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Indians Retire sooner than Japanese, Claim Double the Paid Leave to Chinese !

Viral Dholakia — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 09:19:51 +0000

While surfing social networking platform G+, today I stumbled across some really interesting piece of statistical data on Ken’s page with regards to crucial trends in finance for Indian and overseas market.

One such aspect, the ‘Retirement Age’, is widely analyzed in the world of finance – as most of the goals in lieu of an individual’s investment decisions are based on this crucial viewpoint; whereas, for organizations, it has cascading effects on their employment plans and post-retirement benefits.

In India, while the qualifying age for Senior citizens has been reduced from 65 years to 60 years during the Budget 2011-12, the government now seems to be in mood to extend the retirement age of all central government employees by two years – from 60 years to 62 years – in order to reduce burden on the fiscal by the said deferment.

Longest Wait for Retirement

[Source: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development]

The above graph shows how many years an average 24-year-old worker can expect to work until retirement at the current average retirement age – in short, the waiting period for retirement age to be reached by a worker in mid-twenties.

While a young Indian has to wait for 39-years to reach retirement age, it is much lesser than his counterpart in Tokyo (44 years) and Washington (43 years). Surprisingly, the citizens of Greece, which is brewing under debt troubles, have to toil for only 36-years to reach their peak working period.

Next contentious issue is ‘Paid Leave’ – without clubbing it with federally declared paid holidays in the final calculations. The purpose of paid leave is to grant freedom to employees to leave upon request in order to have necessary rest and recuperation of energy, to spend the quality time with near-and-dear ones or make provision for emergencies in life.

Classic examples of paid leave include vacation time, sick leave, bereavement leave and maternity leave amongst others. However, most companies define what kind of familial relationship is required in case of claiming bereavement leave.

Most Paid Leave

[Sources: Interviews with countries' embassy representatives]

From interviews with embassy representatives of various countries, Indian employees get 12 days of paid leave, as compared to the highest proportion of 25 paid off days enjoyed by its counterparts in Sweden. On the other hand, Chinese employees get to claim only 5 days of paid leave based on their stricter job standards.

In my opinion, we should take the data on paid leave in India with a pinch of salt – as we all know the number of public holidays out of festivities is more than overwhelming in number, as compared to any other country.

For instance, the calendar year 2012 will bring in almost 20 public holidays in India, whereas Chinese and Americans will barely be able to claim half that number of publicly off days during the year.

Having said that, one another survey had rated India as 7th most hard-working nation of the world, in terms of its full-time workers using their allotted paid holidays.

Growing Asian Affluence: India & China Have More Affluent People Than Major European Countries!

Ankit Agarwal — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 05:57:00 +0000

The global economic recession in later part of 2008 hit all economies negatively and there was nothing positive to write home about. However, if there was one positive that emerged from the crisis it was the emergence of Asia as a economic powerhouse.

Countries like India and China for long have been touted as emerging economies with high growth potential but the same gained visibility post 2008 where these two economies were quick to recover even as the developed economies like U.S. continued to suffer.

The financial markets in the developed economies become highly unstable and continue to do so. Amidst all the chaos, investors looked towards Asia as a safe haven and the businesses in Asia saw an inherent opportunity to accelerate their growth when others were reeling under economic pressures.

The economic prosperity of Asian countries like China and India have in turn resulted in increasing the affluence of these nations significantly. Market research firm TNS in its latest study of Global Affluence has uncovered the growing affluence of India and China in the recent times.

The study reveals how the number of affluent has risen in India and China even though majority of world’s wealthy are from the west

Despite the unstable economy, U.S. continues to be the home to the world’s most wealthy with 31 Mn wealthy households (TNS defines wealthy / affluent household as the ones with more than $100,000 in investable assets).

The study also highlights:

The number of affluent households in India and China are pegged at 3 million each. With this, the number of affluent in India and China have overtaken the number of wealthy households in some of the major European countries like UK (2.9 Mn), Germany (2.5 Mn) and France (2.7 Mn)
India and UAE are in the top 5 countries where the wealthy have more than $1 Mn investable assets. Singapore, Hong Kong are also part of this list demonstrating the increasing affluence in Asia
The study also reveals the contrasts in concentration of wealth in various nations. In countries like India and China, majority of wealth is concentrated among a small set of households. Benchmarked as incidence of affluence, while 27% of the U.S. households are wealthy only around 1% of Indian and Chinese households are wealthy. This is a sign of the uneven distribution of wealth among different nations
There is a great contrast between the demographics of affluent people across the globe. Men seem to dominate the decision making in affluent households in India (80%) and Central Europe (79%), equality seems to be the order of the day in the US with 45% men being at the helm of decision making in affluent households. It is heartening to see the increasing clout of women with decision making powers in the U.S. . Wonder if the balance will be restored in India in the coming years
The study also reveals investment patterns in various geographical regions. For instance, affluent people in China, India and Germany like to invest in precious metals but folks in Sweden, Norway, Denmark etc. invest marginally in precious metals and rather prefer to invest in bonds

Like with all surveys, the findings may not be completely conclusive but TNS seems to have taken a rather large sample of 12,000 people across 24 markets which lends some weight to these findings. It is interesting to see the differences in both the wealth distribution as well as the mode of investments across different nations.

What are your thoughts on the wealth distribution across the globe? The findings on India’s affluent does suggest that even as the rich become more richer, there is a positive trend that more and more people are working their way to riches?

Precious Metal Investments: Gold vs. Silver vs. Platinum [Comparison]

Viral Dholakia — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 10:43:11 +0000

For a layman, the brilliant gleam of platinum, silver and white gold is hard to differentiate apart, just by the virtue of observation. But, with the gold prices soaring sky-high, for those who prefer something other than the traditional gold for jewellery purposes, these three metals can come to your rescue for the metallic silver gleam that they provide to the settings.

Platinum vs. Silver vs. White Gold

While silver is a highly ductile and malleable metal with a white metallic luster that can take high degree of polish, it also gets tarnished when it is exposed to air or water. Among metals, pure silver has the highest thermal conductivity and lowest contact resistance of any metal.

On the other hand, white gold is a blend of pure gold and other metal alloys, which overrides the yellow tone of gold to let the silver color emerge. The difference in color between yellow and white gold is determined by the metals used in the alloy mix.

Lastly, platinum is (usually) the most valuable of the three metals; and is said to be THIRTY times rarer than gold. While gold is perceived as a monetary asset, platinum is most well known as an industrial metal but still serves as economic store of value for more than a century now.

Platinum’s industrial ties and thinly-traded market makes it more susceptible to erratic moves led by recessionary slowdowns. Despite having store of value, this sharp contrast has left platinum prices to dust, when compared with the safe-haven characteristic of gold.

While an ounce of gold can be mined from three tons of ore, it is much tougher to produce platinum as it takes ten tons of ore going by the rarity of the white shiny metal. Platinum is also gaining its sheen amongst the jewellery consumers in India, due to its relatively moderate rise in prices.

Psychology towards Platinum in India

So, why is consumption demand for platinum low in India, despite the metal being rarer than gold by thirty times?

Since ancient times, Indians have valued precious metals like gold and silver, but not platinum. Why? Because platinum did not exist, exclusively, then. Rather, a more correct way would be to say that platinum did not boast of discovery / usage pattern, say, before three centuries from now. So, our ancestors had little choice to choose between precious metals then.

But, times have changed now, and they can buy platinum but still they aren’t too gung-ho on the prospects of the white metal. Why? Read on:

1) People follow past tradition/culture or back their forefather’s decision to buy gold during the times of crisis.

2) Platinum is similar in color to silver. Ordinary people can not differentiate between silver, platinum and white gold. That’s why, in India, white gold and platinum are not famous. People do not trust what they don’t know or are half informed about. But in case of gold, 90% of people can differentiate between gold and brass by its sheer weight and other widely known features.

3) Another explanation as to why people do not trust platinum is similar to that of evaluation dynamics in diamond. A majority of ordinary people can not differentiate diamonds from ordinary glass. There are many factors effecting diamonds like 3Cs (clarity, color, cut). It takes professionals to tell the difference. That’s why though people from ancient times knew diamonds are more valuable, they never bought them in times of crisis.

4) Platinum is usually perceived as an expensive and premium metal. But, during marriage occasions, even rich parents do not buy platinum jewellary, despite the metal having the characteristics of status symbol and considerate snob value.

5) The fact that platinum is on par with gold now itself is proof that people are buying gold in these times of crisis, and not platinum.

Platinum Prices vs Gold Prices

Today, gold prices are trading at a premium to platinum as macro insecurities have driven safe-haven investments in the yellow shiny metal. Further, if precious metal analysts are to be believed gold is likely to continue its momentum and outpace its cousin as fears over the global economic outlook keeps investors on edge.

[Image source]

The Gold-to-Platinum ratio – which measures how many gold ounces are needed to buy an ounce of platinum – has been sliding sharply from 1.24:1 at the start of the year to 0.98:1, now. Platinum is used as a catalyst in factories and automobiles (catalytic converters in cars) apart from its usage in electric, chemical and petroleum industries.

Some market pundits believe that emergence of China as global power hub has been a major savior for the industrial demand of platinum, amidst weakened economies of the West. On the supply side, the car manufacturing industry in Japan is trying to catch up with production more rapidly after earthquake this year, even as the US auto demand remains tepid knocked by dip in consumer demand.

Looking at the way the gold prices have surged sky-high, now outpacing platinum prices, the shine of the white metallic luster seems to be losing its allure. Whether or not gold is in bubble zone is a separate matter of debate; but many wise men have rated platinum prices as under-valued, with the prospects of third round of quantitative easing (QE3) looming large on the horizon.

Further, the CPM group has released a long-term outlook for the platinum group metals to reach, and retain, historical highs for the next decade on the back of robust investment demand from the automotive industries especially from China and supply concerns on account of wage increases and shortage of skilled labor in South Africa, a major source of raw platinum ore.

According to Platinum 2011, the platinum market in 2010 showed a very small surplus of just 20,000 ounces. Global supplies of the white gleam rose by just 35000 ounces in 2010 to 6.06m ounces; and the industrial demand for the metal jumped 48pc to 1.69m ounces. The growth of new consumer-driven technologies and applications such as LED backlit TVs is expected to result in accelerated demand for the platinum group metals.

So, is it time for Platinum to make a come back in front of the Gold?

China to Play a Larger Role at IMF – The Dragon is Roaring!

Ankit Agarwal — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 11:59:38 +0000

If you think China stands for cheap electronic knock-offs, think again! China is fast emerging as a global economic powerhouse. The most populous country has come a long way from being an extremely close economy to a one that the world now takes notice of.

In what could be a further testimony to China’s growing economic clout, IMF chief Christine Lagarde has hinted at placing a Chinese executive at a senior position at IMG. Speculations are that,

Min Zhu, a Chinese national who was a special advisor to Dominique Strauss-Kahn, is expected to fill a new deputy managing director post to be created by Lagarde

It is noteworthy that Christine Lagarde went all out in seeking support for her candidature for the post of IMF chief. She even took to social networking for increasing visibility and engagement during the election process. One critical part of her promotion campaign was garnering the support of emerging economies.

Where India did not lend complete support, she personally visited other countries including China to seek support. Further, she also suggested at improving participation of emerging countries in IMF as a testament to the growing economic power of these nations. A few days into the job and she seems to be acting on her promises.

Representation in a decision making role at IMF will be a feather in the cap for China. Despite a slight loss of investor interest in emerging economies, investor community continues to stay bullish on China.

China’s dominance in the manufacturing segment is no secret. China has already established itself as an industrial hub in many segments. It is even the largest automobile (light vehicles) market outperforming the US itself. However, China has kept pace with the changing market dynamics and has expanded into other growth area. For instance, China has been making giant strides in the outsourcing segment and the English speaking population has been constantly increasing in China.

Given numerous similarities between India and China, comparisons are always made between the two countries especially on economic prosperity and attractiveness as a business destination. India sure has its advantages but if the events since the last 3-4 years are to go by, China seems to winning the race hands on. The dragon is roaring and soaring and the world is taking notice!!

What are your thoughts on increasing clout of China as a nation? Could it have negative impact on India or would China’s prosperity result in positives for India and other emerging countries?

Are Emerging Markets Losing Their Sheen?

Ankit Agarwal — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 05:09:00 +0000

The title might sound a tad extreme but despite all the positive growth signs in Emerging Markets, there is a possibility wherein the emerging markets could face roadblocks going forward.

It is no surprise that emerging markets were the fastest to recover from the economic crisis in 2008 that engulfed the world. Economies in the Asia-Pacific and Latin American region grew the fastest in the period after the recession and continue to grow at a healthier rate.

Indian economy itself grew rather well partly helped by the fiscal stimulus provided by the government. Even in the longer term, emerging markets are expected to grow faster than the developed countries albeit the growth is expected to slow down a bit. According to World Bank,

Economic growth in developing countries will slow to 6.3 per cent in 2011 from 7.3 per cent in 2010

However, Investor sentiments seem to suggest a deviation in the focus towards emerging markets. Investors pulled out $220 Mn from emerging market equity funds last week sending mild distress signals.

Even though the week ended June 1 saw inflows of $820 mln in emerging market equity funds, these funds recorded three outflows in four weeks which could be a negative trend for emerging markets.

Investor community is apparently skeptical of the rising inflation in emerging markets like India and they expect the rising inflation to put brakes on the economy growth.

India Inc. seems to have suffered the most witnessing outflows for the sixth week in continuation. The high inflation has become a cause of worry for India as the authorities struggle to balance industry growth and inflation.

The IIP data suggested significant decline suggesting that the fiscal-policies tightening be re-considered. The tightening of fiscal policies however is required to tame inflation and this has put the regulators in a tough spot. Fiscal policies which can balance growth and inflation are a need of the hour especially in India.

With the possibility of 100 bps rate hike in India, the growth story of India as an emerging market may not appear too bright for the investors.

Further, rising inflation is a concern in pretty much all emerging markets like China, Latin America etc. Despite the fact that these economies are performing relatively better than India at the moment, there are concerns that fiscal policies in these countries need much refinement if these markets are to maintain their growth rate.

The global economic climate itself does not appear too positive and effects of this are expected to pass down to emerging markets as well to a certain extent. With economies in the developed countries still sluggish, emerging markets are key drivers for global economy as well.

Investors pulling out money from emerging market funds could be a short-term aberration but it could very turn into a negative trend for growth prospects of emerging markets. The overall perception of emerging markets continues to remain positive but inflationary concerns are making investors wary.

I don’t have an answer to the inflation conundrum but I hope the regulators and the concerned authorities are able to come up with policies which help tame inflation without comprising on the industry growth.

What are your thoughts on the emerging markets growth story. Could fund outflows be a minor blip on the growth radar of emerging economies or it could become a serious problem going forward?

BRICS Summit: Emerging economies sideline US Dollar!

Viral Dholakia — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 11:49:53 +0000

Brazil, Russia, South Africa, India and China – the leaders of all five emerging market economies met on the margins of the BRICS Summit in China to discuss their role in world affairs, energy and food security challenges, climate changes and hardening commodity prices.

Sidelining US Dollar!

Furthermore, the role of dollar in global finance and commerce hit a trough, with the BRICS club of five developing nations signing an agreement to extend credit and grants in their own currencies, in a bid to overcome deficiencies of current monetary order; thus bypassing dependence on the predominant US dollar.

This is what Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had to say:

“Our designated banks have signed a framework agreement on financial cooperation which envisages grant of credit in local currencies and cooperation in capital markets and other financial service.”

Image Source

Growing BRIC by BRIC!

The group of world’s fastest growing economies also called for changes to the global financial system, urging IMF to expand its use of Special Drawing Rights. At the same time, they also insisted to push open the top positions in the World Bank and IMF to reflect the changes in the world economy and representation of emerging markets.

Alleviating disputes with China!

For the PM Manmohan Singh, the tour started off on a right note with China’s decision to drop its stapled visa policy for Indians belonging to J&K, just ahead of the summit. Both the countries have been on divergence with each other on visa policy for residents of so-called disputed regions and growing bilateral trade deficit issues.

Allaying fears of Nuclear disaster!

The recent Fukushima nuclear power plant accident in Japan had raised concerns over safety issues and feasibility of nuclear energy for the mankind. With this regard, India and Russia has agreed to review safety measures and incorporate additional features in reactor technology and related fields for their ongoing nuclear cooperation programs.

Wanted: Cease-fire at Libya!

Among other concerns, the five big emerging powers also expressed misgivings about turbulence in the Middle East and NATO-led air strikes in Libya, calling for an immediate cease-fire in Libya which has led to humanitarian crisis in the country and added global uncertainty.

Can BRICS economies grow strength hand-to-hand from hereon?

India & China – Comparison of two Asian Giants

Viral Dholakia — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 04:58:00 +0000

In the Indian cricket team, both Sehwag and Gambhir are prolific opening batsmen. But, when Sehwag is on the song, Gambhir’s performance is almost over-shadowed by his partner’s fast-paced innings.

But, both the players gel-up very well while running between the wickets and mutual understanding. They set the tone of the Indian innings by showing controlled aggression between themselves and a building a firm base for the Team India.

However, Gambhir immediately joins the party once he settles down and gets the measure of the wicket. Furthermore, this provides opportunity to Sehwag to calm down post power-play session and pace his innings for a longer haul.

This is how Indo-China relationship is currently stacked up. China led the way (like Sehwag) with its decade of scorching growth rate; over-shadowing India’s slow and steady growth prospects (like Gambhir).

However, just when the Chinese economy was getting over-heated, the People’s Bank of China slammed the brakes on its scoring rate; thus, passing on the baton of illuminating the world economy to India by taking over the driver’s seat.

In a nutshell, both China and India have to gel-up to emerge as two giants that will firmly buttress the world’s economy in the coming century by preparing themselves for a second wave of growth in aftermath of the global financial crisis, says a report on China-India Comparison – An examination of 2011 Direction and Developments.

Key Findings of the Comparison Report between India and China

India catching up with Chinese economy

India is currently in the phase of growth as explained by Gambhir’s position above. The country has just started to come in lime-light and its growth patterns have mirrored that of China’s at an average of about 8% annually until the financial crisis hit. India’s economy currently is in 12^th position, and is likely to break into global top 10 in terms of size. By 2030, India will have overtaken China both in terms of population and GDP growth rates.

The Indo-China bilateral trade has grown significantly since 2005, except for the crisis-hit year 2009. Chinese imports of Indian goods fell 26.6% more than Indian imports of Chinese goods. The inequality of trade has led to tension as Indian manufacturers have to surpass the rout of low-cost Chinese goods.

Tax Structures

Both India and China have done fairly well when it comes to tax structures and other central and regional levies within the country. Moreover, India is on the cusp of landmark tax reform, especially in indirect taxes through introduction of GST.

While China did away with preferential tax incentives largely available to foreign investors in free trade zones, with unification of tax base in 2008; India has shored-up tax incentives in special economic zones to gives its infrastructure sector a much-needed boost.

The Manufacturing Hub

Morgan Stanley had reported that China’s rapidly aging population, followed by its one-child policy, is set to dramatically shrink its workforce and effectively pass the baton to India as the world’s manufacturing hub. Moreover, China is becoming a consumer market to sell to, rather than a global manufacturing hub.

Also, the World Bank’s prediction that China’s GDP growth will fall to 7.7% in 2015 and by 6.7% by 2020, highlights the cause of concerns that could slowdown the dragon’s growth. Morgan Stanley expects India’s growth to surpass China’s growth two years from now.

The Government Intervention

While a vast majority of China’s growth comes from state-owned companies, India’s economic miracle can be largely attributed to its private sector story. Having said this, even India’s state-owned companies are gradually logging change from its conventional business model hit by red-tapism.

China’s state-owned and subsidized model has led to unfair competition and frequent government interventions paving way for difference in decision making and executive talent within the two countries.

The City to reckon with

The stage is set where India-China comparisons are inevitable in any form of demographic analysis. The report finds that though Shanghai is referred as China’s financial center, it seriously lags Mumbai in terms of financial maturity, profitability, and ability to deliver dividends to shareholders.

The Business Environment

In China, the business hubs are already established and running with efficient administration in place. However, India isn’t up to China standards yet when it comes to development and execution of large-scale projects including infrastructure solutions.

But, on the other hand, even China is facing certain headwinds such as increase in labor unrest and strikes due to protectionist policies. The same also applies to social media and internet interventions administered by the Chinese government. Even the levels of corruption is different in both the places – with that at China being more of disguised as favors and connections; rather than in the form of ‘baksheesh’ that is prevalent in India.

So, where are India and China headed from here?

Can India replicate Chinese model of creating Manufacturing hubs?

Viral Dholakia — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 08:37:49 +0000

First things first – India is, now, one of the top 10 industrial nations of the world with a 1.5% share in manufacturing value added (MVA), according to the International Yearbook of Industrial Statistics 2011 report.

While the MVA of industrialized countries grew by 3.4% in 2010; that of developing economies progressed with a robust 9.4% growth. Even as India’s high growth of industrial production has made significant impact in its share of globally manufactured goods, a bitter fact remains that India still lags considerably when it comes to the voluminous manufactured exports from China.

Someone has rightly said that China is the world’s manufacturing hub. Moreover, this tag has not come by default – there was a strategic plan somewhere, which accounted for the principle of acceleration in manufacturing goods; better known as mega manufacturing hubs.

China’s rapid penetration into industrial markets accounted for significant migration of global manufacturing capacity to the mainland, backed by rapid move towards capital-intensive and high-technology industries – rendering its goods cheaper and most competitive globally.

On the other hand, manufacturing in India has been plagued by draconian laws, inefficient infrastructure facilities, land acquisition controversies, regulatory hurdles and various other bottlenecks to the path of industrial growth.

However, some trade analysts are of the view that China’s rapid aging population and one-child policy is set to dramatically shrink its workforce and allow India to take it over as world’s manufacturing powerhouse sometime in future.

Better late than never – now, even the Indian government is mulling creation of manufacturing hubs, in line with the model adopted by China to boost its manufacturing sector, by fast tracking the National Manufacturing and Investment Zones (NMIZs) spread over 2000 hectares.

The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion aims to create massive employment opportunities, catalyze industrial growth and sustainable development in India through tax incentives, single-window clearance policy and flexible labor laws. These NMIZs are envisaged as bigger than SEZs, covering states and even groups of states and facilitating world-class infrastructure facilities.

During the Union Budget 2011-12, Pranab Mukherjee had targeted India’s share of manufacturing in GDP to grow from 16% currently to 25% over the next decade, powered by the new manufacturing policy.

So, I want your frank view, from the core of your heart, can India really replicate the Chinese model of creating manufacturing hubs?

Introducing Mandarin in India! – Would they teach Hindi there?

Aseem Rastogi — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 04:37:44 +0000

Our politicians are coming up with new and weird ideas by the day. Kapil Sibal would surely go down in the history of Indian politics as one of the most active education ministers in terms of work. When I say active, I mean that he has continuously come up with new ideas and reforms and made sure these ideas turned into reality.

Whether the ideas / reforms have been successful or unsuccessful is a different question altogether :) Many of his moves like having a single entrance exam for medical students and abolishing board exams have been ridiculed and praised in equal measure.

But one of his most recent ideas seem to have reached the limit of stupidity. He made this statement in the media yesterday.

"China is our powerful neighbor and emerging as a biggest consumer of global resources. We cannot wish it away. The best way to introduce China in India is to introduce its language at primary level so that our kids develop interest and knowledge about China”

If anyone thinks that this does not border on ridiculousness, please comment…

Some of the other points mentioned by him include –

Training a large number of Indian teachers to acquire the language skills to make it part of the syllabus
Making it part of the CBSE curriculum

The only reason he has given to introduce Mandarin is that China is a growing consumer of resources and “We cannot wish it away”.

But there are a lot of reasons which point to the fact that introducing Mandarin in India is not beneficial – There are many more important issues such as Kashmir, Aksai Chin, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim etc. to solve before engaging into such soft diplomacy confidence building measures.

Chinese have always tried to be one up on us whenever any matter is concerned be it international policy issues or outsourcing jobs from the US. Introducing Mandarin in our country is an indication that we are trying to keep them happy even though they do anything they want

Mandarin is spoken by the largest speaking population in the world. For that matter Hindi comes at 5th place in that list. But will China even remotely consider introducing it in their country?…I think not!

Chinese use such tactics to gain access to the whole world and make it their backyard and we Indians are sadly falling prey to this game. Why do we have to be so accommodating and keep pleasing anyone and everyone?

Before introducing Mandarin, Mr Sibal should make sure if not Hindi, at least everyone knows proper English in our country.

Instead of spending tax–payers hard earned money, the Indian government should spend money in the education sector to make the students learn English, Hindi and their local language.

But is anyone listening?

Do you think introducing Mandarin in India is the right move by our government?

P.S- Can anyone tell what is written in Chinese in the image :)