Hope in Times of Gloom

Indian stock market indices like the Sensex are doing cartwheels of joy, after hearing about the reforms that were announced over the last week. This is actually like an Oktoberfest of our own.

It is without a doubt because of the 1991 reforms that we are a strong country today. But for them, we would have been in the depths of despair, and probably hungry, disintegrated and disoriented. The ability to market these and more would probably see our economy grow at a fair clip in the next two decades.

With gloom pervading the European and American markets, this is our chance to show the world that we can lead it for a change. Let's do it!

S&P's US Downgrade and the Sensex

I think there is a need to applaud the courage shown by Standard & Poor's in downgrading the AAA Sovereign Rating of the US. I can imagine the tremendous pressure on them not to do so, but there is a limit to everything. You can imagine the condition India would have found itself in, had our Reserve Bank acted like the others in the developed world (particularly the US), and not had a strict control on our banks and financial systems in the last crisis. Most of the rating agencies were to blame for the last derivatives-led recession or collapse of financial markets. They are there to do a job, and they must do it. The consequences are not their problem. The consequences of NOT doing their job would be far worse.

What will happen now is anybody's guess. But regardless of what does happen, at least S&P's can hold its head high.