Depreciating Dollar : India is least affected

India is in a better position to ward off the effects of a steep depreciation of the US dollar when compared to its BRIC (Brazil, Russia, China and India) peers, having least exposure to the US sovereign bonds as a percentage of its total reserves.
As of September 2009, India had just 12.81 per cent of its foreign exchange (forex) reserves in US treasury bonds, according to data released recently by the US Department of Treasury.
This is significantly lower than its May 2009 exposure level of 14.79 per cent.
Comparatively, Brazil had an exposure of 64.63 per cent of their forex reserves to US bonds as of September 2009, while Russia had 29.46 per cent and China 35.15 per cent. Even in absolute terms, Indian investments in US treasury bonds were less than one-third of all the other BRICs peers.
Less exposure to US treasury bonds means that India is least vulnerable to US dollar depreciation in comparison to its BRIC peers
The reduction in forex exposure to US bonds by nearly two per cent between May and September 2009 could be attributed to India's intention to rechannelise its forex resources into non- dollar assets
The recent acquisition of 200 tonnes of gold by India from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is also strengthening this view. With Asia expected to emerge as the world's economic growth engine, the dollar is expected to further lose its dominance as the reserve currency in the decades to come.
The dollar for quite some time will be an important reserve currency. Over time, central banks should start to look at a mix of euro, yen(Japanese currency), renminbi( literally people's currency is the currency of the People's Republic of China ,whose principal unit is the yuan )and possibly the Indian rupee. That is only to be expected with the center of economic activity shifting from the West to the East.
In the wake of the global financial crisis arising from the US sub-prime crisis, the US slipped into recession about 14 months back, and is facing a huge fiscal deficit. Economists fear the US dollar, which has been the reigning reserve currency for over the last few decades, is expected to weaken steeply before the US economy recovers.
Many economists have already predicted that the US dollar will lose its status as the reserve currency within a decade or two. About 64 per cent of the global sovereign reserves are in US dollars, against about 27 per cent in euro, the currency of the European Union. The greenback (US dollar) dropped to a 15- month low against a basket of six major currencies this week.
Further weakening of the US dollar is expected to hurt countries like China, which had nearly $800 billion of forex assets in US bonds by September 2009. This is compared to Brazil's $145 billion, Russia's $ 122 billion and India's $35 billion.
Hence, any eventual crisis in the US economy can leave more severe scars on the economies of China, Japan, Brazil and Russia than that of India. This, in fact, is forcing China to lobby in the international circles to find an alternative to dollar as the reserve currency of the world.
As on November 13, 2009, India had total forex reserves of $ 286 billion, of which foreign currency reserves and gold constituted $263 billion and $17.5 billion, respectively.

Forbes Billionaires list

The Forbes Billionaires list saw a decline of 332 members. It's the first time since 2003 that the number of billionaires worldwide has dropped from one year to the next. There were 1,125 billionaires last year, whereas we have just 793 billionaires in 2009. That means a drop of 23%.

Almost all billionaires recorded a loss in their net worth due to the global recession. Bill Gates lost US $ 18 billion but regained the top spot with a net worth of US $ 40 billion. Average net worth of the individuals on the list is US $ 3 billion.

Indian billionaires seem to have been hit the hardest. The total number of Indian billionaires is 24. 29 billionaires dropped off the list. Anil Ambani, who was the biggest gainer on last year's Forbes' list was the biggest loser this year. His net worth fell down by US $ 32 billion and the current net worth is US $ 10.1 billion. His rank slipped from 6th in 2008 to 34th this year. His elder brother Mukesh is the richest Indian with a net worth of US $ 19.5 billion.

According to the this report the combined net worth of India’s 100 richest people, at $276 billion, is almost a quarter of the country’s GDP.

Another noteworthy aspect is that India’s billionaires have done better than their global counterparts in accumulating their wealth. For instance, the 100 richest Indians are worth $276 billion, while their Chinese counterparts have a net worth of $170 billion only. The three richest Indians are worth $79.5 billion, while it takes 24 Chinese billionaires to make the $80-billion figure.

This is very much credit-worthy for a nation which constitutionally advocates socialism and is vowed to prevent accumulation of wealth in few hands. As a matter of fact, the world bank reports (on the basis of 2005 data) 456 million people in India earn less than $1.25 a day. Modern India seems to be incubating a few islands of immense luxury to thrive upon the vast sea of utter destitution. Forget about the euphoric picture of a tide taking us all up into the heavens, one should be really lucky if ever manage to get in to a boat !!!

The Indian billionares list :

IT-BPO Industry 2008-09 Performance

India's IT-BPO industry grew by 13.1% during 2008-09 clocking revenues of US $58.8 bn. As per NASSCOM data released on last week of July 09, export segment went up by 14.6% with IT software & services exports going up by 14.7%. BPO exports by 16.5% and engineering services and product exports by 10.9%. The domestic market recorded a growth of 7.8% (21.3% in rupee terms from Rs.470 bn to Rs.570 bn). NASSCOM projection from 2009-10 envisages a 4-7% growth for exports to US $48-50 bn and a 15-18% growth in rupee terms for the domestic market to Rs. 650-670 bn.

IT-BPO Industry 2008-09 Performance

India's IT-BPO industry grew by 13.1% during 2008-09 clocking revenues of US $58.8 bn. As per NASSCOM data released on July 29, export segment went up by 14.6% with IT software & services exports going up by 14.7%. BPO exports by 16.5% and engineering services and product exports by 10.9%. The domestic market recorded a growth of 7.8% (21.3% in rupee terms from Rs.470 bn to Rs.570 bn). NASSCOM projection from 2009-10 envisages a 4-7% growth for exports to US $48-50 bn and a 15-18% growth in rupee terms for the domestic market to Rs. 650-670 bn.

Infrastructure

The six infrastructure industries with a 26.68 per cent weightage in the Industrial Production Index cumulatively recorded a substantial 7.1 per cent year on year growth in August 2009, compared to a modest growth of 2.5% recorded in the previous month (July 2009) and an even lower 2.1 per cent a year earlier (August 2008). The August 2009 growth rate of 7.1 per cent is the highest monthly growth rate attained during the last one year.

Telecom Sector

Mobile phones accounted for 92.19 per cent of the total phone connections in the country as at the end of July 2009. Total telephone connections in the country numbered 497.07 million: 441.66 million mobile and 37.41 million landline

Agriculture Sector

Agricultural sector exports went up by 4.14 per cent during 2008-09, with plantation segment going up by 10.72 per cent and agri & allied products by 5.56 per cent but with marine exports falling by -10.77 per cent. Overall the sector accounted for a share of 9.26 per cent in India's total exports.