India gives $5-billion aid to Africa

[Espresso]

Please don't post such 'provocative' images here. It is not in good taste.

what is your problem man you are spoiling almost all of my thread this an kingfisher airlines ad not a provocation jeez

[Haris]

^I am talking about you posting images of women's legs and exposed bodies on a conservatively inclined forum.



I don't have anything against KingFisher airlines lol.

[Espresso]

Odd.

UK was giving India "aid" worth £1 billion and everyone was getting angry about it here.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...ires-have.html

And now India is giving "aid" to Africa.

It would not surprise me if Africa was giving "aid" to other countries.....oh wait! We have a humanitarian mission in Afghanistan courtesy of TheCongo! LOL

wow your pakistani materialistic cold nature is indeed legendary for your convenient enjoy

Pakistan adds zero to huge debt burden
By Syed Fazl-e-Haider

KARACHI - The total debt and liabilities of Pakistan have reached a record 10 trillion rupees (US$117 billion), as the government violated almost all the limits on borrowing imposed in the Fiscal Responsibility and Debt Limitation Act.

Every Pakistani owes more than 57,000 rupees per head to foreign and domestic lenders, compared with 22,000 rupees per head when the present government took over in 2008.

The country this year has to spend almost 900 billion rupees on debt servicing alone, which is five times more than the revised federal development budget. The financing of a large fiscal deficit is forcing the government to rely on borrowing from the central bank and commercial banks, triggering inflation and squeezing the private sector.

Last week, Islamabad sought United States intervention for restoration of the suspended US$11.3 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout program on assurance of implementing the economic reforms agenda.

Local analysts argue that the economy has been dragged to the brink where the nation cannot do away with loans, as there is still no plan in the cards for retiring the debt burden - though the government does have a plan for securing more loans from international lenders.

Pakistan's debt-servicing obligations have been squeezing resources meant for development projects, particularly in the social sector. Over 75% of the 170 million population, particularly in rural areas, live at the highest deprivation level and lowest development level.

Total debts and liabilities touched 10 trillion rupees in September, as the government borrowed more than 5 trillion rupees from domestic sources and about the same amount from international lenders. The government borrowed 271 billion rupees from the IMF for balance of payments support and incurred an exchange loss of 200 billion rupees on the external debt portfolio because of the rupee's depreciation against the US dollar.

The Fiscal Responsibility and Debt Limitation Act of 2005 requires the federal government to take measures to reduce total public debt and maintain it within prudent limits. The government has violated all the five restrictions prescribed under the act.

"The total public debt stood at Rs8.894 trillion as of June 30, 2010, an increase of Rs1.265 billion or 16.6 per cent higher than the debt stock at the end of last fiscal year,” Dawn reported, citing a mandatory debt policy statement for 2010-11 released by the Ministry of Finance this week. "Unless corrective measures on the fiscal and external fronts are adopted and properly implemented, the debt situation of Pakistan may remain vulnerable in the near term," the statement said.

The country's total registered population was 175 million, which means each individual effectively owes up to 57,057 rupees, according to the Federal Bureau of Statistics' population clock as of February 1. That is a huge burden in a country where per capita income last year was the equivalent of $1,040, or 89,000 rupees per year, and more than 40% of the population live well below poverty line

The debt policy statement warns that high public debt can adversely affect capital accumulation and growth via higher long-term interest rates, higher future distortionary taxation, inflation, and greater uncertainty about prospects and policies.

"Sharp rupee depreciation and large budget deficits massively added to the debt stock," The Express Tribune reported Ashfaque H Khan, a former debt director general, as saying.

The IMF has asked Pakistan to act swiftly to reduce its widening budget deficit, for which the fund has yet to come up with an estimate, although some analysts forecast that it will widen to 8% of economic output, as against the 4.7% revised target for the fiscal year that ends in June 2011.

"The challenges that the economy is now facing are essentially around the impact on the economy of the large budget deficit," Reuters reported a senior IMF official as saying. "At the moment, the urgent task is to try and move forward on controlling both spending and also to take action to raise revenues [to reduce the deficit]."

Visiting IMF officials this week could not persuade the main opposition party, the Pakistan Muslim League (N) of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif to vote for approval of the Reformed General Sales Tax (RGST) Bill from parliament, which the IMF considers essential for improving government revenues.

A PML-N delegation led by Punjab chief minister Shahbaz Sharif turned down the IMF request to support the federal government on the RGST, saying that a 10-point economic reform agenda proposed by his party could help reduce the fiscal deficit, according to Business Recorder.

The PML-N told the IMF officials that the party was not against implementation of the RGST and documentation of the economy, but the government first needed to correct the existing tax system. The PML-N asked the government to adopt austerity measures from top to bottom, reduce the size of the cabinet and take necessary measures to plug leakages in the public sector in an effort to control the fiscal deficit.

The IMF team reportedly set three pre-conditions for tangible progress on its stalled $11.3 billion standby program. The Washington-based fund wants Islamabad to introduce the RGST in the current fiscal year, limit government borrowing by strengthening the role of central bank and address losses in the energy sector.

Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Shaikh appealed to US President Barack Obama's senior adviser David Lipton, who visited Islamabad last week, to intervene and help restore the IMF bailout program, which was suspended in July 2010 after the country failed to implement the RGST, carry forward power sector reforms and control the fiscal deficit.

"There is strong belief in the corridors of power that a phone call from David Lipton to the IMF desk is enough for the restoration of the IMF loan program," The Express Tribune reported a senior Finance Ministry official in the external affairs wing as saying.

The government, under pressure from political parties, kept oil prices unchanged from February 1, despite a rise in petroleum prices in the international market.

The Pakistan central bank on January 29 unexpectedly kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 14%, even as inflation accelerated to the fastest pace in Asia.

While unveiling the monitory policy for February and March, the governor of the central bank, Shahid Kardar, blamed the above-15% inflation rate on government borrowing and asked the government to spell out a clear and coherent strategy to limit fiscal slippages. The previous three consecutive rate rises sought to discourage government borrowing, but they proved ineffective in weaning Islamabad off central bank funding.

"Despite high interest rates, the fiscal deficit and borrowings from the banking system are continuing to stoke inflationary pressures," Kardar said at a press conference last week. "All this is impeding economic recovery and increasing the debt burden of the country."

The $168 billion economy is lagging behind as emerging markets from neighboring India to China help lead the global economic rebound from its deepest post-war recession. The government forecasts the economy will expand 2.5% in the year through June, slower than the original target of 4.5%.

Debt servicing has increased by 43% in the past five years to $3.11 billion in 2009-10, up from $2.16 billion in 2005-06. The total external debt increased 49% over the past four years, to $55.62 billion in June 2010 from $37.24 billion in June 2006. After making a payment of $6.03 billion during the past three years, the country still owes $53.7 billion in foreign debt.

The government's debt servicing in 2009-10 consisted of $2.34 billion as payment on principal and $775.45 million as interest.

Critics say that the ruling elite has the "expertise and the experience" of running the country's affairs on loans and donations, while the talk of self-reliance, debt retirement and breaking of begging bowls is merely confined to the fiery speeches of politicians in pre-poll public meetings.

Syed Fazl-e-Haider (Syed Fazl e Haider) is a development analyst in Pakistan. He is the author of many books, including The Economic Development of Balochistan (2004). He can be contacted at sfazlehaider05@yahoo.com.

(Copyright 2011 Asia Times Online (Holdings) Ltd. All rights reserved. Please contact us about sales, syndication and republishing.)
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/MB05Df01.html

[Haris]

wow your pakistani materialistic cold nature is indeed legendary for your convenient enjoy

Are you for real?


If someone states a fact about Israel they are called an anti-semite.

So now if someone states a fact about India they are called a Pakistani?



I have no affiliation with Pakistan at all. You are too blinded by your pro-India agenda to see that.

Every one of your posts on this forum has been concerning India. You only care about Pashtuns if India is somehow involved. I do not care at all about your petty little fued with Pakistan.


Let me say this once and only once for your benefit. I am not pro-Pakistan. I am not pro-India. Your stupid conflicts do not concern me in the slightest.



I would make a concise reply to your statement if it actually made sense.

[Espresso]

Borgza, I am disapointed to see Indian becoming more westernized and the sexualization of females in Indian society. Its sad to see that a great civilization such as India can't resist the pressure of western ideals of materialism. The great hindu philosphers such as Gautama Buddha must be rolling in their graves.

I wish pashtuns never surrender to this type of bigotry and so called "harmless" fun.

sorry if you found it offensive anyways i have deleted the ad

[faye]

india is still the largest aid recipient from what i can find googling. so how does that make sense?
between 37%-55%, about 645 million either poor or living below poverty line which is less than $2 dollars per day.
42.5% of children in india suffer from malnutrition.
the level of poor has increased since 2004, how does that make sense if india is progressing? chinas poor has decreased. if india continues to not look after their own, they can look forward to a nasty revolution and much internall strife.

[KhalsaWarrior]

india is still the largest aid recipient from what i can find googling. so how does that make sense?
between 37%-55%, about 645 million either poor or living below poverty line which is less than $2 dollars per day.
42.5% of children in india suffer from malnutrition.
the level of poor has increased since 2004, how does that make sense if india is progressing? chinas poor has decreased. if india continues to not look after their own, they can look forward to a nasty revolution and much internall strife.

Faye, let me give you a bit of insight into how poverty figures and below poverty line numbers work. Do remember that I am in no way saying we are a rich nation. We indeed do have poverty but its grossly over-estimated.

See poverty figures in India are hard to track and verify since there's so much more to it than what meets the eye. Firstly, in India, whenever govt. officials go door-to-door checking people's assets and poverty numbers, they are almost always fed lower than real income and assets. This is because a higher income would mean that you are above the poverty line and hence not entitled to the govt. benefits that are meant for a poor person. For eg. a BPL family receives grains, cooking oil and other essential supplies at much lower prices from the govt. One is also entitled to loans at lesser interest rates if you're poor. So if you are above the line, you wont get any of these benefits. So families knowing deflate and under-report their income levels to qualify as BPL family. This was also brought out by a recent study where a person masqueraded as a survey guy and enquired about income levels from rural families. Almost everybody sold their condition as desperate and poor. But when the same survey guy also talked about a probable matrimonial alliance with that family the people would turn around and talk about their assets and income hidden away from the govt.

Second, corruption and bureaucratic mal-intentions also aid the inflation of poverty numbers. Officers in charge of public distribution system routinely siphon off supplies meant for the poor in the free market. If there are less poor, these officers would get lesser grains to steal and hence lesser opportunity for them to make money. Hence, these guys too have an interest in inflating the numbers. Related to this is the example of state governments and district administration. A district/state with larger number of poor is always assured of greater aids and grants from the central govt, WB etc. And in most cases a poor state has lesser income and smaller funds to spend since its poor and central aid comprises the majority of its public spending. So if it shows lesser number of poor it stands to lose central aid and funds. Again the corruption angle comes in here as well. More central funds, more money for the state minsters and district collectors to steal.

Thirdly, that figure of $2 is not as low as it might seem to you in the developed world. It translates to roughly Rs 100 per day. And even by India's high inflationary standards Rs 100 is enough a amount for a person to feed himself for a day, especially in rural areas. Hell, I live in Gurgaon, amongst the costliest places in India. If I wanted, I could live off Rs. 90 or $1.8 for a day simply by eating Idlis 3 times a day from the corner shop. The guy sells awesome Idlis, a plate just for 30 bucks. So remember western standards and economic estimates work differently in developing countries.

Again, I do not mean to color everything bright and say that there are no poor in India. There are huge disparities and shocking income gaps. Taking the same food example. Right next to the Idli shop there's a restaurant that sells continental food prices at Rs. 300 a dish. One can easily spend Rs. 800 per person there. And there are people who go to this restaurant.

The challenge for India is to lessen these gaps and set a basic standard of economic and social opportunity for everybody. A person doesn't mind being poor as long as he gets the opportunity to come out of it and is assured of his rights. This sadly is what we need to ensure and is precisely the cause for problems like Naxalism.

And I am with you. We do not need to spend so much on developing Africa. The geo-political gains there are not as much as in Afghanistan where I believe its necessary to safeguard our neighborhood and protect our interests. We can spend the money better internally, building roads, schools and hospitals.

[randolph85]

indias aid to africa is not in good will, no country that donates large sums of money to such a foreign entity is out of good will. rather, its gaining the trust of these nations to do business with them. china is already reaping the benefits of its relationship with africa, as it has had a head start over india for quite a while.

india is going to pass the US economy by 2050, though the per capita will be far less, it will be far greater than what it is today

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BRIC

[faye]

if people don't mind being poor why is there so much corruption?

[KhalsaWarrior]

if people don't mind being poor why is there so much corruption?

I believe thats addressed to me based on my previous post. What I meant was that being poor in the economic sense is a lesser evil than being poor in terms of opportunity and basic rights. And when these rights and opportunities are lacking, the poor (or even the not so poor) resort to means such as corruption or stealing. Another reason for corruption is quite simply, greed.

[Prince_Pukhtun]

very very noble of them

[Shayesta]

Once a person is from Pakistan, even if he claims he isn't pro-Pakistan, for whatever reason they turn into Pakistanis when it comes to India. Seriously, why are Pakistanis so desperately allergic to India?

[Michin Khel]

I think i am not allergic to india. I am clear cut pakistani so who can be the one you are talking about.