Yoga Wars India Blocks Patents on Poses.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2010/08/23/129381241/india-yoga-patents-html

This NPR Piece highlights the issues faced by Indian officials who are working to protect ancient Yoga poses. They are compiling information about Yoga practices that go back for thousands of years to be included in the Traditional Knowledge Digital Library. This information will be sent to patent offices around the world in order to insure that these practices cannot be legally patented.

"Yoga is collective knowledge and is available for use by everybody no matter what the interpretation," the head of the digital library told the WaPo. "...we wanted to ensure that, in the future, nobody will be able to claim that he has created a yoga posture which was actually already created in 2500 B.C. in India."

This is an example of ways to insure that traditional ideas and practices can be protected from commodification in a globalized economic system which would attempt to assign a monetary value to nearly everything.

Dominique Brown

Mercedes-Benz expanding in India

Mercedes-Benz expanding into India

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/mercedes-benz-to-extend-finance-arm-to-india/409943/

Daimler Financial Services (DFS), the financial arm of Mercedes-Benz will be moving into India pending some approvals from authorities. They will be focusing on finance and leasing, dealer financing and insurance to private customers, dealers and groups. DFS has already been active within the used car market but will be moving into financing and backing of new vehicle to expand their luxury car brand in India.

I think that this is an important article because it shows how India’s economic system has been growing through a commercial product like luxury cars. Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Ahmedabad already has a pre-owned operation but in the “second phase,” Mercedes-Benz they will be launching operations in Pune, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Kolkata and Jalandhar. I just found it interesting that for an economy that has had such a hard time that now a luxury vehicles expanding across the country.

India’s Economy Accelerated in Quarter By VIKAS BAJAJ

Unbelievably, in a time of slowing growth and growing unemployment in developed countries, India boasted of an economic growth rate of 8.8% in Q2 2010 and 8.6% in Q1 2010. The Indian government said that they would like to push the economy’s growth rate up to 9% and eventually 10%. The push for such dramatic growth is driven by the need to alleviate poverty and increase job opportunities for its young population. It is reported that half of India’s population is 25 or younger.

With such high growth potential foreign businesses have invested in the country’s market place. For example, Ford, Nissan and Volkswagen have significantly expanded production capacity in India as car sales climbed 38% in July 2010. While the growth rate potential of India is similar to China, India’s economy is a bit different in that their growth has been driven by domestic consumption. Some articles have named India’s domestic consumption and government fiscal policies as reasons why the country has been far more insulated from the global economic recession.

While the growth rate is quite impressive, inflation still remains as a side effect of such growth. Food, energy and other basic needs have experienced a 10% increase in wholesale prices in recent months. It is expected that the Reserve Bank of India will continue to raise interest rates as inflation continues to rise.

India & Its Economy: The Latest Article in The Economist

To piggie-back off of Maria & Megan's posts, I offer you this article just posted by The Economist: http://www.economist.com/node/17147648

This article looks at the general state of India's economy and then, like the other posts, compares it to China's. Despite all the disfunction that the Commonwealth Games brought to the surface, India's economy is expected to grow by 8.5% this year. While it will take awhile for India to "outpace" China, this articles explains that India's workforce and its democratic political structure makes it a hot economic contender to China. Remember, China has a one-child policy that will soon hurt its country as China's population ages. Secondly, sure, there are pros as it relates to productivity in having a centralized government like China does. But, democracy encourages a strong private sector that is entrepreneurial and innovative, making it a strong global economic contestant.

Americans, like many of us, know that our position as a world "superpower" may be waning. INDIA, CHINA, Russia, Brazil...these economies are now contending for greater and greater power in this increasingly globalized world. But, do we - educated citizens - know why these economies are rivaling each other? Do we know the strengths each one brings to the global market? Here we are traveling to one of the largest, growing economies in the world.

Prostitution

While Indian ministers scramble to get everything ready for the Commonwealth Games, another issue has arisen - a large number of girls have been hired by escort services for the games, according to Impulse NGO Network.

A large number of agencies have hired workers for the Games, but some of the ads the newspapers that promise great pay are really fronts for prostitution rings. Impulse estimates that 40,000 girls have been falsly recuited for such services, though the number can't be confirmed. The nonprofit estimates that about 15,000 girls have disappeared, never to return home, over the past 10 years due to these types of scams.

The Indian government is very concerned about giving the thousands of worldwide visitors attending the Games a positive image of India. It is unfortunate that a large event like the Games gives those in the illegal sex trade an opportunity to make more money, and is taking advange of thousands of girls in the process. India still has a long way to go to address this issue.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11441205

Pollination crisis' hitting India's vegetable farmers

'Pollination crisis' hitting India's vegetable farmers

The first sentence of this article hits the nail on the head, “A decline in pollinating insects in India is resulting in reduced vegetable yields and could limit people’s access to a nutritional diet, a study warns.” (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11418033)

In the United States and parts of Europe, we are experiencing the same phenomena as bees are dying by the millions and no one can put a finger on exactly what is killing them. Many factors are to blame; pesticides, switching the queen bees from their colonies, transporting the colonies thousands of miles (causes stress on the bees), parasites, etc…

In India, the use of domesticated bees isn’t as common as in the US. So the question of causality remains unanswered. This is disconcerting because of the population of 1.2 billion people, many of which are reliant on food programs. While grains remain the major crop in India, and these types rely on the wind being the pollinator, many rural farmers (such as those of WOTR) would rely on insect pollinators for their vegetables. Would this mean that without their own crop yields in rural areas, the people will be subjected to migrate to the cities in search of work in order to feed their families? It will certainly create a change in diet, as the first sentence of the article suggests. With malnutrition already a concern in India, this is definitely something to keep an eye on……

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11418033

India Maoists release police hostages

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11450500

On September 19, Maoist rebels, also referred to as Naxalites, abducted seven policemen in Bijapur, Chhattisgarh state. Three were found dead and four were released late Thursday night, being handed over to local journalists. The article explains that the Maoist offensive in several states is seen as India's biggest internal security challenge. However, it does not receive a large amount of media coverage worldwide.

The Maoists claim that they are fighting for the rights of the poor, but they have actually disrupted and ruined the lives of thousands of poor tribespeople and villagers who have been caught in the middle of the crossfire and forced to move to camps or, even worse, been killed by the rebel fire.

I also found the article below explaining that in April 2010, the Indian government launched a major offensive against the Maoist rebels. It is obvious and incredibly unfortunate that the government has not been able to control the growth of the rebels and provide relief to citizens in the area. Some believe that the Maoist control continues to strengthen. A local journalist stated, "This generation is unlikely to see peace in their lifetime. Next generation, maybe." While this is one of many complex problems that the Indian government is faced with, it must remain a critical focus of their security efforts. An entire generation giving up hope should never be an option.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8608192.stm