Byapaar.com -The Indian Business Blog

It has been almost two weeks that the biggest and most heinous terror attack on Indian soil had ended. Life is slowly coming back to normal. But the post mortem and ghost hunting will continue for a long time to come. Here, I will try to express my views on roles played by the media.

I was watching the Mumbai carnage on T.V. Suddenly the channel switched to broadcast a news conference called by the Indian government where a government spokesman had to appeal to the media (especially the electronic media i.e. TV) not to show everything live live as intelligence sources suggested that terrorists were getting wind of rescue moves by security forces well before they were actually being carried out. After the news conference was over, the channel switched back to the war zone and resumed live broadcasting. It was seen that hundreds of journalists - both from electronic and print media were jostling for the best coverage while commandos were seen getting ready to fire from their mortars at a particular target and the cameraman following the target and showing a very close picture of the same using the advanced zoom. No wonder, terrorists could see where the attacks were coming from and what was the target as the correspondent was explaining everything clearly for the viewers.

No wonder a great commercial move as it had the audience glued to the screen.

The question is, is it responsible journalism especially when those heinous terrorists were taking advantage of the live TV broadcasting? There was a time when the media used to practice restraint, act as keeper of Read the rest of this entry »

Its so surreal – almost as if I was watching a Hollywood or Hong Kong flick! When I opened the TV yesterday to get myself updated on happenings around the country – I was shocked to hear live gunshots and police personnel moving around Mumbai streets with their firearms firing at something. Before I understood something – I saw India’s premiere train station Victoria Terminus being attacked by terrorists. Two other seven star hotels ( The Taj Mahal Hotel & Oberoi Grand) also came under attack. As news agencies rushed into the spot- reports of more attacks poured in thick and fast and it seemed Mumbai was transformed into a battle-ground. I could not help but remember the live scenes of World Trade Center towers burning on 7/11.

Mumbai has always been the target of terrorists as it is the financial and business capital of the country handling around 50 percent of India’s overall trade and also 48 percent of international arrivals. It is also a favorite with foreign tourists and CEOs of multinational companies much like New York.

As I write this post, I can see live images of hotels burning, commandos exchanging fire and ambulances rushing to hospitals. Till now, there were terrorist attack on 10 places, over hundred people including 7 foreigners and 15 security personnel have died and many people are being held hostage by terrorists at the Oberoi tower. It is reported that around 25 terrorists came by a Vietnam registered boat from Karachi, Pakistan.

Although the Maharashtra government has called in 800 military personnel and 200 special unit commandos (National Security Guards who are the top most commando unit in the country) along with undisclosed number s of Navy commandos, still there is no report of the battle subsiding. Officially the government maintains that there will be no negotiations or talks with the terrorists, but media reports suggest that talks are being held. The government’s efforts are also hampered by the fact that terrorists are holding huge number of hostages who apparently are big shots. And the government must give top most priority for the safe release of them.

May the problem get settled quickly without much harm.

First thing first!

Congratulations Mr. Barack Obama for the history making thumping victory and become the first colored President of the United States of America. My best wishes for your successful Presidency. May you make historical judgments in this difficult situation and shape a brighter future not only of America but also the whole world. No wonder the most challenging task by the new US Administration will be to bail out the US economy which is in tatters. It is another matter altogether that Nobel Laurette Dr. Amartya Sen thinks Obama is little bit of a protectionist for comfort!

Amidst this global financial turmoil and looming recession, countries around the world are trying to make the impact as less painful as they can. In a recent G20 (a group of developed and emerging economies that represent almost 90 percent of the world economy) meeting finance ministers, advisers and central bank governors of the member countries gathered and tried to find a solution in the Brazilian city of Sao Paolo. The US is again mulling a proposal of $700 billion bailout bill which was not approved by the congress initially. China has already announced a plan worth to the tune of $600 billion to stimulate the economy by supporting domestic demand. The European Union is not far behind. More is expected to come out a the following G20 summit in Washington in a couple of days time from today

So what has been the impact here in India and what is it doing?

Well, due to the nature of Indian economy which has been a closed one till few years back and only recently opening to the world slowly but surely, there was little immediate impact in the financial and banking sector. But it has taken its tool on stock trading and export figures. The benchmark indicator, the Bomaby Stock Exchange Sensex has crashed to bellow 10000 mark from a high of 21000 plus in January. The government has already trimmed the expected GDP growth to seven percent while leading consultancy firm Goldman Sachs put the figure at 6.7 percent. These figures are still very good compared to other countries which are already experiencing contraction in their growth rate. The Indian government has also taken measured and responsible steps to thwart the impact of the turmoil. It has already released huge funds in the financial market by way of bringing down interest rates in order to induce demand and thus stimulate and maintain current rate of growth. So, one can hope that India could escape with fewer scars in the immediate future.

On the other hand Indian Inc. is nervous about the long-term impact of the current phenomenon. Ratan Tata, Chairman of the $62 billion Tata Group of Companies has already asked his CEOs to put off new acquisition plans unless it is highly strategic in nature. Software companies like Wipro Ltd. has already made plans to emphasize on the domestic market rather than depend on exports to the US and the EU.

One industry that has taken most of the pinch is the BPO industry. As global financial giants like fall, their outsourcing and call centers which cater to jobs such as credit card processing and factoring loans are in danger of closure. Already, there are media reports that workers in those centers are spending sleepless nights and suffering from depression.

One can only hope that leaders at the G20 summit, where Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh is also attending, find a suitable solution to the crisis.