logarithmic scale, it shows a linear trend. Basically, we are racing faster and faster into the future. The adage "change is the only constant" will seem more and more true as we tread ahead.

After watching "Madagascar 2" on my sister's recommendation, I got started again on how far ahead animation studios in the US are to rest of the world, and how they are continuously redefining the state-of-the-art in animation technology and story-telling. My sister defended India, by suggesting music here, Hindustani classical, Carnatic, sufi, folk, etc is very rich, expansive, deep and mature. Cuisines here have variety in tastes and complexity in preparations. Textiles and fashion, the cloth, colors, patterns and styles employed in traditional wear suggest similar evolution. They all borrow from and reflect life, land, nature and climate and evolved over much longer periods of time at a pace slower and steadier than today's.

In the future, we'll be bombarded with more and more information. A growing vocabulary and adapting language should capture, at a meta-level, the change we will experience. My sister suggested I capture this thought, hence the blog entry, just click on the above video link to hear the experts.