Delhi Digest March 30- Cricket Diwali in India

The World Cup, not football, started shortly after lunch at 14:30. I turned on TV again to see the results at 17:30, but its still on. The Doordashan is still busy inserting ads like 3 hours before. I had supper then. I thought it might finished. But I still draged on and on. I had no idea when this Commonwhealth world event would finish. All the 24*7 cable channels are busy reporting anything but the mathch itself. They did not have the right to do so. But they did manage to bag dozens of ex-captins, commentators, Indian and Pakistani. This was undoubtedly a high voltage event. What's more, the two prime ministers from the two neighbors were also there. They were not there for nothing. Bollywood stars, top business tycoons, and of course Sonia and Rahul Gandhi were necessary to appeal to the tens of crores of fans. It's time to go to bed. Fireworks and cheers from the street made me check the callendar. It's like Diwali night. Not a holiday. I went to my sitting room and switched on TV again. I see. Times Now are shouting. Crowds are dancing and singing.India smashed Pakistan 260-231 by 29 runs. It's 22:45. One match lasts for more than 8 hours. It's even longer than a Marathon. If it's in China, I don't know if the spectators, if any, are still there. The 9 idle players must be busy eating and drinking except for watching with their eagle eyes while their 2 teammates were beating their 11 rivals on the ground. I heard each team also has the 12th player, normally a dormant one.

Delhi Digest Mar.25-Inflation Looms Large Again This Time Pilots Lead

I have been fed up with various prices rises and various hikes. It has become a daily phenomenon. I Always bring extra money in my purse to fight inflation.But some Indian pilots fight inflation by inflating their flying hours. They deserve well to be put on record in the Guinnes Book. It's unbelievable although it did happen. I've decided not to fly the carriers which used fake pilots.

Delhi Digest March 22 "Misery Tax"

The Union Government of India plans to levy 5 percent health care tax starting this year. It means you even have to give the government money except for paying the hospital if you are to have an operation. The severe your health is, the more money you have to contribute to the state coffer.It's dubbed "misery tax". Fortunately India's system of self-correction plays an important role. The government faces strong opposition from opposition parties. The Union budget for 2011-2012 tabled by its finance minister might hit an impasse. So its government has to relinquish its plan. "Misery Tax" is annouced abolished today.

Delhi Digest - March 18, 2011

"This way, every criminal accused of murder or rape or any other offence will claim to be vindicated if he happens to win an election. I did not expect the Prime Minister to come up with such an argument"
--Sushma Swaraj, Leader of Opposition, Lok Sabha (India's lower house in Parliament)

The Hindu drops a Wiki Nuclear Bomb to New Delhi

If you do not fear radiation you are not in Tokyo; if you are not buying iodized salt you are not in Beijing; if you do not talk about Wikileak US Embassy cables published by The Hindu newspaper you are not in New Delhi. The heat is building up just like the teperature is rising sharply to 34. The media is breaking new waves of news, the parliament is turned into a quarreling playground. Who will suffer who will chuckle who knows.

It's blossom season in New Delhi

Marigold, silk cotton and grapefruit flowers



It's 17-34 degrees celsius today.

Chinese economy in 2010 and targets for 2015: statistics

Major Targets Set for 2011-15

Annual average GDP growth: 7%

GDP in 2015 (based on 2010 prices): 55 trillion yuan ($8.37 trillion)

Proportion of service industry's output in GDP: up by 4 percentage points

Urbanization rate: to 51.5%

Proportion of R&D expenditure in GDP: 2.2%

Proportion of non-fossil fuels in primary energy consumption: 11.4%

Energy consumption per unit of GDP: down by 16%

Carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP: down by 17%

Release of major pollutants: down by 8%-10%

Forest stock: up by 600 million cubic meters

Forest coverage: 21.66%

Jobs created: 45 million

Average annual growth of residents' income: more than 7%

Proportion of expenses for medical treatment paid out of the medical

insurance fund: more than 70%

Urban low-income housing coverage: 20%



Achievements During the 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-10) Period

Economic growth: From 2006 to 2010, the real average annual growth of GDP reached 11.2 percent.

Total economic volume: In 2010, China's GDP was 39.8 trillion yuan ($6.06 trillion), surpassing that of Japan and making China the world's second largest economy.

Per-capita GDP: Preliminary estimates show China's per-capita GDP was 29,748 yuan ($4,527.85) in 2010. The average annual real growth during the 11th Five-Year Plan period was 10.6 percent, which was 1.5 percentage points higher than in the 10th Five-Year Plan period.

Fiscal strength: In 2010, the country's fiscal revenue was 8.31 trillion yuan ($1.26 trillion), up 1.6 fold than in 2005, with an average annual growth of 21.3 percent.

Foreign exchange reserves: At the end of 2010, the country's foreign exchange reserves reached $2.85 trillion, up 2.5 fold from 2005. China's foreign exchange reserves surpassed Japan's in 2006, ranking first in the world for five consecutive years.

Domestic demand: From 2006 to 2010, contributions of domestic demand to the economic growth were 83.9 percent, 81.9 percent, 91 percent, 138.9 percent and 92.1 percent, respectively. Compared with 2005, contributions of domestic demand to the economic growth in 2010 were 15.2 percentage points higher.

Industrial structure: In 2010, the tertiary industry, or the service industry, accounted for 43 percent of the country's total GDP, up 2.5 percentage points from 2005; the proportion of the secondary industry (manufacturing and construction) dropped from 47.4 percent in 2005 to 46.8 percent in 2010; the proportion of the primary industry (agriculture) dropped from 12.1 percent in 2005 to 10.2 percent in 2010.

Urbanization: In 2009, the urban population accounted for 46.6 percent of the total population, up 3.6 percentage points from 2005.

Regional development: In 2010, China's eastern region contributed 53 percent to the country's total GDP, 2.5 percentage points lower than in 2005; contributions of the central and western regions were 19.7 percent and 18.7 percent, up 0.9 percentage points and 1.6 percentage points respectively.

Infrastructure: During the 11th Five-Year Plan period, urban infrastructure investment totaled 22.1 trillion yuan ($3.36 trillion), an average annual growth of 21.8 percent.

Grain production: From 2006 to 2010, grain outputs were 498.04 million tons, 501.6 million tons, 528.71 million tons, 530.82 million tons and 546.41 million tons, respectively.

Energy production: In 2010, China produced 2.99 billion tons of standard coal, up 38.3 percent than in 2005, with an average annual growth of 6.7 percent.

Transportation: The total operational railway mileage was increased from 75,000 km in 2005 to 91,000 km in 2010; the highway mileage was increased from 3.35 million km in 2005 to 3.98 million km in 2010; the mileage of expressways was increased from 41,000 km in 2005 to 74,000 km in 2010.

Telecommunications: In 2010, the number of fixed and mobile phones totaled 1.15 billion, up 55.1 percent than in 2005. The number of mobile phones was 859 million, 1.18 fold the figure in 2005. The number of Internet users was 457 million, with Internet covering 34.3 percent of the total population.

Foreign trade: In 2010, the volume of exports and imports totaled $2.97 trillion, up 1.09 fold than in 2005, with an average annual growth of 15.9 percent. Of the total, exports were valued at $1.58 trillion, up 1.07 fold than in 2005, with an average annual growth of 15.7 percent; imports were valued at $1.39 trillion, up 1.11 fold than in 2005.

Foreign trade structure: In 2010, China's exports of mechanical and electric products increased 1.2 fold and those of high and new technology products up 1.3 fold than in 2005. Exports of these two categories of products accounted for 59.2 percent and 31.2 percent of the country's total exports, up 3.2 percentage points and 2.6 percentage points respectively than in 2005. In 2010, imports of mechanic and electric products as well as high and new technology products increased 0.9 fold and 1.1 fold than in 2005, while imports of iron ore and concentrate as well as crude oil increased 1.2 fold and 0.9 fold than in 2005.

Foreign direct investment: From 2006 to 2010, the paid-in foreign direct investment totaled $426 billion, an average annual growth of 11.9 percent. China has ranked first among developing countries of attracting foreign investment for 18 consecutive years.

Outbound direct investment: In 2010, the outbound direct investment (non-financial sectors) by Chinese investors was $59 billion, up 3.8 fold than in 2005, with an average annual growth of 36.9 percent.

Employment: The number of employed people was increased from 758.25 million at the end of 2005 to 779.95 million at the end of 2009, up by 5.43 million every year on average.

Resident income: In 2010, the per-capita disposable income of urban residents was 19,109 yuan ($2,909), up 82.1 percent than in 2005. The per-capita net income of rural residents was 5,919 yuan ($900) in 2010, up 81.8 percent than in 2005.

Living standard: In 2010, the per-capita consumption expenditure of urban residents stood at 13,471 yuan ($2,050), up 69.6 percent than in 2005. The per-capita consumption expenditure of rural residents was 4,382 yuan ($666.97), up 71.5 percent than in 2005.

Social security: At the end of 2010, a total of 256.73 million people participated in the urban basic pension program, an increase of 81.85 million than in 2005; a total of 432.06 million people participated in urban basic health insurance program, an increase of 294.23 million; some 133.76 million people participated in unemployment insurance programs, an increase of 27.28 million. In 2010, 96.3 percent of rural residents were covered by the new rural cooperative medical care system.

Education: During the 11th Five-Year Plan period, China realized free compulsory education, and the average schooling time increased from 8.5 years to nine years.

Science and technology: In 2010, expenditures on research and development activities were worth 698 billion yuan ($106.24 billion), up 1.85 fold than in 2005, accounting for 1.75 percent of GDP, which was 0.43 percentage points higher than in 2005.

Public health: At the end of 2010, there were 939,000 health institutions in China, an increase of 57,000 from 2005. Health workers numbered 5.84 million, an increase of 1.28 million from 2005.

Culture: At the end of 2010, there were 2,860 public libraries in China, 98 more than at the end of 2005. Radio broadcasting and television broadcasting coverage rates were 96.8 percent and 97.6 percent, which were 2.3 percentage points and 1.8 percentage points higher than at the end of 2005.

Environment: In 2010, among the 330 cities covered by air quality monitoring program, 273 cities reached or topped air quality standard Grade II, accounting for 82.7 percent of all cities under the program, which was 22.4 percentage points higher than in 2005. At the end of 2010 city sewage treatment rate was 76.9 percent, up 24.9 percent over the end of 2005.

Energy saving: From 2006 to 2010, the energy consumption per unit of GDP decreased by 19.06 percent, almost finishing the 20-percent goal set in the 11th Five-Year Plan.

Pollution control: In 2010, the chemical oxygen demand emissions decreased by 12 percent over 2005, and emissions of sulfur dioxide decreased 14 percent, both better than the goals in the 11th Five-Year Plan.

(Source: National Bureau of Statistics, the People's Republic of China )

The King's Speech? Who Cares in New Delhi.

I went to a cinema to watch the Oscar hit THE KING'S SPEECH in Delhi. Indian newspapers reported a lot on the Oscar night last week. But it turned out that only less than two dozens of people watching this English film. I cann't believe it happens in Movie Kingdom India. Oh I guess maybe Indian people love Bollywood more than any wood else. Yes, it's true. When I went out I saw floods of people coming to watch the next film-of course Bollywood film-Taru Weds Manu, a drama. The ticket prices are the same: about 5 US dollars or RMB 33 yuan. If it were in China, any big Oscar hit would attract throngs of people.

The Speech is a concise, clear and simple film. I don't think it involves big money in production. It's quite different from Titanic which boasted grandeur scenes and enormous inputs of resources. It's a pity that Englishmen always suffer from want of sunshine. I did not see sunshine in the film. It helped me to learn history of that period.

How Chinese Moves, like tortoise or rabbits? No, Like Bullets Only

Chinese can chose their way of movement by:
1. All kinds of trains, track 91,000km(It took me 36 hour boarding India's fast train from Chennai to Delhi-2200km while 23 hours boarding China's moderate train from Shenzhen-the city bordering Hong Kong to Beijing-2400km last year. But I did not get bored on both trains. I have always had pleasant memories after travelling by various Indian trains);
2. Bullet train-high speed track (300-450 km/hour):8358km;
3. Express way(separate 4 or 6 lanes,fenses, no cows, no bikes, no pedestrans, like the once between South Delhi Ring Road and IGI Airport only, not like the one between Delhi and Agra-Taj Mahal): 74,100km;
4. Airports: 175. It's a pity, we have to wait for another 4 or 5 years to sit in Chines Airbus or Boeing-C919 built by COMAC-Commertial Aircraft Corporation of China founded in 2008 in Shanghai. COMAC will be the C after A and B. A for Airbus and B for Boeing.

China India Bilateral Trade 61.7 Billion US dollars in 2010

India became the 7th largest trade partner after EU, USA, Hongkong SAR, ASEAN, Japan, Korea. Taiwan, Russsia the 9th and tenth.

Sino-Indian bilateral trade in 2009:50.8 billion US dollars.